Heart Of Lothian
Drop-In Brewing Company

 

It's a weird brew. I really want to like it but there's something funky about the way it tastes. It's acceptable but not great.

 

nice hearty take on the style here, cool little place, kind of a homebrew club headquarters vibe, old school in that way, but we liked a lot of the beer including this one, darker in color than a lot of these, the deepest of ambers into the mahogany almost brownish red range with pretty good clarity and shine and a nice airy inch plus of beige head, good looking pour. the nose is sweet yeah, but its also extremely earthy, light smoke but not quite peat, raisin and wet whole leaf tobacco, along with light cocoa, dried cherry, and herbal hops, bready english yeast in play here too, real nice. flavor is full and good, grain driven but i like the yeast profile too, old worldy in that way, baked and warm and sturdy, sweet like brown sugar, maple, and molasses, but well resolved at the end. hints of raisin, rum, toffee, pretzel, and even hazelnut, pretty good depth and complexity overall i reckon. i think this was one of their more refined beers we had in here when we visited, flavorful and true to style but also unique enough to stand out. well done on this one. smooth in texture with just enough carbonation but not so much that it feels rushed.

Taster at brewery. Clear brown pour, ring of head. Malty aroma, notes of smoke and peat. Taste is toasty malts, nutty, dry. Mild sweetness. Mismatched aroma and taste.

Poured into a pint glass from 16 oz can; no birth date. Pours purple brown with minimal foam head. Tastes of swell raisins with metallic like back taste o. The rear; not unpleasant but noticeable. A bit thin for the style but still a decent offering.

A very good beer all around. Nice caramel and slight roast character, mild bitterness, very subtle hoppiness. Full body and a creamy finish. I really like it, the best and possibly only scottish ale I have had in vermont.

 

16oz can. Poured out a clear, burgundy color with a small, khaki-colored head of foam. It left some sudsy sheets of lace. It smelled earthy with toffee and biscuity notes. Sweet toffee, caramel and an earthy spiciness. It was crisp, sharp and smooth.

From the can, it pours a clear coppery color with a nice tan head that soon diminishes to a half inch. In the nose, it is some caramel malt and a touch of smoke. In the mouth, it is malty with caramel notes and a slight smoky taste.

It's not a super strong Scotch Ale, and it's not a base version of the style. It's right down the middle, a perfectly crafted Scottish Ale true to style and one that would not be out of place in an Edinburgh pub, in a dimpled jug, sitting next to a wee dram of Scotch whisky. If you don't know the style, perhaps you won't realize how spot on this is. If you do, you get it, and it's good.

On tap at McGillicuddys