Original Oak Aged Beer
Innis & Gunn

 

At my lady Pamela's house; bottled and slightly chilled, 330mL in a pint glass. From my favourite LCBO at Tecumseh Mall in nearby Windsor. No date stamp or lot number. My 8th beer from the Edinburgh, Scotland brewery, and 3rd for 2026. Adored by Gracie the cat, with love...

 

 

 

 

 

Can bought from LCBO. Now made in Canada and not Scotland. Pours an amber copper color. Nice white foam head. Keeps foam for the whole drink. Vanilla extract aroma with a bit of cardboard. A little bit of clove. Lots of vanilla flavoring. Maybe even too much. So much that it's a little unusual for me and I'm wondering if they added vanilla flavoring to the beer, or even oak chip flavoring.
WELL INNISS AND GUNN HAS A HISTORY OF LYING OR FALSY CLAIMING THEIR BEER IS BARREL AGED WHEN IT IS NOT, so I don't know what to think. Either way, the flavor is too much for me overall and it's like eating a chocolate ice cream fudge cake, 1 piece is enough. It's very rich.
I've had some barrel aged beers before and this is a little more intense.

You get some whisky flavors too but without the alcohol.

Not necessarily my style but nice to try something new.
Kind of like how Guinness is way better in Ireland, I'm wondering how much of a difference this beer is in Scotland.
Won't pick up again.

16.9 oz. can poured into nonic
(best-by December 2025)

L: orange, mostly clear with a thick creamy head of offwhite foam about 1 1/2-inch tall; super sticky and some lacing on the way down; there's a slight haziness to the beer... I'd call it 80-90% clear and it appears to be clearing more as it settles in the glass

S: peach kolache, caramel ... very malty and bready with nice hints of fruit

T: malt bomb with peach, apricot, cantaloupe rind combining with a little earthy hop bite

F: midweight, full and crisp

O: fantastic British-style ale with the malt all but dominating the hops; at times it feels like it wants to be overly sweet, but it never is ... there's just enough bitterness from the earthy hops to keep the bready, malty, fruity sweet notes from going overboard; I generally love every style in the British pale ale family, but if I'm honest, this may be the first Scottish ale that's knocked my socks off ... it tastes like a perfectly made English strong ale, no peat/smoke and no overly earthy flavors; bonus: they put a best-by date on the bottom of the cans, and this may be my new go-to U.K. import in part b/c of that BB date

Fairly smooth but has that alc burn. Good for its style but not my style.

Not my type of beer, but very interesting! Good for a one and done.

 

 

 

 

 

11.2 oz bottle enjoy by date June 2024 into a tulip glass.
L: SRM 4 Pours 99% clear rich glowing caramel color with very good steady carbo bubbles, a thin soapy off-white head that goes to a thin froth, light random lacing.
S: Lightly peated caramel malts, very lightly floral, vanilla, toffee, a light woody booze barrel note.
T: Sweet toasty fruit bread notes, buttery caramelized malts, dried fruits, raisins, dates, citrus, plum, a hint of smoke, toasted grains, has a zesty lingering finish. It is mildly full-flavored and has a nutty oaken wooden cask halo.
F: Brisk medium bodied feel with a medium-long drying finish. Becomes lightly creamy with warming.
O: Very delicious with a toasty character. It is wood cask-like in palate and smooths out with a little warming. Sweet tastes and whiskey barrel notes are all around this fine beer. It has been under rated and IMHO it is outstanding in its style.

 

 

The weakest colored Scottish ale I've try up til now.
Label says Whiskey Cask Matured. Not picking that up very much.
Quite malty though.
Easy to drink.
Overall I should have paid closer attention to the label. After al says Scottish Golden Beer. Not Scottish Ale. But not bad.