Wildcat
Cairngorm Brewery Company, The

Cask pour at The Flying Stag in Braemar, Scotland. Enjoyable pint on a chilly Rainy late November afternoon.

It pours mahogany with an off white head and average head retention. It is fruity with toffee. There are some herbal touches. Although it really doesn't taste like an ESB, it was good for me.

 

 

 

 

 

A cask pint in 'spoons Edinburgh (The Standing Order).
Light chestnut colour with a thin tight head.
Biscuit and caramel malt smell. Fruity hedgerow hops present.
Mainly malt with some spice, fruit and earthy hops in the taste.
Moderate body. Quite smooth. Light carbonation.

 

 

500 ml brown bottle with a BB date stamp of 28 Jan. 2016. Consumed at the end of April 2015 in Largoward, Scotland.

Dark red-brown body has a decent head and leaves sticky lacing.

Unusual floral-spicy aroma. The flavor is also unexpected, suggesting wild yeast or bacteria in Wildcat. Complex, floral-fruity-spicy, but challenging flavor. No indication of this on the label's description, so this may be a contaminated bottle. This seems most likely in the aftertaste, but this may just be a somewhat unfortunate mix of earthy-spicy hops. It is drinkable.

O: disappointing.

Color- medium walnut brown. Slight head.

Aroma- roasty and lightly smoked.

Taste- a rich, pleasing malt forward Scottish ale finishing with lingering roasted notes and mild hops. A good session beer.

Served from a cask at the Castle Tavern in Inverness, Scotland.

A great alternative to a draught bitter for those not able to stock it during the quiet Winter. The ale pours to a generous head and the first aromas are of sweet malt and bread yeast.

The tastes are sweeter than expected from a pale ale and toasted and chocolate malt comes through. Nicely balanced with a hop bitterness that cannot be easily found in a bottle.

Allows the consumption of a fair few in an evening without sticking to the palate. Carbonation is about right.

Overall an enjoyable Scottish ale.

 

 

 

Bottle (£1.59 from Sainsburys):
A deep copper colour that is clear and topped with a two fingers tall, foamy white head that settles in a nice, thick looking dome shape.

Light on the nose with some earthly hops and nice, roasted malts along with a touch of sweetness and some light grain. This is rounded off with some bitterness and a touch of toffee too.

Pretty much like the aroma with some earthy malts and hops plus a bit of bitterness that compliments the sweet malts. It is more bitter towards the end with a sort of burnt caramel/toffee taste as well.

Medium with moderate carbonation and an almost creamy, bitter feel to the beer with a touch of grain and a dry finish.

This looked great but started to fade after that, it had a nice body and a good creamy palate but it was lacking in both taste and smell with the beer relying too much on the earthy malts and hops taste.

 

 

At home: 500ml bottle, best before 28 Aug 2013, poured into a UK pint sleeve on 26 sep 2012.

Lovely amber coloured body with a full, deep foam head, like an off-white snow blanket.

The nose is all about roasted and toasted malts: they indicate a rich, strong malty brew is below and they are not far wrong.

The taste as the aroma suggests is malty molasses with some butterscotch and caramel added into the mix: this isn't overly sweet though, so some hops must help to give it a balance and slight bitter finish.

The body feel isn't as rich or creamy as the nose would have you believe: this is robust brew more than a smooth one. A Winter Warmer sort of beer without the Smoking Jacket.