McEwan's Champion
The Caledonian Brewing Company

McEwan's ChampionMcEwan's Champion
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From:
The Caledonian Brewing Company
 
Scotland, United Kingdom
Style:
Scotch Ale / Wee Heavy
Ranked #118
ABV:
7.3%
Score:
85
Ranked #21,466
Avg:
3.75 | pDev: 13.87%
Reviews:
54
Ratings:
96
Status:
Active
Rated:
Feb 13, 2024
Added:
Aug 24, 2003
Wants:
  5
Gots:
  22
No description / notes.
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Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by AEK:
Photo of AEK
Reviewed by AEK from Wales

4.33/5  rDev +15.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
500ml brown bottle poured into a Gordon's Thistle glass.

A. Autumnal red in colour. A nice thick lightly tanned bubbly head sits above and it doesn't say 'goodbye' too soon.

S. Vine fruit and brandyish notes dominate the nose.

T. Lovely and bitter although some malt sweetness emerges. Rich with hints of port, the alcoholic warmth soon bites.

M. Smooth and almost heavy.

D. A delicious strong ale from Scotland. Strange how this is Gordon's Scotch Ale that is brewed for the Belgian market but the %ABV has been lowered from the 8.5% ABV for Belgium to 7.3% for the British market. Although the alcohol content has been lowered it is still a warming beer, great for sipping on a cold evening as it is today even though it is almost June!!
May 29, 2010
More User Ratings:
Photo of BurtonRed
Rated by BurtonRed from England

2.29/5  rDev -38.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1.75 | overall: 2
Too bitter and tastes even stronger than its abv, rank
Feb 13, 2024
 
Rated: 4.25 by dymott from England

Dec 08, 2023
 
Rated: 4.05 by GedH from England

Nov 15, 2023
Photo of StevieH
Rated by StevieH from England

4.77/5  rDev +27.2%
look: 5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
One of my favourite ales. Absolutely delicious, strong and certainly full bodied.
Dec 26, 2022
 
Rated: 3.96 by hopley from Massachusetts

Oct 07, 2022
Photo of stevoj
Reviewed by stevoj from Idaho

3.13/5  rDev -16.5%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25
500ml bottle from Tesco. Dark, clear amber, patchy off-white head. Toasty, malty aroma, mild sweetness. Taste is very sweet, malty, tannins, woody, raisins.
Feb 13, 2022
Photo of JackieTheKingOfCraft
Reviewed by JackieTheKingOfCraft

3.86/5  rDev +2.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25
A nice strong beer with a smoked porter flavour profile. This is a little like Old Peculiar sans the treacly stickiness. It has a very deep verging on a dark obsidian to ruby colouration. This is a strong one and can only be drank 1 to 2 cans at a time if you get it in a pack of 4. However I would recommend buying this in bottle form as I got gassed drinking only 3 cans of 4.

If u are having a Chinese take-away the sweetness of the food should help get rid of the cloying flavour.
Oct 14, 2021
Photo of Ushouldbeworkinh
Rated by Ushouldbeworkinh from England

3.92/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.5
2021/04/19
Apr 19, 2021
Photo of Robinshutedrums
Reviewed by Robinshutedrums from England

3.48/5  rDev -7.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
Dark brown in colour. Smells of fruits and malts. Flavours are traditional English strong beer and slight dark fruits. Not a world beater but for £1.80 it's a great buy.
Feb 21, 2021
 
Rated: 4.73 by ScrewyLoops from England

Apr 22, 2020
Photo of James94
Reviewed by James94 from England

4.03/5  rDev +7.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
L: Reddish amber, with decent lacing and head
S: Vanilla, malts, rich fruitiness
T: Vanilla, toffee, rich roasted maltiness
F: Has become more drinkable for me personally over the years. For its ABV its quite refreshing and well-balanced.

O: 4
Dec 28, 2019
Photo of InosukeHashibira
Reviewed by InosukeHashibira

3.48/5  rDev -7.2%
look: 4 | smell: 2.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Relatively strong ale from Scotland, strong taste with a hint of the sharpness of a strong cheddar crossed with a Guinness but lacking the bitterness of Guinness, unusual nose with a hint of smelly sock mixed with floral notes.

A good strong beer that would go nicely with a cheese sandwich or beef.
Dec 21, 2019
Photo of Luvpeev
Reviewed by Luvpeev

5/5  rDev +33.3%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
Wow..7.3 %..this beers taste about 4.5% ..iv just discovered this gorgeous ale from Tesco superstore in Nottingham 4 bottles for £6 ..
It's truly a nice drinkable tasty beer made by guys who defo know there oats ..!!
Nov 13, 2019
Photo of TheDoctor
Reviewed by TheDoctor from Canada (QC)

3.14/5  rDev -16.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Serving: Bottle
Best Before: Aug-30-2020 (Consumed Sep-26)


Pours a clear caramel reddish brown, with a finger plus of tan head. Good retention, sheets of lacing. The aroma is toasty and a touch sharp, caramel malts, some light fruitiness. The flavor follows with a slight sharpness from the malt and the relatively high ABV, toast, dirty water. It is a little thin with some alcohol warmth and active carbonation. This is an okay beer. It is nice looking. The aroma and flavor are ok but overall it has a sharpish, boozyish, astringentish sort of character that takes away from every other aspect. Neither terrible nor great.

4.25...3.25...3...3...3
Oct 08, 2019
Photo of Spike
Reviewed by Spike from England

4.43/5  rDev +18.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
500ml bottle.
L: Very dark chestnut with ruby edging. Thin, off-white head recedes to a cap but leaves sheets of lacing.
S: Rich & sweet. Molasses & black cherry.
T: Follows the nose. Dark treacle, dates, some smoke and a bitter finish. Alcohol is evident.
F: Full bodied, very rich & long-lasting mouth coating, light carbonation.
O: A delightfully warming but drinkable ‘wee heavy’ on a freakishly cold & damp summer day. Lovely mouthfeel and a strong, malty flavour. Not sure why this beer doesn’t get better reviews. Maybe because it doesn’t hide its alcohol? Maybe because it’s being reviewed as a regular ale rather than a Heavy. Maybe because McEwan’s has changed ownership so many times? Regardless, I think it’s a boozy classic of the style (for just £2 a bottle!).
Jun 15, 2019
Photo of JonnoWillsteed
Reviewed by JonnoWillsteed from England

3.94/5  rDev +5.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Bought today in Sainsbury's in west London. It was inexpensive/£1.70 and new to me so I didn't study the lable details closely. Hence I'm surprised to see it's 7.3% ABV.
L- Very dark chestnut brown, clear, and pours with a 1Cm pale tan head that is holding up well.
S- Unsurprisingly toasty
T- Deeply roasty-toasty grains and deep rich malts. Some coffee notes as well. The alcohol-tang is self-evident; no mistaking this is quite a beast.
F- The 7.3% gives a deep puddingy feel, as in the deep fruit richness in a traditional Xmas pudding.
O- Well well well. I'm no fan of the original/regular McEwan's but this is something else entirely. It might make an ideal winter/Xmas beer. It is pretty rich too and given the ABV% I would limit how much of this I had in a night to one or two.
BB 30/11/19. 500ml bottle. Apparently the name 'Champion' derives from it having 'won the Tesco bottled beer competition in 1997'. Yes I'd buy this again; it's an obvious choice for fans of heavier ales, and at £1.70/500ml...!
Nov 28, 2018
 
Rated: 3.87 by Neilos from England

Sep 15, 2018
 
Rated: 3.59 by Sexmortus from Arizona

Aug 06, 2018
 
Rated: 4 by Rymish from Colorado

Jun 20, 2018
McEwan's Champion from The Caledonian Brewing Company
Beer rating: 85 out of 100 with 96 ratings