Scotch Ale - McShagger's Double Ewe
The People's Pint

 

22oz bottle poured into a Harpoon Snifter
No date/info on the bottle other than it is "bottle conditioned for freshness"

A-> Pour yields absolutely zero head and hardly any bubbles at all. Some carbonation slowly appears below the surface but everything remains pretty still. Some agitation creates a ring of weak, large bubbles clinging to the walls of the glass. Dark mahogany in color.

S-> Oh ya. Smell is spot on for a Scotch Ale. Smells of fantastic sweet malts and candied dark fruits, definitely plums and figs? Something else going on here as well...molasses perhaps? Can't quite place it.

T-> Very sweet when it first hits, definitely on point with the nose. Lot of flavor going on here but can't help noticing a thin, watery consistency. A lot of smokiness, sweet sugary dark fruits and roasted malts.

M-> Thin, feels almost watery and a tad on the weak side. Would have liked even a little carbonation as this beer didn't seem to have any at all.

O-> Glad I finally got to try this but worried it might be a bit dated and past its prime. Without any dating/freshness info I fear that it may not even been from this past Fall...For what it's worth though it was bought from the store in a cooler and was put right in the fridge when I got home where it stayed until now. I could also chalk this up to the spring weather not being too conducive to drinking this style but I have enjoyed other Scotch ales recently so...yea...Was expecting more out of this...wouldn't say it was a letdown per se but just thought it would have more depth...

Pours an opaque, yet hazy? brown with a small tan head. Smells of big smoke (for the style) and malt and roast. Maybe a touch of booze as well. The smokiness is really well balanced with the correct amount of sugars, malts and roast. I'm really impressed with the balance on this beer. There is no flavor that really jumps out and hits you over the head, and maybe it is a bit subdued.
Really balanced, medium mouthfeel. The lower carbonation, smooth nature and cool, not cold temperature tastes almost like it's come off cask. I could really slug this down. Very drinkable.
Quite impressed with this beer. I feel like I would drink this fairly regularly if it were anywhere around me.

A: Pours out like a fountain cola with hints of auburn with a slim off white head

S: Rye toast, chocolate, black iced coffee, rock candy.

T: Coffee with lots of cream, plain oatmeal, hint of cocoa powder.

M: Medium bodied and smooth.

D: Easy drinking, lacks depth.

Dark brown with turbid, tawny edges. A very small cap of fine yellow/tan bubbles formed after the pour, settling into a thin collar that stuck around for quite a while. A bit of delicate lacing clung to the glass. The aroma was heavy on malt (toffee, caramel, toasted bread) with a significant amount of roast and a little smokiness. Dark, dried fruit notes (prunes, raisins) appeared as it warmed. Caramel and toffee dominated the flavour, bitterness was present but restrained. Some dried fruit, charcoal, dry cocoa. Full bodied, feels sort of heavy and almost flat due to very low carbonation. There's a silky feel there, but the beer needed to be agitated for the fine carbonation to contribute to the texture. Mild alcohol warmth in the finish. Overall it's a decent beer. I appreciate wanting to keep the carbonation light, but slightly higher carbonation would have aided the mouthfeel.

This 22oz bottle is part of a Christmas gift-bag put together for me by my old friend Artied2. Found no dating or freshness info on the label, but it did indicate an OG of 1074 and an ABV of 7.0%.

Filled a Portsmouth tulip with the liquid gift, the opaque, very dark chestnut brew swirling around and around, trying to create some head. Only a smattering of foam was produced, and the tan bubbles tended to be rim-clingers. There was a touch of lacing left behind here and there. The aroma is inviting, with caramel malty sweetness being most evident. Overall mouthfeel is solid, with a body in the medium-plus range, and a silky smooth feel on the tongue.

Taste checks in with some more caramel sweetness, plus, oddly, some dark fruit characteristics. Gives hints of some raisiny, currant-like action, with the peatiness noted on the label being well restrained and limited to the background. As for hopping, it's there but really in a cameo type role. Some florality comes into play at the finish, to add some balance. Bottom line? Pretty good, though I wish it had more sweetness as well as more smoky, peaty notes. Thnx, Bro!

Prosit, und Frohe Weihnachten!!

3.9
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | drink: 4

1293

People's Pint McShagger's Double Ewe
2008 bottle # 860

A: dark copper brown. Big frothy head comes from a semi vigorous pour.

S: sweet caramel malts, little to no hop presence on this 2008 bottle.

T: smooth sweet malt, dark candy sugar, caramel & toffee notes.

M: nicely carbed and medium/full body.

D: really nice & drinkable on a warm spring afternoon. Great bottle. Alas my last one.

A: A very light fizzy head pops up after an extremely aggressive pour. It fades somewhat quickly too and leaves pockets of large bubbles most likely caused by air getting caught in my heavy pour rather than carbonation. The beer is a hazy dark copper brown with auburn and dark wood colored parts, and hints of light coming through.

N: Sweet smelling, quite sweet actually, with lots of brown sugar, dark brown sugar, syrupy aromas with some molasses, a little caramel, corn sugar, and some malty aromas, a nice malty aroma too with a little roasted, lots of crystal and caramel, and even a little smoked. A light crisp ale aroma as well.

T: Starts somewhat sweet, with lots of more sugars and syrups. Brown sugar starts, not as heavy as I thought, some corn syrup, molasses, etc. There is a lighter slight watery malt flavor too, thinner than I thought for the most part. A little creamy malt flavor too. There is some malty flavors, with lots of crystal and caramel, and touch of porter roast hint of smoked. Although, being 8% it drinks well, hidden by the sweetness and creamy malts. A touch of a fruit flavor too, little fig and raisin. WIth the really low carbonation, it's very flat and that is what I suspect gives that light and watery feel.

M: Medium body, lighter than I expected, and very low almost nonexistant carbonation.

F: Finishes still a little sweet, but dries quite a bit. A slight warming and tingly alcohol finally comes through on the finish, but still light for 8%. A little syrupy sweet sticky feel with more lingering syrupy flavors. A little lingering caramelized brown sugar too, with more malts.

I've had a few of the People's Pint beers now, and I think this is the best so far. A great representation of a Scotch Ale, alcohol hidden well, nice flavors, just missing carbonation and this would be a stellar beer.

What's this? A Scottish ale that smells like... strawberry yogurt? Yes, it's true. Once you get past the headless pour (in keeping with other PP brews, there's almost zero carbonation in this beer) and begin the aroma test, you'll find smokiness, some beef-jerkyishness, some ginger and, yes, strawberry yogurt. You be the judge if this is a good thing or bad thing. I found it pleasantly unusual and even rather floral. The strawberries carry into the taste, as does the smoky stuff. Unfortunately, the whole thing is bit bare because there aren't any bubbles in this beer, not even a few. The folks at PP seem to do this intentionally, as nearly every beer I've had from them is flat. There's some of the typical malty sweetness of this style present, but less than others that I've had. As Scottish ales go, this isn't near the top of my list (Orkney's Skull Splitter is way better, as is Geary's). Still, its unusual nature is worth buying a bottle. It has a nice label, too.

I picked up my bottle at Berman's in Lexington and unlike the picture on the BA page, there is no bottle number. Also, the ABV is clearly listed as 7% and not 8%. I'm thinking that something has changed and this is no longer a limited release. Having read all 20 reviews of the beer thus far, I also believe that my bottle was compromised. There was about zero carbonation and the beer was flat as a board with no head or lacing. Surprisingly, it still tastes pretty good, but the carbonated flatness seriously detracts from the beer that I am envisioning. I will try another bottle just to be certain of my suspicions.

The beer has the sweet flavors of molasses, a definite peaty maltiness, a burnt straw syrupy flavor, dark malts, some caramel as well. I will re-review when I try this beer again.

Bottle #1079, purchased at Liquor World in Cambridge for something close to $9. Shared with the last couple of troopers in Queens Saturday night. Poured into my Yard's mug.

Rich, robust, coffee creamer-colored head. Black/brown oiled body.

Smells of burning hot chocolate, mineral oil, & newspaper ink.

Taste is stiff with whiskey. Oak & charcoal try to back it up, but it all falls flat after just a little peated grain show up. Very bland overall.

Sticky, almost gooey texture. Though not as pleasant as it sounds. Thick & minimally carbed.

A very iffy beer that I was really looking forward to. :|

22oz bottle

Appearance: Black chairy with a tan head that leaves a slight lace as the glass goes down.

Smell: Sweet, with notes of dark fruit and chocolate.

Taste: Roasted malts, distinct chocolately taste. There's an earthiness mixed into the sweet taste. Slight bitterness, but little discernable hops taste. Very true to style, with a great taste.

Mouthfeel: Smooth and creamy, very rich with an enjoyable aftertaste.

Drinkability: Well done.

Pours a dark burgundy/mahogany, topped with a one finger beige head, recedes quickly to a decent covering and also decent lacing. Bottle
#1027

Smells of bread yeast, with faint alcohol, some chocolate, dark fruits, harsh vanilla. No smokiness to speak of so far.

Taste is of cough syrup alcohol, some bitter molasses, light smoke, a nice tangy bitterness, tons of dark malts on this one, very carmelized.

Feel is a bit thin but not too off base, actually I think I prefer it to be thinner this way, if it were much heavier the bitterness would detract from the flavor. I could definately buy this again and give it as extras in trades.

Hope to see more from PP in bottles. Open the pub earlier!!

Solid, thick off-white head. Equally thick lace on the glass. Dark brown color but light does shine through.

Impressive chocolate aroma. Slightly chalky.

The chocolate shows up strong in the taste. If I were blindfolded, I would guess that this is a porter as it has all of the characteristics. This is a dry beer. The body, while full, is not at all syrupy. There is also some notable hop bitterness albeit in the background. The aftertaste is closer to dry cocoa.

Bottle #323

A - the little light that makes it through the body does so as deep crimson shards, its nearly impenetrable, wells up a thin tan head that fades away pretty quick

S - rich and malty; dark sweetness, molasses and dark fruits like dates, plums, or figs; also a resiny/woodiness

T - thinner than expected, rich roasted malts are quite tasty with a fruit like sweetness, less distinct thank in the aroma

M&D - a well crafted scotch ale, smooth and easy down, quenching, fulfilling, the peoples pint continues to impress, i need to get there

picked this up on a whim. I've seen some ISO for this brewery and having had some nice scotch ales lately I thought why not. Bottle #448 of ??

A - dark mahogany colored brew with a nice small offwhite head.
S - light malts, caramel, cocoa and a hint of roasty graings
T - caramel, roasted grain notes, cocoa and a whisp of dark fruits
M - medium full bodied, nice but lower carbonation, smooth and sweet notes.
D - improved as the 22oz bottle went on.

Nice brew but I'm left thinking....

22oz bottle purchased as a single from Spirit Haus, Amherst, MA. Hand-numbered bottle #114.

Poured into an imperial pint glass, formed a minimal 1/8" tan head over the clear burgundy brew. Head is quickly a swirly uneven layer of teensy bubbles, with good lacing. Aroma is sweet malt and tannins. Taste starts sweet, goes slightly fruity in the middle, then the ever-present leathery tannins come on strong in the close. Mouthfeel could only be improved with a bit more bubbles, but they would add a lot, and very good drinkability. Good stuff.

Bottle #84 and boy was I glad to get ahold of this! I had been wanting to try it, so naturally when one shown up at the doorstep, all I could do is smile, served chilled and poured into a pint glass, this one was consumed on 12/08/2008.

Very dark brown pour here, lots of opaqueness with an almost chocolate color brown. Small thin head of tan on top receded quickly and left behind only small amounts of side glass lace, though the color gets points across the board.

Nice sharp, quick and very sweet aroma here. Lots of caramel malts and a nice touch of hops hitting it as well. Intresting notes of candied sugar as it warms and a touch of alcohol. The flavor was rediculous. Super smooth, delicous, and a classic big scotch ale. Rich caramel malts and a luscious and very creamy profile that I was most impressed with I have to say. Very long lasting flavor with touches of herbal hops and a mellow sweetness that lasted long into the night.

This was one of my favorite to date, and definitely my favorite from Peoples Pint. I would drink this one all day and all night, a classic here and I would love to get more of it!

Bottle number 116 purchased at the Spirit Haus. Silky smooth black appearance with thin lacing on the sides. Malty aromas are fancifully light and almost flowery over the drink. A caramel spiced malt flavoring was the main taste I could find. Wonderfully balanced while still maintaining a very malty texture. Light and creamy, allowing it to be a nice sugary drink. Overall, another good one from the People's Pint.

Bomber bottle, "Number 118", from Spirit Haus in Amherst, MA. Pours dark mahogany, minor dark tan head, tiny bubbles , just a trace of lace. Rich caramel, sweet, dark malt nose, the highlight here is the super smooth, luxurious mouth feel. Malt bomb, with layers of caramel, and continued waves of sweet dark malts. Yummy stuff, nicely crafted as shown by that over the top mouth feel. Scotch ale lovers rejoice and go get some of this stuff. Likely my favorite beer from Peoples Pint, another good reason to visit my sister who lives only about 10 minutes away from the brewery/restaurant.