How to Brew a Scottish Wee Heavy | 2-Gallon Small Batch Recipe

Brewing a Scottish Wee Heavy at home doesn’t have to be complicated. This malt-forward winter warmer, typically pushing 12% ABV, is perfect for small-batch brewing. By using liquid malt extract, a handful of character grains, and simple stovetop techniques, you can create a rich, boozy ale that ages beautifully and pours with deep ruby-red color.

If you’re looking for a beer that’s bold, boozy, and built for sipping by the fire, the Scottish Wee Heavy is your perfect match. Known for its malt-forward richness and warming strength, this traditional ale typically ranges between 8% and 15% ABV and is best enjoyed in small pours — not pints.

In this article, we’ll break down how to brew a 2-gallon stovetop batch of Wee Heavy. It’s the ideal size for experimenting with a high-gravity beer without ending up with five gallons of heavy ale you’ll be nursing for years. Plus, this style ages beautifully, so any leftover bottles can improve with time.

Load video: how to brew beer at home

Why Small Batch Wee Heavy Brewing Works

Wee Heavies aren’t your everyday drinking beer. With a deep malt sweetness, notes of caramel and toffee, and a warming alcohol presence, they’re meant for slow sipping. A 2-gallon batch hits the sweet spot:

  • Enough to share with friends (in snifters, not pint glasses).
  • Small enough to fit on your stovetop.
  • Perfect for aging without overwhelming your cellar.

And with extract brewing plus some carefully chosen steeping grains, you can craft a professional-tasting Wee Heavy without the complexity of a full all-grain setup.

The Recipe: Malt Backbone + Character Grains

The foundation of this beer is golden light liquid malt extract (6 lbs 6 oz), delivering the fermentable sugars needed for a high ABV. But the character comes from steeping grains:

  • Munich malt (8 oz) – adds bread and malt depth
  • Caramel 40 (8 oz) – brings light caramel sweetness
  • Honey malt (4 oz) – touches of honey-like richness
  • Caramel 120 (4 oz) – deep caramel and raisin notes
  • Pale chocolate malt (2 oz) – contributes color more than flavor, giving that ruby-red hue

These grains are steeped at 156°F for 20 minutes, creating body, aroma, and color before the extract is added.

Hops, Yeast & Extras

Wee Heavy isn’t about hop character — it’s all about balance. Still, a touch is needed to keep sweetness in check:

  • East Kent Goldings (2 oz total): 1 oz for bittering at 60 minutes, 1 oz at 10 minutes for subtle flavor.
  • Whirlfloc tablet: to clarify the beer at the end of the boil.
  • Yeast nutrient: ensuring the yeast can handle this big, sugary wort.
  • Yeast choice: A clean fermenting ale yeast like US-05 keeps the focus on malt.

Final wort is chilled down quickly (a wort chiller works best) and pitched into a sanitized 3-gallon fermenter.

The Numbers: A High-Gravity Beer

When brewed, this Wee Heavy clocked in at an original gravity of 1.114, a massive start for such a small batch. If fermentation finishes as expected, this beer will land around 12% ABV. That’s why it’s called a winter warmer — big, boozy, and perfect for slow sipping.

Barrel-Aged Flavor Without the Barrel

Here’s where it gets fun. You don’t need an oak barrel to give your Wee Heavy those deep, aged notes. In secondary, you can add oak cubes or chips soaked in bourbon or whiskey. This trick imparts that smooth, vanilla-oak complexity without investing in a full barrel.

Leave a comment

Please note, comments need to be approved before they are published.