Sir Barnaby Strut's 90 Shilling Scotch Ale
Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery

Sir Barnaby Strut's 90 Shilling Scotch Ale: This was a very well made brew, and was available on Cask at the Map Room in Chicago. It was well poured, and at slightly cooler than cellar temperature, but quickly warmed up. Presented in a typical pint glass, it was a murky brown, with not a lot of head, but what there was stayed with a vengeance. Each sip left a thick Irish Ring of foam down the side of the glass.

The aroma was pleasant, sweet, but with that earthy aroma that is typical for a cask brew.

The taste was extremely sweet, in fact a bit to much for your author’s liking (but I’m not a big fan of Scotch Ales all that much anyway). Malts were dominant, and reminded me mostly of cinnamon bread with raisins dipped in maple syrup. A bare wisp of hoply goodness was noted toward the finish, helping mostly to clean up the palate and to avoid this beer becoming to cloying. If you are a malt monster, this may be your brew.

The ale was very smooth and creamy, with very little carbonation. Upon reflection, this may be better on regular tap (at least for me) because the cask presentation perhaps encouraged the sweetness to linger a little longer than I’d have liked.