Scottish Ale
Trout River Brewing Company

Scottish AleScottish Ale
Beer Geek Stats | Print Shelf Talker
From:
Trout River Brewing Company
 
Vermont, United States
Style:
Scottish Ale
ABV:
5.9%
Score:
72
Avg:
2.89 | pDev: 24.22%
Reviews:
23
Ratings:
30
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Jul 12, 2013
Added:
Jan 10, 2002
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  0
We make our traditionally-brewed Scottish-style ale with nine different malts resulting in a complex, ultra-smooth, slightly sweet, full-bodied, malty ale.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by dirtylou:
Photo of dirtylou
Reviewed by dirtylou from Oklahoma

2.64/5  rDev -8.7%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 3
12 oz single, "extra" in a trade with MuddyFeet

appearance: pours a light mahogany with amber highlights, a massive khaki head forms with thick and foamy lacing

smell: quite sour, not common for style, malty, smoky, seems a bit out of balance

taste: sour cherries, some light chocolate, sweet fruit...interesting enough but not quite on style

mouthfeel: fizzling carbonation, bubbly, sour

drinkability: drinkable but not great
Oct 24, 2005
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 2.75 by doremite from Vermont

Jul 12, 2013
 
Rated: 3.5 by morrowd3 from Vermont

Jul 07, 2013
 
Rated: 3 by Kegatron from Pennsylvania

Jun 14, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by EighthElement from Massachusetts

Feb 16, 2013
Photo of FeloniousDrunk
Reviewed by FeloniousDrunk from New York

2.6/5  rDev -10%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5
A: Poured from a 12oz. bottle into a tulip pint glass. Poured a hazy dark brown, with minimal head. It looks like maple syrup or dark apple cider (very vermont-y looking...) No lacing to speak of.

S: Burnt caramel malts are forward on the nose, with slight fruit notes behind. Prunes and raisins come to mind, with an overall buttery lightness to it.

T: Apple cider (the strong kind) up front with a caramel and coffee finish. The toast is not as flavorful as I would think, and the overall palate is paltry at best. Syrupy-sweet notes of candied apples, plums, dark berries, and vanilla are dominant, while the earthy burnt flavors are barely present, giving this a decidedly one-sided flavor.

M: This beer has an airy effervescence that makes it feel like a child's soft drink. It also has a peculiarly sticky texture to it that causes the flavor to adhere to your teeth, and creates a tannic jaw clenching on the swallow. Not particularly pleasant in the mouth.

O: This is a surprisingly home-brew style beer for one that is bottled and sold in distribution centers. It's decidedly amateur.
Sep 27, 2012
 
Rated: 2 by bigred89 from Maryland

Sep 15, 2012
Photo of nitrotron
Reviewed by nitrotron from Vermont

3.84/5  rDev +32.9%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4
A: Deep copper almost brown - Hazy. Head was semi-tight, light tan; persisted & clings to glass.

S: Rich melanoidins & caramel. The caramel has almost a light burnt to it. Some chocolate notes in the background. Toffee accents as well. No hop aroma. Yeast if fairly clean.

F: Strong malt that tastes very caramelly but not candy sweet, has more depth like aroma. Some chocolate there, but not roasty chocolate. Mod. bitterness (hops) A hint of earthy hop flavore (almost none) Some diacetyl from yeast (OK) Balances is in style for hop/malt. Finishes med. dry with malt flavors that linger, but not cloying. Tasting some alcohol. Would do better with some age to provide complexity & stone fruit.

M: med-high fullness in body. Med. smoothness. Carbonation is med-high perhaps a little too much. Some warmth from Alcohol.

O: A very good example. The malt had some depth. Good portion of caramel but not cloyingly sweet. This leads to a drinkable beer. Slight warmth from alcohol. Some additional aginst would add some complexity, as well as mellow some hop bitterness. . The carbonation could be just a little bit lower
Apr 20, 2012
 
Rated: 3.5 by EvanWilliams from Illinois

Jan 28, 2012
 
Rated: 3 by JAHMUR from Connecticut

Jan 02, 2012
Photo of zrab11
Reviewed by zrab11 from Indiana

3.83/5  rDev +32.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
A- Pours a redish brown color with a nice 1 finger off white head

S- Has spice notes in it also smell the yeast or bread aroma and i also get some maltyness

T- Has a nice spicey malty taste upfront followed by a sweet bread taste and finishs with alitle more spice

M-Light to medium bodied with good carbonation

D-Overall i like this beer. i havent had many from this style but really liked this one. Don't know why its reviews are soo low.Give this one a try
May 27, 2011
Photo of thekevlarkid
Reviewed by thekevlarkid from Maryland

3.89/5  rDev +34.6%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Out of a bottle this beer was a deep copper color with one finger of khaki-colored head. The head quickly fizzed out becoming only a thin collar that left thin lacing in bands. The semi-sweet aroma was of toasted malt, dark toffee, some caramel malt, alcohol and light notes of peat smoke and grains. The flavors were almost exactly like the aroma being mostly composed of caramel and toasted malt with some touches of peat smoke and toffee behind that. As it warmed some alcohol heat appeared along with a pleasant bitterness that lingered on my tongue The mouthfeel was watery, the body medium and the carbonation good for the style. Aside from a little work to be done on the appearance and mouthfeel this was a good beer and the flavor profile was quite accurate for the style.
Jul 07, 2009
Photo of SaintPeter
Reviewed by SaintPeter from Colorado

1.86/5  rDev -35.6%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2
No head, no lace, no carbonation. The color is a pretty dark brown-reddish. It smells very oxidized. The taste is tinny with some malt and dark fruits, such as raisins and plums. There taste is very much oxidized and vinegary which really kills the taste. Tingly carbonation on the tongue.

Hmmm....not good!
Jun 17, 2009
Photo of Ragingbull
Reviewed by Ragingbull from California

3.6/5  rDev +24.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4
The color was a classic deep brown with an almost red hint. The taste was pleasant and reminiscent of Blackbeard's Choice which is an American Muscadine Wine from Bennett Vineyards in Edward, North Carolina. I can see why some others didn't like the beer as many wine people don't appreciate muscadine wines either. I think I enjoyed it because of the familiarity of the flavor and the fact that I had it with my father who had purchased it for me to try while he was on a motorcycle ride. Sometimes context is VERY important. For those who care the wine I speak of was from grapes of the same vines that made the wine Patrick Henry drank the evening of his "give me liberty or give me death speech." I said before on here that I appreciate history.
Jul 12, 2008
Photo of Billolick
Reviewed by Billolick from New York

2.78/5  rDev -3.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5
12 ouncer purchased at the Brattleboro, Vt. food coop (great place to stop for fine food and decent beer if in the area or passing thru) No freshness info to be had. Pours dark muddy amber/medium brown. Musty/earthy nose, little to no head/lace. The huge problem I have with this "Scottish ale" is that it is SOUR. I do get some peaty malt way in the rear, but sour is what comes through and lingers. I like to pick up some sweeter beers to use in marinades/cooking, but this one will not even fit that purpose. After downing a few of these over the weekend in Vermont, and with "drink less-drink better" in mind, the bottle I saved to review ended up being a drain pour
Jun 30, 2008
Photo of TheManiacalOne
Reviewed by TheManiacalOne from Rhode Island

2.55/5  rDev -11.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2
Poured from a 12oz bottle into a US tumbler pint glass.

A: The beer is a light brown color, with a thin off-white head that fades quickly and leaves a thick lace on the glass.

S: The aroma is of creamy chocolate, roasted malts, vanilla and caramel with touches of spice, fruit and hops.

T: The taste is malty with flavors of milk chocolate, vanilla, dark fruit, caramel and bourbon. However the flavors don't seem to blend well together at all and there's a weird bite to it. There's a mild hops presence. The after-taste is slightly sweet.

M: Crisp with a little smoothness, medium body, medium carbonation, finish is slightly sticky.

D: It's flavorful but not very tasty, goes down ok, not too filling, mild kick, not the best representation of style, this is really not a very good beer.
Jun 24, 2008
Photo of JMScowcroft
Reviewed by JMScowcroft from Vermont

1.12/5  rDev -61.2%
look: 1 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1
Look - The usual artwork, no originality, very unattractive container, too rustic and cheap. Pours brown and settles Coca-Cola brown in the glass. Fizzy, cloudy, and barely any head.

Smell - Smells bitter and dark. Alcohol smell permeates.

Taste - Watery and bitter with chocolate or coffee overtones, which I don't think it's supposed to have.

Mouthfeel - Bitter and unpleasant, not at all up to par with this style of beer.

Drinkability - Not drinkable at all.

Trout River seems to be terrible so far, zero for two in my book. Just cheap, shittily made beer, which is surprising for a Vermont beer.
May 02, 2008
Photo of BuckSpin
Reviewed by BuckSpin from Maine

2.84/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3
Presentation: 12oz bottle in a thistle glass

Opened with a nice *psst* and started to slowly foam before I could pour it slow, quiet, a strong surge to it with a nice crackle. Nose is quite light & crisp with rich yet delicate semi-sweet, caramelized malts, some mineral/rocky qualities, a distant spiciness (old cinnamon) in the background adding to the overall levity & sharpness. An insane fat 2 finger's of tight, snappin', softly sculpted buff colored foam resides atop a deep, thick, heavily clouded body of hard crack caramel, the color right before its burnt & your pan is ruined, just gorgeous to look at. Lacing is staccato and random in size & area. This is some serious eye candy!

Much, much lighter on the palate than I was expecting. It has a real tart quality to it. There is a orange crispness from the hops that really lightens the malts and helps to lighten the growing sourness. On the far dry side of semi-dry, and petitioning the zoning board of Crisply Dry for admission, its very effervescent with a noticeable mid-mouth crackle n' crunch.

Underneath all of this are some really nice caramelized malts. However, between the sour & dryness I'm having trouble finding. Its OK but its not what I think of when I think of a Scottish Ale. It does grow softer & thicker on the palate and those poor malts finally get a brief moment to sing (nicely I might add with a brief yet tasty semi-sweet caramel that has a hint of burnt sugar) before finishing with a burst of sharpness & leaving a sour, quasi-lemon aftertaste.

IMHO, not a Scottish Ale. It was OK, enjoyablein its odd, slightly off the radar tartness as far as previous beers, but it is lacking in the qualities that make a fine Scottish Ale. This would be interesting with 2/3s of the carbonation and 1/2 the hops out of it as well as 2x the sugar. Would be nice with some simple fare with a slight zestiness, like a peppercorn encrusted steak or some fish with citrus. An OK beer, but not a very good representative of the genre.
Nov 05, 2007
Photo of tgbljb
Reviewed by tgbljb from Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +38.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Served as a deep reddish-brown colored beer with moderate tannish head.
Smell is loaded with caramel, toffee, and roasted smokey malt.
Taste is also strong on toffee, wirth a nice firm roatsed malt background.
Leave a very sweet (and very enjoyable( taste in the mouth.
A very nice beer. Sound like this one is better on-tap.
Oct 06, 2007
Photo of ppoitras
Reviewed by ppoitras from Massachusetts

2.09/5  rDev -27.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 1
12oz bottle bought as part of a 6-pack somewhere during a Middlebury/Burlington visit. I swore off Trout River awhile back, but saw it and hoped things had changed. We'll see.

Poured into an imperial pint glass, formed a 1 1/2" tan head over the slightly cloudy dark reddish amber brew. Frothy head lasts and lasts, with plenty of dwelling lace. Aroma is light peat and fruitiness. Taste is light maltiness upfront, intense tartness in the middle, which lingers through a chalky close. Mouthfeel was okay, but drinkability reflects the fact that this is beer is something I wouldn't want to revisit again. But since I once in awhile get optimistic, I have five more of these to experience. Seems like I never learn.
May 29, 2007
Scottish Ale from Trout River Brewing Company
Beer rating: 72 out of 100 with 30 ratings