70 Shilling Scottish Ale
Two Kilts Brewing Co.

Handsome clear coppery amber brew with plenty of foam, but it dissipates before too long. Fizzy mouthfeel, though. Modest appley aroma with More tangy and less sweet that common for this style. A bit winey and woody in the aftertaste.

There is just a touch of fruity smoke flavor. Roast malt flavors with just a touch of caramel. The astringency in the aftertaste, like plum skins, is a surprise. Light body. From the 22 oz bottle purchased at Platypus in Bend.

 

 

 

 

Pint & 6 bottle, semi-aggressive pour into a pint glass, yielding a three-finger head, but this dissipated into a very thin head after about a minute in the glass. Plenty of carbonation. Rich amber colour, maybe a bit dark compared to other Scottish ales, but still holds the light well. Hop-first aroma, but also has scents of cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, apple, and some other dark fruits. A clove and lightly roasted malt taste permeates this beer, which is indicative of the Scottish ale style, as well as a caramel taste. You can feel the carbonation on your tongue with this beer if you let it linger for a while, and this also brings out a plum/dark fruit flavour.

This beer is not as hoppy as some other Scottish ales I have had, but it balances its flavours well. The finish is a little weak, but still an immensely enjoyable beer. I would drink this again, and am anxious to try the rest of the line-up from Two Kilts.

Appearance- Pours up a good amount of head which appears to have excellent retention. The head is a light tan/light beige while the body is a hazy, dark amber which appears as a medium to dark amber when held up to the light. The lacing at the moment tends toward sheeting.

Nose- Starts off with lots of caramel which has some hints of toffee and vanilla. Hints of brown sugar and molasses. Nice and inviting but a little bit one dimensional. Shows some hop notes with some sour orange that has a tiny notion of cat piss (in a bad way). Swirling doesn't show much more.

Taste- Starts off very sweet and sour and instead of the caramel notes from the nose that I liked, there's this weird tang. Some citrus, sour and tangy raisin with no real bready malts to balance the fruit out. Breadiness seems to be more of a rye variety. Fairly thin for a Scotch ale. Some caramel, maybe a little bit of butterscotch while the tangy aspects start to fade. Unfortunately, nothing else with much presence really replaces it. Tang suggests light vinegar- not a flavor I typically equate with Scotch ales. It works to some extent but not if you want a straight up Scotch ale. Pretty much above average as taste goes. Slight cinnamon, brown sugar, and molasses. This may be infected but it does show some promise for a sour Scotch ale style. This pretty much makes it above average overall. But only slightly. Some grass, some straw.

Mouthfeel- Light to medium bodied with appropriate carbonation that has a mild zing. Some smoothness.

Drinkability- Pretty easygoing but also boring. The off-flavors that I keep getting make it a little interesting but also confuse the palate. 5 bucks is decent for a bomber but I will not be purchasing this again.

Overall- Slightly above average that doesn't really match the style. Too thin, way too much tartness (though it's very mild compared to wild ales but it is there). I would pass on this if you want a real Scotch ale but a possible try if you don't mind quirks.

22 oz bottle bought from "Capital Market" in Salem. $4.99 Pours a nice chestnut brown,clear, with a lovely thick and frothy light cream coloured head. Aroma is a little subdued but mostly caramel malts and some nuttiness. Supremely balanced and malt driven ale as expected for style,caramel,brown demerara sugar notes,some tobacco and earth and a touch of ash..excellent stuff. Very nice smooth mouth feel..goes down an absolute treat. Very good approximation of a 70 shilling ale..although the alc is a touch on the high side.