The Lairds Liquor
Traquair House Brewery

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Poured from a 33cL bottle into a BrewDog cervoise glass. My bottle reads Laird's Legacy. Close to a year old.

A: light, bubbly tan head. Clear auburn-brown. Pretty.

S: Raisins. Belgian yeast? Interesting. Dry and spicy.

T: Roasted malt and tart fruit. Carmelized sugar. Still, lightly bland. Touch of beeriness.

M: burnt sugar and smooth watery.

O: Not the most impressive beer, but pleasant enough. Now that I've had one, I don't intend to seek it out again, but not Traquair beer is worth turning down.

 

 

Pours a nice burgundy color with a large fizzy off white head almost showing crimson notes. Fades into it's topper quickly leaving no lace.

Nice peat smoky notes at the front with toffee, caramel, spice, and hints of meat lying underneath, green bell pepper, with a licorice ester rounding things out.

Nice soft rounded beer with moderate carbonation. That green pepper from the aroma is at the forefront of the palate but fades into gamey malts, butterscotch and caramel, peat smoke, settles on the finish with earthy and spicey flavors mingling. Overall a nice beer, sligh residual sugars keep this and easy drinker as well.

33cl bottle poured aggressively into a shaker pint glass.

BBE Jun 2010

A- Dark mahogany body with excellent clarity. 2 finger creamy head, excellent lacing and moderate head retention

S- Paprika, chargrilled meat note, mild peatyness. What an odd aroma!

T- Smokey note hits first, chargrilled meat is hinting again. A touch of biscuit malt sweetness.Tea like sweetness/dryness lingering in the finish.

M- Low carbonation, medium body, slightly chewy

D- What an odd beer! Scottish ale? Not so sure! Flavour profile didnt really fit! I can imagine it would be brilliant with a burger though! Enjoyable enough and the different flavour profile definitely kept me interested!

Thanks to bu11zeye for sharing this bottle.

The beer pours an amber color with a white head. The aroma has the toffee and biscuit malt you expect in a Scottish Ale, but there is also a little bit of green pepper in the aroma. It is not smoke like you would get from peet, but rather the aroma of roasted peppers.

The pepper is present in the flavor as well. In addition to the pepper I also get some toffee, yeast and a light peet presence. Everything works well except for the pepper notes which don't jive with the other flavors.

Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation. I think this could be a very good beer, but the pepper notes are keeping me from rating it higher.

Let it breathe. Let it warm up.

Color is perfect butterscotch, apple-butter brown. Just the right cloudiness.

Coffee, Cocoa, Malty, Burnt sugar, heathery.

Perfect carbonation (if you like them less fizzy like me) alcohol level is overt and felt at every point. Mildly sweet aftertaste.

Flavor is an excellent demonstration of the style, but thinner than it could be. An easy all-night drinker, mouthfeel is smooth and creamy.

Overall, one of the better Scotch Ales available in the US. NOTE: US craft brewers take a lesson - THIS is what Scotch Ales should taste like. Guess what it doesn't taste like - freaking HOPS!

330ml bottle bought from York Beer & Wine, York

Poured a deep dark russet brown colour... creamy mocha head poured small but tight, thick and foamy then faded fairly quickly to patchy wispy covering with thick edging... some light strands of lacing...

Aroma - Lots of treacle sweetness mixed with dark fruits (prunes, fig and raisins), very woody (oak) and earthy, lots of liquorice, toasted bread, some red berry fruitiness, faint cinnamon spice, lots of sweet almond nuttiness, some dark chocolate, some traces of peaty smoke...

Tastel... Toffee, rich fruits (figs, prunes, date, some raisins also), rum, some light peat smokiness comes through after the sweetness, strong anise, almond nuttiness, toasted bready malts, some light medicinal notes, some soy...

Feel - Rich and smooth... medium / full bodied...Drinkability is pretty decent although it might become too sweet after more than bottle...

Overall - A very fine brew... recommended.

Pours a deep amber/ blondish color, with a small white head. In the aroma, licorice, anise, and a malty caramel. In the taste, sweet peat, malty, and small licorice hint. Smooth and medium bodied mouthfeel with a dry caramel like aftertaste. Smooth and dry, and a nice sipper even if it is 6%.

A: Pours a clear dark reddish/brown color. At first a two finger beige head forms, but recedes in a minute. Light lace is left behind.
S: Toasted malt, and sweet toffee up front. Peat and smoke is very welcoming. Lots of dark fruits of plums, cherries, and raisins. A nutty almond aroma lingers on as this warms up. Really complex and inviting.
T: Follows the nose. A toasted malty treat. Sweet toffee, smoke, and peat again. Dark fruits, and a great nutty almond flavor that is very unique.
M/D: A medium to full body. Low on the carbonation. Cream and smooth. Really easy to drink. The bottle is gone in no time, and I wish the bottle would not end.

This is excellent. So complex. Traquair is the standard in making Scottish Ales, and this is why. A world class beer from a world class brewery. Highly recommended.

A very classic and gentlemanly Scottish Ale. Bold on flavor but the body is quite light and sessionable for a malt-forward beer.

The rusty, dusty haze of brown malt give the first impressions while the creamy sheet of foam gives just a bit of life to the lowly carbonated beer. Off white, the head reduces to a lace arround the glass and leaves slight evidences of lace on the glass. A classic cask ale-like look.

Aromas of brown malts, light chocolates, nuttiness, toast, and wood decororate the nose. No real hop presence but the malts (along with a light vinous note) provide more than enough complexity for the aromas.

Flavors obviously favor the malts: richly constructed of toffee, soft caramels from kettle caramelization, and a subtle berry/woodsy/peppery twang that caught me by surprise. Light on smoke phenols, the beer only takes on a slight peated character. The peppery phenols almost taste like chipotle. And, the woodsy/vinous flavor takes a light red wine character into the finish.

Medium up front but still, the beer lightens considerably without watering. All leading to a very smooth, soft, and light finish. I wouldn't call it refreshing, but sessionable definately enters the picture.

A great example of a Scottish Ale. Where the beer's specifics probably land it in the /-70 range, it drinks much more like a /-60.

Appearance - pours a dark iced-tea color. A thin covering of light tan foam rests above.

Aroma - a faint whiff of licorice and a distant note of metal.

Taste - a roasted grain start with a malty sweetness is further flavored with mild licorice. A subtle bite of hops on the swallow, nicely complementing the beer's sweetness to this point. A lengthy aftertaste, more licorice emerging with warmth. Ends with a cozy, dry bitter edge and a clean malty warmth.

Mouthfeel - nice smoothness, medium body and carbonation.

Drinkability - a pricy beer to session at $5.50 per 12-ouncer. I enjoyed, but there's plenty of more affordable around as good or better.