Jenny's Scottish Ale
Skagit River Brewery

 

 

 

 

Review from 4/2010 notes. Poured into a Gulden Draak tulip. Pours a hazy orange amber with a one finger off-white head and light lacing. Nice sweet malt and light fruit aroma. Fruit and malt up front with a peaty finish. Some caramel flavors and a wool blanket hint from the peat that I really liked. A nice balanced mixture. Another winner from Skagit.

 

Deep mahogany with a tan frothy head with little retention and uneven lacing. Peaty and smokey aroma. Big peat and smoke up front with hops becoming more prominant. Peat and smoke return as the beer warms. There is a light hop and alcohol finish. Good carbonation with a robust mouthfeel.

Hmm... I picked this up for only 3 bucks when I had it on-tap. This seems almost like a completely different beer. Either they are inconsistant in their brewing, my tastebuds are sorely confused, or it's just the difference between tap and bottle. All three are entirely plausible. I wasn't even going to review it considering I just did it on-tap but considering the difference, what the hell. The hops are definitely more present and the mouthfeel is much better but this tastes more like a good scotch flavored ale while ontap tasted more like an ale flavored scotch. Ah well, it's still good!

Poured into 10oz glass. Poured a nice coppery-brown color with a tan head that had moderate retention and lacing. The aroma was very nice, a good blend of malt, peat and smoke.

The taste wasn't as peaty as the led me to expect and the smoke flavor wasn't overpowering, and all the flavors blended together nicely. The body was very good for the style, full and rich, without being heavy. Drinkability was very good, considering that this is one of my least favorite styles.

Overall, this is a very good example of the style. Worth seeking out.

Skagit prints this advice on all their bottles: Refrigerate or your beer will die! I opted to simply drink the stuff the day after purchasing this Scottish ale at the brewery.

Jenny begins with a sweet, fruity aroma of melon and plum. Search for it, and there's also a slight fragrance suggestive of woolen blankets hinting at the peat malts that feature so prominently in the taste. When you do take that first sip, the peat is profound. Jenny certainly reaches to the limits of peat malt tolerance, though the abundant fruitiness gives a balanced counterpoise. The body is a sensuous maroon whose intended clarity is marred by suspended yeast flocs dodging an indefatigable carbonation.

A fine ale we might hope to see more of.

"My philosophy of dating is to just fart right away."

--Jenny McCarthy

Equal parts orange, cherry and bronze with bright tangerine highlights. Beer exited bottle in an especially creamy fashion, creating an expansive, attractive, whipped, fluffy, golden beige crown in the process. Fine sheets of shotgun-blasted lace are pleasing to the eye.

The nose isn't as engaging as it could be. It isn't bad, though, and has the earthy caramel nuttiness that it needs to be above average. No smoky peat is disappointing, but then few Scottish ales go that route anyway.

Skagit Valley Highland Games & Celtic Festival Jenny's Scottish Ale has to be one of the longest names in craft beer history. The good news is that it's a crackerjack Scottish ale that has more flavor than most 5.5% versions of the style. We aren't talking wee heavy, but there's plenty of malty goodness to go around.

Lightly sweet caramel-toffee is complemented by toasted pecans, earthy tobacco, a hint of cocoa and a figgy fruitiness. There is a bit of tanginess, but it doesn't taste peat-like. Subtle hop bitterness keep things from being overly sugary and hop flavor is on the low end (as it should be). Good job Skagit River.

Subsequent pours regenerate the head in impressive fashion, which *almost* earns the appearance score a bump. The mouthfeel is more than respectable for the style and the ABV. Bigger is almost always better, but that's why the wee heavy style exists. Come to think of it, Jenny's Scotch Ale is something that SRB should seriously consider. Seriously.

Although it doesn't knock the outrageously hoppy Sculler's IPA off my 'most favored Skagit River brew' perch, Jenny's Scottish is damn fine ale that does this brewery proud. Thumbs up.

Appearance: Pours a slightly hazy amber color with a thick and sturdy head that sticks with the best of 'em and leaves clumps of lace

Smell: Caramel malt dominates but lacks the peaty element I seek in a Scottish

Taste: This has a nice caramel malt backbone but, as one might expect from a west coast beer, there are a bunch of hops in here that make their presence known; as a result, it comes off almost as a cross between and amber and a Scottish, with a balanced, somewhat bitter fruity aspect along with the malty flavors

Mouthfeel: Medium body with moderate carbonation

Drinkability: It is easy to drink and reasonably enjoyable, just not what I was expecting

Thanks, riversideAK (from the other site), for the opportunity

From notes. Pint served at Skagit River's brewpub.

This was a reddish brown color, with an inch of off-white foam that dropped fast. Not much lace.

This beer had a very malty scent, with just a hint of peat and smoke. Faint, floral hoppy scent way in the background.

The taste is like the smell. This is a malty beer, but it's not a sugary malt bomb. It's a restrained example of the lighter end of the style.

Medium bodied, with a somewhat low carbonation. Works for the style.

A very sessionable beer, but not one I'd be particularly drawn to seek out, either. Not a big flavor bomb, and not particularly memorable, but it would make a good pitcher choice at the brewpub or wherever else this is on-tap.

Poured from a 22 oz. bottle to a standard pint glass. The plaid label honors the bagpipe-playing Scotsman and the Highland Games & Celtic Festival. Along the side is a dire warning: "REFRIGERATE OR YOUR BEER WILL DIE!" Aye, that it will, laddie...

A: A semi-clear auburn orange, the haze is faint but does blur my fingers through the glass. Plenty of carbonation rises to a creamy tan head, which rose to around 2-fingers at first, then settled at around 1/4" of denseness.

S: Smells of sweet fruit, especially raisins and plums. Very sugary and malty in the nose, with hints of caramel and a dry doughy yeast.

T: Starts with caramel, peat, hints of smoke and lightly spiced sweetness; quickly develops a tangier, hoppier spice. Never quite bitter, but definitely a sharper, more intensely-hopped Scottish than I'm entirely comfortable with. Still, the idea of a more citrus/spice NW-hoppped version grew on me, and I wound up enjoying the balance in this beer in the end.

M: A medium-full mouthfeel with gentle but persistent carbonation. Carries with both some stickier sweetness on the lips and a hop bittering lingering on the back of the tongue. Interesting, albeit a variance of the more malty & sweet 'traditional' version...

D: Hmmm, a tougher call. Enjoyable, but with some caveats. I would drink this again, but it's not going to be one I recommend as the epitome of the Scottish Ale style. Take it as a NW twist on the style, if you will...

Pours a two finger light tan head that fades slowly leaving some lace. Nice deep amber color. Light carbonation and medium bodied. Raisin nose. Starts almost sweet with a bitter chocolate flavor, mild hoppy finish. $3.99 for a 22oz bottle from John's Market Place Tigard, Or.

Reddish hue to the brown pour. Nice finger's worth of head. Nose is big and rich. I get rummy caramel. Taste is at first brown sugar flavored soda, followed by caramel, and a sweetish corn taste that for some reason makes me think of corn pops. Clean finish. Mouth is medium bodied. I could drink this again. Pleasant.

Very fruity and estery nose. Brown sugar smelling malt effects. A little bit of diacetyl that comes of as butterscotch.

Reddish brown and very clear but very low head that fades to nothing after a minute. A little bit of rising carb.

Flavor is very malty, almost sweet but there's just enough bittering hops to keep it dry. Lots more of the fruity and estery yeast character that I get in the aroma is here in the flavor too. There's a hint of buttery diacetyl on the back end and aftertaste but it's pretty low level and adds a little more complexity.

Nice medium-full body with good light carbonation. Feels a little like a "real ale" even though its coming from a keg.

Nice example of the style with it's malty complexity and low hops.

The 2006 release of this beer just came out, and, seeing as how I love the Highland Games, I figured I had to bring one home from the store. Pours a garnet color with ruby highlights, topped by a half-inch of creamy off-white head that subsides to just a stubborn, creamy sheen on top. Good carbonation keeps on coming. Aroma of sweet caramel malt, a touch of peat, and maybe a little bit of heather. Palate is nice and mild - sweet malt, a bit of smoke, just a hint of bourbon whisky, and a little bit of oak. Body is smooth and creamy. I usually don't find Scottish ales to be the most drinkable offerings, but this one is quite agreeable. I'm a fan.

Appearence - Poured a dark amber with a 1 inch creamy head.

Smell - Smells malty and earthy. Really quite pleasing, scent reminds me of something I would enjoy camping or in the wilderness somewhere.

Taste - Tastes fairly malty, not much hop presence, some hints of chocolate in the taste.

Mouthfeel - Smooth, kind of a nice bitter finish.

Drinkability - This is a beer I could session. Really nice to drink, and not too heavy. All in all a great beer for the price I paid.