The brewery was abandoned for nearly 200 years until it was revived in 1965 by Peter Maxwell Stuart, the 20th Laird of Traquair. Today, Traquair House and its grounds are a tourist attraction, and the attached brewery is busy nearly year-round making this powerful barleywine-style ale. Production is small, but fortunately there's enough for export. Traquair House Ale is a great winter warmer and the handmade brew works best when served with rich foods such as Stilton cheese.

MacTarnahan Black Watch Cream Porter ($7 per six-pack)

The 86-year-old Scotsman Robert "Mac" MacTarnahan, majority shareholder and patriarch of Portland Brewing Co., is one of the guiding spirits of the Oregon craft-brew movement. The company's flagship line of beers is named MacTarnahan's in his honor. Mac is also a medal-winning Olympic athlete whose notorious Celebrity Keg Toss kicks off Portland's annual Scottish Highland Games. (The Keg Toss rules are simple: Hurl an empty 15.5-gallon aluminum beer keg as far as you can. The current record of 48 feet, 6 1*2 inches was set in 1994. Any takers?)

MacTarnahan's Black Watch is a new porter from Portland Brewing, named for a historic 18th-century, black-kilted regiment from the Scottish Highlands, home of Mac's ancestors. Black Watch Porter is less potent than a true Scotch ale, but it's got a creamy mouthfeel and nice, round, malty tones. Considering that Mac is still taking home medals at his age, you might want to think of it as a Scottish-style energy drink.

McEwan's Scotch Ale ($9 per Six-pack)

Just in case you can't tell from the proud tartan on the bottle, McEwan's is a definitive Scotch ale, brewed in Edinburgh at the Fountainbridge Brewery. The McEwan's brand is part of Britain's largest brewing group, Scottish Courage, which also makes the popular Newcastle Ale. This type of strong Scotch ale is known as a "wee heavy," after the tiny bottles it was traditionally packaged in. With around 8 percent alcohol, these are definitely not chugging beers.