McLaren's Scotch Ale
Marietta Brewing Company

 

 

 

I had this on tap at the Marietta Brewing Company, served in a pint glass.

It is a dark brown with minimal head and no lacing.

The smell is a decent, but lacking something that I just can't put my finger on. I has hint of smokiness.

It tastes pretty good. That smoked flavor comes through.

The mouthfeel is fine. It is defintely very lightly carbonated.

It is very drinkable. I really enjoyed it.

On tap at Marietta Brewing Co. on 11/26/10.

A - Cloudy copper brown with dark amber and rusty orange hues and half a finger of creamy beige froth on top that settled into a thin veil but deposited doily-esque lacing around the glass.

S - Hint of smokey malt reminiscent of peat paired with a sweet toffee and caramel character and the tang of dark, pitted fruits.

T - Dark fruit and toffee kick things into gear and provide the base for this Scotch Ale. A hint of smokiness emerges in the backend, which was a pleasant surprise, intruducing a faint peat quality into the mix. Finishes with a hint of woody notes, more smoke and toasted bready malt.

M - Medium bodied with a syrupy texture and light carbonation. Sweet finish with a slight smokey quality on the palate and only traces of hop bitterness.

D - Very good Scotch Ale with a light smoked character that I wasn't expecting. Solid take on the style.

Brewslut's Quote of the Day:
"It smells like sweatsocks."

drank on tap at MBC on 7.3.08

this was a hard beer to review as there relly wasn't much going on with this beer. decent clear copper color, and almost no smell. i really had to try hard to get anything out of the nose, maybe there was something in the glass covering up the smell, but i got nothing. the taste is average at best. mouthfeel on this one was thin and unbalanced.

Beer had aan almost porter appearance to it .
Decent head.
One way to describe the nose was smokey.
The taste seemed to be dominated by smoke..I am guessing smoked peat malt was used in this. It was very obvios at first taste, but did seem to fade,.
This one grew on me...not expected, but not bad.

On draught at the brewpub. This beer pours a murky reddish-amber color with a thin off-white head that has no staying power. Spotty lacing. The aroma is smoked malt, fruit and sherry. Medium-bodied with toasted malt, fruit (red grapes) and liqueur. Alcohol is evident all the while as well. The finish is smokey and earthy malt, leaving behind a slight alcohol and hops burn. Overall this is a pretty good Scotch Ale, it is just a little uneven at times.

Had this on-tap at their Front Street brewery in Marietta, OH. Reviewing as a scotch ale - this is one of the best - not too sweet (others I have had such as the Mcewans are sweet throughout - which is not good in multiples) - hard to believe it is 8.2% ABV without the strong flavor. It will get you about 3/4 of the way through the swallow - I wouldn't say a taste explosion - but a twinge of goodness and then it has one of the best smooth finishes that I have had. Excellent brew - I could drink it all day - and plan to at some point.

Price was right too - full pint 3 and 1/2 - but make sure you have a double D

This batch was recorded ast 8.2% abv it appeared a caramel amber hue with a creamy off white head leaves streaks of scattered lacing down my pint. Aroma has a full malt backbone of toasted caramel malt which gives off a toasted nut edge finishes with pale whiskey malt character and a low herbal hop tone as well. Taste is warming with the higher abv sweet caramel malt whiskey edge touch of toasted nut slightly herbal hop low bitterness is all nice together well made Scotch ale. Mouthfeel is slightly syrupy medium to fuller bodied evenly carbonated really smooth and creamy to me not a cloying factor to it. Drinkability is very nice very drinkable pretty sweet after a few pints I would keep it at a 1 to 2 range and that 8.2 will catch up with you as well.

Okay, maybe I've only tried two Scotch Ale's before this, but this one was fantastic. At 8.2% ABV, this one did not seem over powering with alcohol, the balance of malts were great. A bit on the sweet side, but smooth and really easy to finish. This one cost about $2.50-$3 a pint.

Deep copper colored beer served with a cream head that shows good retention. Sweet, smoky aroma. Taste is very sweet, with a slightly smoky, peat note. Slightly bitter on the finish. Aftertaste is roasted malt and smoke. Lingering, clinging sweetness on the aftertaste. The mouthfeel is silky, and slightly chewy. The drinkability suffers a bit from the persistent (intentional, I'm told) sweetness. Not a bad beer, but could use a bit more hops to cut the sweetness, or a little less residual sugars.