McEwan's Scotch Ale
McEwan's

This is my go-to Scotch Ale & Wee Heavy. Lots going on here.

L: Poured into my pint glass. Dark Brown with a thick, tan head. Leaves wonderful lacing on the glass.

S: Dark fruit, malt sweetness, earthiness and peat. Quite complex on the nose.

T: Follows the nose, but somehow is even more complex. Dark fruits, spices, earthy hops, peat, oak, dark bread, chocolate, toffee.

F: Creamy beginning, medium bodied and a nice crispness to finish.

O: Easily my favorite beer of the style. The complexity is like a wonderful party for my tastebuds. I will continue to pick this up regularly and I would suggest anyone who likes Scotch Ale to give it a try if you haven't!

RB transfer

This stuff is one of my favorites, but for the life of me I haven't been able to find it anywhere in years...

Bottle 0.33L.
Brown body with ruby nuances; average, frothy, tan head, mostly diminishing with some lacing, though.
Moderate malty (caramel, a bit roasted) aroma with notes of red fruits (cherry liqueur), chocolate and light honey.
Moderate sweet and light-to-moderate bitter flavour with a nice mild roasted note in the finish.
Medium-to-full body with oily-to-creamy texture; soft carbonation.

Dark, mahogany color. Big, beige head. Toffees, mineral, and caramel malt in the aroma. Balanced malty taste with “ mineral” bitterness at the end.

an absolute true classic here, and one of those beers that can be a terrible decision in early in the day on an empty belly and hangover because its sweet, strong enough to feel like two drinks, and pretty robust in flavor, but it can also be absolute magic in that context because it powers right through that first drink jitters, its as hearty as a bowl of porridge, and it feels nutritive and salubrious, which is how it hit for me, really nice but also needed, you dont see this around much in the west. real rich and dark amber color, into the chestnut brown range, dense but well refined still and with a decent little sandy colored head on it, some lace as it drinks, sturdy without being beastly. the nose here is long cooked grains with that classic european caramelization, but also a kilned and baked warmth and coziness without being too sweet, notes of warm soft pretzel, dry cocoa, raisin and fig, smoking jacket, and toffee, sort of mossy and earthy and wet too, cool old world yeast on display even when its cold, and just a tickle of alcohol coming through. the flavor is well layered, and less sweet than it smells but still with its richness, awesome minerality, seems ancient, and pushes it towards dry with the yeast, seems almost cooler fermented. biscuit and dark bread, maple and fallen leaves in autumn, date and plum, raisin bran cereal, pipe tobacco, and dried cherry. really delicious mix of flavors, the alcohol never leads, and its deeply satisfying to drink, warms up well, and doesnt need any more than its modest carbonation. timeless recipe and execution, genre defining even, understated in the right places, bold in others, complex by nature, quality ingredients on display, and about as good of a hangover beer is one can imbibe. add in a cool rainy day and its heaven!

Cola brown appearance.
Light carbonation with an above average body,has a bit of a slick feel.
Aroma is malt,oak,mild toffee and bourbon
..taste is very similar to aroma

 

 

330ml bottle dated best by 27 Nov 21
This bottle has been sitting on the basement floor for 2+ years. Drank on 10/28/2023
The dominate flavor is nice smooth mellow but deep dark fruit. Plus some caramel a little spice and a hint of smoke/peat.

Unfortunately missing for a while, upon these shores on the west side of the pond, here it is again. Who knows if it's still the wonderful concoction it once was. This is about today's version and it begins by emptying two brown 11.2 U.S. fluid ounce bottles into a clear glass liter mug. The color is dark brown, like cola soda, but even darker. Of course, it's opaque. There's a perfectly sized biege head atop and it's enduring. Malty to smell, but it's not overly so, nor is it noticeably sweet. Maybe that's because there is some hop presence included. The taste is sort of porter-like, with its roasted barley malt emphasis. But, there's a little more earthy hoping and significantly more malt sweetness than a good porter. The malty sweetness and mild hops do a great job at disguising the 8% ABV. However, the esophagus warms. There's stratified glass lacing. The mouthfeel is rich and smooth. At worst, it's a little sticky because of the malty sweetness. But, that's the style, so no demerits. This seems like a cross between a standard Scottish Ale, which usually emphasizes malty sweetness, at a similar ABV and an Imperial Stout. Unlike some Scottish Ales, this includes a slight hop bite, whereas many are just one dimensionally malty. It's been too long since having thr first one, but this revisit was delightful.

 

330ml bottle. Label has best by date of '19 JUN 23'.
Deep brown colored body. Off white head. Leaves behind isolated spots of lacing.
Aroma of roasted malts with dates and prunes.
Taste is prune danish, with dark caramel malts and dark fruit of prune and dates. Has an addition of peat and spice. Mellow caramel and prune in the aftertaste.
Medium mouth feel, with some syrup. Good carbonation.
Malts, dark fruit, and spice.

Where's the smoke???? There use to be a big peaty smoke.

Translucent mahogany liquid with an off-white headband good foamy lace on the glass.
Quite malty taste and on the sweeter side of beer as one should expect from a Scotch Ale.
Nicely balanced between the carbonation and sweetness.
This is one of the better Scotch Ale I have experienced.

Dark brown, almost black, clear. Smell is a mix between a peaty scotch and a 40oz. Taste's equal parts sweet and woody, chocolate and oak. Kinda thin on flavor and body, cola-like. After looking at the label I realize this is almost a year past the date. I was looking for a good scotch ale and this delivered, but it's not a go-to. I might try it again just to see if it's better fresh

 

I was in the mood for a Scotch Ale, and this is a good one.

Poured from a bottle into a tulip glass. Dark reddish mahogany with a nice beige head and good curtain lacing. Sweet caramel smell and taste. The taste is a bit too sweet at the beginning but it mellows to a rich earthiness as it progressed. A bit of warm spice and dark sweet cherries. A nice comforting beer.

11.2oz bottle
Best before 28 JUL 22
I saw this on the shelf and grabbed it so fast! It HAS to be a decade or more since I had this one. Glad to see it’s back!
L: chestnut brown colored body with a frothy tan head
S: sweet malty aroma: caramel, grain, peat, fruit
T: fruit cake, caramel, spice, peat, brown sugar, grain, raisin, prune, plum, cherry, earthy hops
F: medium body, ample carbonation, finishes more sweet than I remember
O: sweeter yet more complex than I remember it being; I look forward to going through the rest of the 4-pack. It’s been too long.