Santa's Swallie
Inveralmond Brewery Ltd., The

Santa's SwallieSanta's Swallie
Beer Geek Stats | Print Shelf Talker
From:
Inveralmond Brewery Ltd., The
 
Scotland, United Kingdom
Style:
Scottish Ale
Ranked #110
ABV:
4.3%
Score:
79
Ranked #37,082
Avg:
3.37 | pDev: 11.57%
Ratings:
33 | reviews: 22
Status:
Active
Rated:
Mar 16, 2023
Added:
Nov 24, 2010
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  1
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Photo of Sigmund
Reviewed by Sigmund from Norway

3.62/5  rDev +7.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Dec. 2010: 500 ml bottle, kindly shared by my beerpal Olav. ABV 4.3%. Deep golden colour, moderate white head. Strong fruity and caramel aroma, also butterscotch. Flavour of malts, toffee and butterscotch. Moderate hops, hints of spices. Nicely balanced, very drinkable.
Mar 16, 2023
 
Rated: 3.42 by hdtrice from England

May 12, 2016
Photo of seedyone
Reviewed by seedyone from New York

3.24/5  rDev -3.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25
From bottle at Home. Funny how the flavor elements yield no aroma to speak of but show up on the tongue in a perverse array of non-array. Label says nutmeg & cinnamon which are usually major players (& spoilers), but when the best before date reads "2372" perhaps it wasn't fully ripe.

There is a bit of rock candy sweetness with a trace of the spices, but the overall seems to be the malt...or maybe that's the last man standing.

They say curiosity killed the cat, but in this case it has put a serious dent in mine. I guess I'll take a harder look at the chapter titled "Nothing ventured..."
Jan 03, 2016
Photo of pat61
Reviewed by pat61 from Minnesota

3.75/5  rDev +11.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
L: Pours cloudy gold amber, under a quickly collapsing sudsy cream colored foam cap that produces excellent lace.
S: Spice, hints of smoke, biscuit.
T: Nutmeg, cinnamon, light malt, hints of caramel.
F: Medium to medium low body, medium low carbonation.
O: Kind of nondescript for a Christmas ale.
May 19, 2015
 
Rated: 3 by esmyth15 from Massachusetts

Dec 15, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by afsdan from Colorado

Oct 09, 2014
Photo of thierrynantes
Reviewed by thierrynantes from France

3.63/5  rDev +7.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Beer bottle (33 cl.) purchased from 20/20 La Chapelle/Erdre, and tasted in 2014.

Appearance : amber golden color, with white foamy head.
Smell : malty and hoppy aromas.
Taste & mouthfeel : malty caramel and hop flavors, with a bitter finish.
Overall : an average beer in the style Bitter
May 21, 2014
Photo of baakabak
Reviewed by baakabak from New York

3.21/5  rDev -4.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25
Pours ruddy gold with a fair amount of slow settling white head.

Scent is light butterscotch, stone fruit, and some bubblegum. Faint nutmeg.

Tastes the same as the nose with some more roasted flavors and spiced cakes.Nominal hops. Finishes slightly bitter. Big yeast

Medium body. Slightly slick.

I expected something far more heavy and assertively spiced given the name and description. You get more of the spice in the nose than on the tongue, and it's still pretty faint. Certainly not bad if you can find it for a deal. The name and label also provide some entertainment value.
Feb 23, 2014
 
Rated: 3.25 by Schmoog from Scotland

Jan 11, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by BillRoth from Maryland

Dec 12, 2013
Photo of TheManiacalOne
Reviewed by TheManiacalOne from Rhode Island

3.59/5  rDev +6.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Poured from a 500ml bottle into a US tumbler pint glass.

A: The beer is a deep gold color, with a short off-white head that fades slowly and leaves a thick lace on the glass.

S: The aroma contains honey, spices, caramelized malts, some fruit and a touch of hops.

T: The taste starts out sweet with strong flavors of spices, caramel and honey. Then a hearty but not too heavy malt character comes in. The hops presence is mild but complementary and brings some balance. The after-taste is slightly sweet.

M: Smooth and a little crisp, medium body, medium carbonation, finish is slightly sticky.

O: A little tasty, goes down ok, not too filling, mild kick, decent representation of style, it’s not a bad beer but there are other beers in the style or other Christmas seasonal that I would choose first.
Jun 04, 2013
Photo of puboflyons
Reviewed by puboflyons from New Hampshire

3.71/5  rDev +10.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
From the 500 ml. bottle, 2012 batch.

The color is copper-amber-orange with a delicate but small off-white head that leaves a little lacing around the glass.

On the nose I get some sweet pale malts, baked bread, and semi dark fruit like cranberries.

It is a creamy medium body.

The taste has a slight citrus sweetness at the start and a low to moderate bitterness capping off the tail side. A likable brew.
Jan 26, 2013
 
Rated: 4.25 by rao2100 from Malaysia

Dec 27, 2012
 
Rated: 3.5 by nquigley16 from Massachusetts

Dec 22, 2012
 
Rated: 3 by MylesMac from Canada (MB)

Dec 04, 2012
 
Rated: 3 by cfalovo97 from Canada (ON)

Nov 13, 2012
 
Rated: 3.75 by t0rin0 from California

Oct 15, 2012
Photo of OtherShoe2
Reviewed by OtherShoe2 from Massachusetts

3.3/5  rDev -2.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Pours light hazy orange with a ring of head. No lace.

Light malt, some floral and honeyed notes.

Watered down, a bit dry. Malt is lean and a bit coarse, but not really bitter. Some light spice and lightly toasted malt. Light bitterness in the end. A light touch of sweetness.

Medium body, a little watery.

Not great. Drinkable, but barely. Needs everything - depth of malt, some booze, complexity.
Jul 05, 2012
Photo of Kromes
Reviewed by Kromes from Georgia

3.23/5  rDev -4.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
A: A light orange color with a chill haze and a thin off white head that laces the glass.

S: A caramel malt with some fruity and earthy qualities and an off-smelling phenol aroma that seems out of place.

T: Not too much flavor, seems watered down, but there are some caramel malt, earthy flavors and plum flavors in there and maybe a little peach. Don't really taste the spices.

M: Thin with low carbonation.

O: Not too bad. Just seems a little watery to me.
Feb 17, 2012
 
Rated: 3 by schopenhauerale from Arizona

Jan 19, 2012