The longevity and success of Scotch Ale is an outlier in a beer world where consumers are notoriously fickle and many value variety over brand loyalty.

The Rohrbach Scotch Ale is the exception.

Between its two breweries (Buffalo Road in Ogden and Railroad Street in Rochester), Rohrbach will produce just under 10,000 barrels of beer this year. While declining to reveal the exact amount of Scotch Ale his brewery will produce, Rohrbach founder John Urlaub said, "It's clearly our flagship."

Urlaub called the lasting success of the beer "organic."

"We didn’t put a push on it. We didn’t say this was going to be our flagship," he said. "We want to be different. We just made everything and Scotch Ale was the one that rose to the top and continued to gain popularity."

And this year, the quintessential Rochester craft beer is turning 25.

When you mention Rochester beer, the first two examples that immediately pop up are the Genesee Cream Ale and the Rohrbach Scotch Ale. Those two have become the enduring Rochester classics.

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Brewer Dave Schlosser first envisioned the archetypal soon-to-be Rochester classic on the brewery's original 7-barrel brewing system in the basement of the German House on Gregory Street in Rochester.

"We started that tradition. Maybe it doesn’t go all the way back to the roots of Rochester brewing, but it goes back to the roots of Rochester craft brewing," said Schlosser, now the co-owner and head brewer at Canandaigua's Naked Dove Brewing. "It’s 25 years now. That’s a pretty good stretch. And there a lot of people who have brought up that Scotch Ale has always been available, people who are 45 and younger, it has always been there. It’s just a staple in the market."

Fast forward to today and the Scotch Ale is holding its own in a craft beer marketplace dominated by India pale ales. It is the top craft seller in Rochester-area Wegmans stores, according to Mark Agnello, Wegmans category merchant for beer.

"For a lot of folks, it's their introduction to craft beer," Agnello said. "If you think about it, it still is. You don't typically start off with a big IPA when you're just getting into craft beer."

What is a Scotch Ale?

Scotland has a long brewing tradition. In his Scotch Ale (Classic Beer Style Series Book 8), Greg Noonan outlines the brewing history of England's northern neighbor. If you want an in-depth look at the style, Noonan's book is a must-read. It also served as the inspiration for Schlosser's version that became the Rohrbach Scotch Ale. (More on that later.)

The modern version of the Scotch Ale — the one without peated malt that adds that smoky element you might encounter in Scotch whiskys — rose to prominence after the Scottish Industrial Revolution, Schlosser said. Scotch Ales, which are also called "Wee Heavy" are in some instances, as Schlosser noted, a "malty and satisfying beer."

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(The divide between Scotch Ale and Wee Heavy can be a tenuous one. Some say they are synonyms, but many point out that they are different. The Beer Judge Certification Program guidelines separate Scottish Ale and Wee Heavy into different beer styles — categories 14 and 17C.)

"The tradition is that malt was cheap for Scotland. Hops were expensive because they were imported from England," Schlosser said. "So their ales are less hoppy than English ales because it was more expensive for them to get those. That’s why English bitters and pales have a little more hop character and Scotland is a little more malt-accented."

Schlosser said they are noted for their maltiness and lack of hop character (or perceived bitterness).

Scotch Ales are rich and often packed with caramel flavors. He explained that Scotch Ales are brewed differently. The wort — liquid extracted during the mashing process that produces the sugars needed to be fermented by yeast to produce alcohol — is boiled longer. The wort caramelizes, which leads to a beautifully full-bodied beer that is generally higher in alcohol (ranging from 6 to 10 percent alcohol) and features a gorgeous malt sweetness.

Some Scotch Ales might feature a smoked peat flavor, but most nowadays don't, Schlosser said.

"The key is the body," Urlaub said. "This can't be a thin beer. It has a little bit of a sweet finish, but not overly sweet. It's just a well-balanced beer."

Rohrbach's Scotch Ale

When it opened in 1991 in the basement of the German House on Gregory Street in Rochester, Rohrbach was something new. The beer-drinking public didn't have a lot of options. You could most certainly drink the macro-lagers like Budweiser, and you might be lucky enough to cross paths with an early craft beer or a random import.

So Rohrbach utilized an even-handed approach to attract and then convert beer drinkers into craft aficionados. The approach is reflected in both the beer and marketing. Almost three decades later, Rohrbach is synonymous with Rochester craft beer.

When the Gregory Street brewpub opened, Rohrbach featured classics like the Highland Lager, Gregory Street Lager, Old Nate's Pale Ale and the Sam Patch Porter. The Scotch Ale was launched in early 1994 to round out the portfolio, Schlosser said.

Schlosser is a fan of malty beers and he learned a lot by reading Noonan's series of classic beer styles books. (He can even recite in order of the first 10 or so books in the series.)

"The recipe is 100 percent straight out of Greg’s book," Schlosser said. "It’s easy. It’s 99 percent pale ale malt and one percent roasted barley."

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Schlosser said the key is high-quality malt, noting that English pale ale malt is best in his experience. "American 2-row malt is great, but it's not as smooth and clean," Schlosser said. "When you’re using that much American malt and accentuating that much residual sugar, it can be a little husky, a little grainy."

The first Rohrbach example used British pale ale malt from De Wolf-Cosyns, a Belgian maltster. And now, Schlosser uses Crisp Best Ale malt for the Naked Dove Scotch Ale. Schlosser jokingly said that, "We've gotten really far from Greg Noonan's original recipe, because Naked Dove is at 98 and 2."

He remembered the first day his Scotch Ale was on draft at the original Gregory Street brewpub. He hadn't eaten much that day, so he got a late lunch and a 12-ounce pour of his beer at the bar. That led to another and then another.

"I went to push in my bar stool and I was like, 'Whoa,'" Schlosser said. "I knew how strong it was, but it was just way too smooth. I did go to all the servers and say, 'Hey, just so you know, this is 7.2 percent, so please don’t serve pitcher after pitcher.' It was really well received."

And that's how you end up with an unlikely flagship in a craft beer world dominated by hoppy beers.

The Rochester Scotch Ale

The Rochester-style Scotch Ale is noted for its smoothness, Schlosser said. He said it features "clean maltiness that is all due to the base malt."

"It has a hint of caramel sweetness but isn't overly sweet or over-toffee that you might get if you’re using a bunch of crystal malts as well," Schlosser said. "It has a smooth flavor, with just enough hops to balance it out. It creates a nice, crisp finish, and you definitely don’t get the alcohol notes."

Schlosser, who left Rohrbach in 1997, continued to make Scotch Ales at his next stop, Custom Brewcrafters, Monroe County's second craft brewery. While at Honeoye Falls-based Custom Brewcrafters, now known as CB Craft Brewers, Schlosser developed and released another Scotch Ale. Schlosser was the first head brewer at CB's.

He left CB's for a job at Genesee, then known as High Falls Brewing. Schlosser eventually rose to the role of brewmaster. He said he wanted to release a Scotch Ale through the Dundee line of beers at the Genesee Brewery, but that never came to fruition.

Instead, he left Genny after eight years and began to work with the brewery's former head of sales to open their own brewery. Naked Dove opened in 2010 and soon released its first Scotch Ale.

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Genny never released a Scotch Ale during Schlosser's time there, but finally did release one in 2012 under the direction of Genesee Brew House brewmaster Dean Jones. Like Schlosser, Jones is among the longest-tenured brewers in Rochester.

He has worked all over the country, with stops in Florida, Pennsylvania and Michigan, but has settled in Rochester. Jones apprenticed with brewmaster Edward L. Collins at Kidder's Brewery in Fort Myers, Florida. While at Kidder's, Jones helped Collins make a Scotch Ale that was awarded a silver medal at the Great American Beer Festival in 1992. (Collins is even quoted on the back cover of Noonan's Scotch Ale book.)

That Florida experience began Jones' love and odyssey with Scotch Ales. It wasn't, however, his last experience with medal-winning examples in the style. While installing brewing systems with DME Brewing Solution at breweries throughout the northeast, Jones crafted a Scotch Ale recipe at Martha's Exchange in New Hampshire. That beer earned a silver medal at GABF in 1994.

"Scotch Ale is in my blood," Jones said. "I love it."

He first came to the Rochester area around 2003 when Bru opened in High Falls in the former site of Empire Brewing. Jones fondly recalled the Scotch Ale he made at Bru. When Bru closed in 2005, Jones landed at Wagner Valley Brewing on Seneca Lake. And of course, he made another Scotch Ale there.

Jones became the brewmaster at the Genesee Brew House in 2012. He has crafted numerous Scotch Ales, including a dark chocolate-infused version that earned a gold medal at the World Beer Cup last year.

As more breweries have opened in Rochester, more Scotch Ales have been released. It's pretty difficult to encounter a brewery in Rochester that hasn't made a Scotch Ale. And for many, the Scotch Ale is a consistent part of the brewery's portfolio.

"As you see the next generation of breweries, some of those breweries may love that style," Schlosser said, "but it’s also something where you walk into any bar or restaurant and you see Rohrbach Scotch Ale or maybe ours. People are drinking a lot of Scotch Ale. So if they want something that could sell, maybe they will brew a Scotch Ale."

Jones echoed those sentiments.

"For a beer style to be that popular over that length of time is insane," Jones said. "And they’re all a little bit different, which is awesome. Everybody has already been exposed to it and they like it. It’s flavorful and it has some alcohol to it. It’s approachable to the masses. Scotch Ale isn’t scary like IPA."

The power of the Scotch Ale

The beer wasn't an overnight success, Urlaub said. It steadily gained traction and acceptance, he added. But in recent years, the Rohrbach Scotch Ale has proven to be a bit of an anomaly.

As the craft beer world continues to be consumed by hops and IPAs, sales continue to surge for hop-forward beers. According to market research firm IRI, which provides sales figures for grocery and other chain stores, Scotch Ale has long been a flagship for Rohrbach.

Although, as other styles have gained in popularity, the beer has steadily lost share among Rohrbach's variety of brands in the Buffalo and Rochester markets. In 2014, Scotch Ale accounted for almost 44 percent of packaged beer sales in stores like Wegmans, with that number falling to 35 percent last year.

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Scotch Ale has accounted for more than 33 percent of Rohrbach's total volume in Buffalo- and Rochester-tracked stores since 2014, IRI data showed. That spike coincides with the introduction of Rohrbach beer in cans in 2014.

"I said our flagship is a Scotch Ale and I’m kind of met with this blank look and they’re like, ‘What? Really?’ I don’t know," Urlaub, the Rohrbach founder, said. "It’s going to take some time for a new market to understand it. But the Rochester market is different. I think it’s because the brand has been out so long and is so trusted."

It's even more amazing when you consider that Rohrbach self-distributes its beers within Monroe County, meaning it is responsible for delivering beer and stocking shelves at most local stores.

Urlaub said a fresh batch of Scotch Ale is canned every week. Scotch Ale far outsells the hoppy beers in the Rohrbach portfolio. Urlaub admitted that it's a bit of an outlier.

"If you love craft beer, you love trying new things. But people know that we’re a fallback," Urlaub said. "So you can try different things, but you can always trust the Rohrbach Scotch Ale. We’ve got very loyal supporters in the market, too. Whether it Wegmans for shelf pace or taps in the market. That’s what makes me the most proud. It’s a style that has longevity. And people trust it."

"It has worked in our favor as a differentiator," Rohrbach marketing director Brittany Statt added. "So many breweries lead with IPAs, it’s really tough to compete with. For us to take pride in something else, it helps set us apart from all the noise and all the trendiness and all the the short-lived things."

WCLEVELAND@Gannett.com