Red Hill Scotch Ale
Red Hill Brewery

 

 

330ml bottle. Best before 30/12/20. Poured into a Tulip glass.
Look: Pours a very dark brown, almost cola coloured, about .5cm of off white head that quickly subsides to next to nothing.
Smell: A little bit of slightly burnt toffee and caramel straight up, some dark fruit, and maybe a touch of herbal hop (but very light).
Taste: I'm not getting heaps here, a little sweetness, a little bit of hop spiciness. Pleasant, but a little underwhelming.
Feel: A little lighter bodied than I was expecting, not much carbonation, rounding bitterness towards the end. But a decent length of flavour.
Overall: This isn't a style I am very familiar with, I found it alright, but

 

An ale style suitable for the bleak north to be found in the hot Down Under is a good change of pace. For that ale to be well-made by an Aussie brewer is worthy of attention.

Comfortably in that category, Red Hill's Scotch Ale is very good. Its copper tone Looks inviting. Its caramelly notes indicate I am in for a treat. Its Taste proves true; balancing the sweet, carmelized malts with just enough hops. (The hops are grown locally, but are native to Britain and the Pacific Northwest... which may be a better approach to appeal to those larger markets.) Mouthfeel is full enough to want more.

I had this with carrot cake, slightly spiced. So, it all went well together. I'd like to find this back in the States.

Listed in the "!001 Beers You Must Taste Before You Die," I want to thank the reviewer for unravelling the mystery of the Aussie tendency to stay below 5% ABV and, IMHO, sacrifice intensity of flavor. The reason is taxes are higher above 5%. (Another example of laws needing an update... but don't get me started.) The reviewer tells the story how Red Hill decided to become hop farmers because of another state law (otherwise, they couldn't open the brewery they had invested in.) Anyway, it has worked out for the community, Red Hill and, despite outdated laws, us BA-types.

 

 

 

Pours a nice reddish brown, but no head or lace.
Aromas of molasses.
Taste is quite watery and sweet, hint sherry, and mouthfeel is real let down, it's watery but over carbonated for style as well.
Not one of Red Hills better offerings.

330ml bottle poured into tulip

L - dark ginger ale colour, pours a thick frothy beige head that eventually settles to 1cm thick

S - slight smokiness to the smell, hazelnut (almost like nutella), funky yeast

T - sweet upfront and right at end, toffee, raisins and brown sugar.

F - overcarbonated for style, watery texture,

O - ok, but didn't really tick off many boxes - too thin and carbonated for scotch ale, not smokey enough for a rauchbier, too sweet for a brown ale.

 

Red Hill are a brewer (out at Mornington Peninsula, Victoria) that I’ve recently enjoyed some fine Ales from at The Durham (Kingston, Canberra) during a Victorian tap takeover. To be honest I find the labels on their bottles totally uninspiring and I never would have bought a bottle if I had seen it in a shop (same with Kooinda for that matter), but now that I have tried this Scotch Ale and I know it’s decent I will get another Red Hill beer in future. Which just goes to show how important good marketing/label design is for a craft brewer.

Poured from tap into a Schooner.

A: Presents a hazy deep ruby body with an off white half centimetre head. Not bad, it definitely benefits from being a tap beer here. 7/10.

S: Aromas are roasted coffee, hints of peat and cardamom, with a big sweet caramel malt base. I’m expecting this to be a fairly sweet Scotch Ale, as many do tend to be. Bog standard for the style apart from the intriguing notes of roasted coffee. 7/10.

T: All of the above is the flavour profile. That sweet caramel base is well done as it doesn’t ruin everything with cloying sweetness. The finish is mildly earthy hop bitterness. It could do with a bit more peat and more complexity but otherwise the flavours are good. 7/10.

M: Excellent medium bodied with a creamy carbonation, again tap rules over bottles in this department. 8/10.

D: In the end Red Hill Scotch Ale is a decent but non-confrontational representation of the style. Personally I would prefer a bit more adventure but I’m nonetheless satisfied with this easy-going Scotch Ale. I’m not so impressed with the price in comparison to Scotch Ales readily available from Scotland, which teeters on far too expensive in comparison, but for a Christmas treat I’m sure this Ale will make it on Santa’s “nice” list. 7/10.

Food match: Christmas pudding might overpower this Ale but a good roast turkey/chicken wont.

I had a 330ml bottle and it is the first time I've had a Scoth Ale. Letting it sit a bit so it's not ice cold but cold to allow flavours to come through.
Appearance: pours a nice clean golden dark brown colour. Off white to browning head that dissipates quickly with little lacing just residual around the rim.
Aroma: I'm getting faint golden syrup aroma and empty pub/stale beer - not saying that as a negative, just what I'm picking up.
Flavour: caramel and toffees, warm alcohol, smooth mouthfeel. Lasting sweet finish from the malts. Very nice style.
Overall: nice style beer, enjoyable. Good malty flavours coming through.

 

Bottle: standard 330mL brown bottle, better than average macro-style label, though I imagine it is actually a craft beer.

Appearance: pours a dark copper with red highlights, with a small head.

Aroma: plenty of different aromas coming through - toffee and caramel, heavy fruits, molasses and spices. Quite complex, and all the better for it.

Taste: definitely malt-driven, with those spices coming through. Quite a jolly drink.

Aftertaste: some bitterness lingers through.

Mouth feel: the mouth feel is moderate in carbonation and body. Quite easy drinking, but perhaps backing off the carbonation would have it more true to style; a slow sipper.

Overall: a lovely scotch ale - good variety of flavours and a great drinkability. The one and only problem I have with it is the AU$96 a case price (2013). A 4-pack every now and then won't hurt though!

 

 

 

 

Chocolate brown with some haze and thin, coffee colour ‘espresso’ head. Sweet bouquet of malts and fruity notes; very appealing. Rich and assertive. Lighter palate weight for the style. Malt flavours thin out somewhat but the chocolate notes do hang around, albeit in a mild fashion. Finishes nicely with a kick of sweetness on the finish. Ultimately needs more ABV to really make this beer work but a decent example of the style at 5.8%.