Mckulick Scottish Red Ale
Liquid Art

 

First had: on tap at ?

Dammit, where did I have this? Possibly Pinocchio's? Oh well. Poured into a nonic, a dark, murky mahogany with a foamy tan head that receded to a patchy layer. Decent lacing. Lots of toasty caramel malts in the aroma, and not much else. Leaning more towards the "red ale" side than the "Scottish ale" side, as I expect more of a boozy aroma and taste in the latter, but this brew was pretty tame in that regard, having only 5.8%. A little bit of dark fruit in the aroma also, and some smoked wood. Taste is similar to the nose, with caramel malts in the foreground, and hints of raisin and smoked wood coming through. Little hops to speak of, but there is an underlying bitterness present, more apparent towards the end. Medium mouthfeel, with a little film left in the mouth near the end. Pretty drinkable, though I doubt I'll ever see it again.

Served in a shaker pint glass. Glass of cold water on the side to sip from periodically.

Appearance: As served the beer is a dark mahogany color with a ½" light tan head that recedes visibly as I watch. Eventually the head settles into a thin layer of foam on the surface of the liquid and leaves some scattered patches of foam and leggy lacing on the sides of the glass. Even to the end of the beer the thin layer of foam persists and sipping continues to leave patches of foam and scattered spots of lacing.

Smell: The aroma is dominated by a rich complex dark caramel malt character but in the background there is some smoky character as well

Taste: As expected from the nose, the flavor has slightly bitter, spicy and smoky undertones from the malt and hops but again is dominated by dark caramel flavor from the complex malts.

Mouthfeel: The mouth feel is medium bodied and smooth with persistent carbonation. The finish is reasonably long and is a nice mixture of the dark caramel blended with the smoky flavor and faint hop bitterness. Eventually the sweetness of the caramel fades, then the smoke and bitterness are gone, leaving behind a light soft dryness.

Drinkability: As Scottish Ales go this a reasonably good one. I enjoyed each sip and often one sip led to another. This s a nice offering from a relatively new small brewery and I'm looking forward to finding and sampling more of their beers. I certainly would be willing to have this one again the next time I find it to sample.