What, no Scotch waffles?

Idaho’s only Belgian-style brewery is ringing in 2015 with a taste of Scotland.

For its third annual New Year’s Day Brunch, Selkirk Abbey Brewing in Post Falls is releasing its first non-Belgian beer: Selkirk Grace Scotch Ale (6.7 percent alcohol by volume, 40 International Bitterness Units).

That’s not as random as it might sound. Scotch-style ales actually are quite popular in Belgium, both brewed inside that country and imported.

Selkirk owner/brewer Jeff Whitman, who has Scottish family heritage on both his mother and father’s side, lived in Scotland for three years when he was in the Navy; his oldest daughter was born there.

And the original Selkirk Abbey was founded in Scotland in 1113.

Selkirk Grace, Whitman says, “is a beer I had planned even before we were in this building. It always had been in the works, I just had to get the recipe right.”

He didn’t, but Larry Lepinski did. Lepinski, a Coeur d’Alene homebrewer, previously created Guilt, Selikrk’s popular Belgian-style coffee porter, as the brewery’s Pro-Am competition entry at the 2013 Great American Beer Festival.

With Selkirk Grace, Whitman says, “Again, he’s knocked it out of the park. It’s just exactly how I wanted it. It’s malt-forward, with a nice ruby color.”

While many people expect Scotch ales to be smoky thanks to such American interpretations as Cold Smoke from Missoula’s KettleHouse, Whitman says, they traditionally aren’t. He says Selkirk Grace, which uses a small amount of cherrywood-smoked malt, “has just a kiss of smoke in it.”

The beer will join Selkirk’s rotating seasonal lineup. It’s only on draft for now, but Whitman plans to make more soon and bottle it.

It will be available at discount prices for pints and growler fills at Thursday’s brunch, which begins at 10 a.m. Selkirk’s regular lineup also will be pouring, and for the adventurous, Whitman will sell selected bottles from his personal “Cave of Wonders” collection.

Post Falls’ Big Bear Deli will serve made-to-order breakfast sandwiches – traditional, Southwest and an avocado-crab concoction – along with such sides as grits and potatoes.

“It’s a nice party for people who don’t like to go out on rookie night,” Whitman says. “Anyone 21 or older is welcome.”