Corncrake Ale
Orkney Brewery

500 ml bottle, from the importer. ABV is 4.1%.Crystal clear / very pale yellow colour, moderate white head. Grassy and floral aroma, hints of honey. Light bodied. Fairly refreshing and dry flavour with decent hops throughout.. An acceptable summer ale.

Cask pint at The Grill, Aberdeen. 4.1% ABV. Golden colour, white head. Moderate aroma, a hint of fruity hops. Zesty and fruity flavour, much better than the bottled version. Decent bitterness.

Clear, golden bronze with a white head that quickly dissipates.

Aroma of orange zest and biscuity malt.

Earthy-orange hop flavour, a bit of biscuit and caramel, mild fruit esters (apple and pear?), hint of diacetyl, modest bitterness.

Light body with a modest carbonation.

Despite living in Scotland I much prefer my home country English Ales, however now and again I find a Scottish beer that both refreshes and is what is says on the bottle. This is a classic Pale Ale as opposed to IPA with dry hops and malt. Easily drunk and not to strong for a session drink. One downside its a seasonal beer and not hardy enough for the Hebridean Winters. But I am a Unionist - the Union of Highland Malts and English Ales and Bitter.

 

 

on cask in an imperial pint glass. golden, white head, good lacing. mild aroma. some biscuit, earthy mild hop flavors in the taste. nice mouthfeel from the cask serving

500 ml bottle with a BB date stamp of July 2016.
Pours with a gold-amber tone and a small head that soon reduces to a ring but manages to leave spotty lacing.

Mild aroma with about equal contributions from light malts and spicy hops.

Flavor: more flavorful than usual for style as is most obvious in the finish and aftertaste that feature bready wheat and barley malts with a well proportioned addition of hops.

Feel: medium-light body; medium+ carbonation; crisp.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Straw coloured beer with a decent white head from bottle with freshness date eight months away. The nose is mostly lemony and perhaps a tad grassy. Fresh lemon flavour, starting somewhat sweetly but becoming more bitter. Increasing caramel element the more I drink. Neither bold nor bland, a decent refreshing beer for a rare warm summer evening like this one.

Supped this at the Old Inn, Gairloch.

L- pretty sound light ale with a frothy head that stayed put for half the pint.
S - got some sweet hops but feint
T - faint flowery hop and sweet malt, which grew on me as I sunk it. No wow factor but good enough to have two or three.
M - disappointing at first, something flattish about the condition may be. But by the end of the glass seemed irrelevant.
O - a nice pint I can say no more.

 

On cask at the brewery. A blond gold in colour, some light soapy lacing.

S - crisp biscuity malt, light florals, malty notes and apple with some earthy character, aromatic and mild.

T - crisp maltiness, fruity with a dry finish, some berry and fruity sweetness coming through.

M - crisp, light, very sessionable.

An easy drinking session ale that is quite tasty and grows on me as it disappears, straightforward and not too exciting though.

Served in a pint glass at the Whey Pat in St Andrews. From notes. Reviewed 25 May 2011.

A: Incredibly light yellow (piss-pale). Light head and decent lacing. I hope it tastes better than it looks.

S: Creamy, citrusy, and fruity sweet.

T: Light and fresh. Hoppy, with fruity malts. Citrusy-soft. The aftertaste is light and lightly bitter. Generally pleasant.

M: Round and more than decent.

O: A good beer, but rather boring. Not recommended. I probably wouldn't have again. Still, good effort.