While beers made in Scotland are sometimes labelled "Scottish ale" by the brewery in the same way that beers from Cornwall may be labelled "Cornish ale" and beers from Kent may be labelled "Kentish ale", there is no evidence that these beers are any different from those made in other parts of the British Isles.

However, brewers in the USA tend to apply the term "Scottish ale" to pale ales with low hop levels and a malty sweetness.

Shilling Categories

The shilling categories were based on price charged per barrel for beer during the 19th century. The stronger or better quality beers costing more. However, customers would ask for a strength of beer by names such as "heavy" and "export". The terms export and heavy are still widely used in Scotland. Even though the practise of classifying beers by the shilling price was not specific to Scotland, during the cask ale revival in the 1970s Scottish brewers resurrected the shilling names to differentiate between keg and cask versions of the same beers. This differentiation has now been lost.

While the shilling names were never pinned down to exact strength ranges, and Scottish brewers today produce beers under the shilling names in a variety of strengths, it was largely understood that:

• Light: (60/-) was under 3.5% abv
• Regular: (70/-) was between 3.5% and 4.0% abv
• Strong: (80/-) was between 4.0% and 5.5% abv
• Export: (90/-) was 5.5-6% abv
• Wee Heavy: (100-120/-) was above 6% and ran as high as 10% abv

(/- is read as "shilling" or "bob" as in "a pint of eighty-bob, please")