Scotland

scrapes in   decent   good   excellent   sublime

Beers 21 - 40 of 65:

Cairngorm Brewery, Trade Winds (Scotland) (RP) A �new wave� Scottish beer brewed with barley malt, wheat and elderflower. The hop varieties are not disclosed. It is extremely pale in colour with a superb spicy, floral and herbal aroma, dominated by fresh elderflower. Dry biscuity malt, spicy hops and ripe elderflowers dominate the palate. The bitter-sweet finish is dry and herbal with floral and bitter hop notes. 4.3% ABV, 50cl, �2.00, brewery website.

Caledonian, 80 Shilling (Scotland) The cask version of Caledonian's 80/- is a real ale staple in Scottish pubs, brewed in direct fired open coppers. It pours a light ruby colour with a fluffy, moderately persistent off-white head, and offers aromas biscuity malt, a touch of leafy, damp earth and some liquoricy character. On the palate it is smooth and creamy without being thick, and there's a nice balance between a certain fruitiness and a surge of bitter hopd flavours that makes it quite subtle, mellow and very easy to drink, yet the beer has some earthy integrity. 4.1% ABV, 50cl, �1.70, Waitrose.

Caledonian, Deuchars IPA (Scotland) This IPA has a medium, burnished gold colour and a creamy, but fast disippating head. On the nose there's a lovely softness and weight of marmalade-scented fruit, hedgerow hops and a background maltiness. It flows onto the palate with great harmony: a seamless, tangy and crisp fruit character with creamy texture and a nice grapefruity hop bitterness into the finish. This beer might not be decisive enough for some who like a lot of hoppy acrobatics, but I thought it was gentle and lovely stuff. 4.4% ABV, 50cl, �1.69, Asda, Luvians, Sainsbury's, quite widely available.

Caledonian, Golden Promise Organic Beer (Scotland) Golden promise claims to be the world's first organic beer, brewed in the early 1990's from Scottish malt and English Target hops. It pours a nice deep gold, with a hint of bronze, and a moderate, off-white head. It is a very appealing, pure beer on the nose, with toasty grains, a hint of honey and plenty of leafy hop aromas. There is a tiny sulphur note in there, but it is not off-putting. On the palate it is smooth and creamy, with medium body and a very citrussy, fresh style. The acidity and sharpness of this beer is good, with a bitter hop bite and quite long finish. A very nice organic beer that is light and summery. 5.0% ABV, 50cl, �1.59, Booth's, Safeway, Sainsbury's, Tesco.

Fyne Ales, Highlander (Scotland) There's a definite hint of ruby to this barley-sugar-coloured strong beer from Fyne Ales, which has a moderate, creamy off-white head. There's a malty and vinous note about this beer on the nose, with some plummy fruit and hint of floral perfume. On the palate it is smooth-textured and medium bodied, with a creaminess in the mouth and a nice, straighforward malty flavour with good background hops bitterness. A fairly straightforward beer, but enjoyable. 4.8% ABV, 50cl, �2.00, brewery website.

Fyne Ales, Maverick (Scotland) This small brewery is in Cairndow on Loch Fyne in Argyll, Scotland, home also to some very fine seafood and oyester farms and smokeries. It pours a drak, burnished copper colour, with moderate off-white head and a nose suggesting a touch of nettle and briney seaweed, before a malty, biscuit and caramel character takes over. In the mouth it has a nice hop-oil bitterness and a slightly fragrant, mint or eucalypt character, with a full texture and then that oatmeal, grain and caramel malt character fills out on the finish. This is a very nicely balanced and drinkable beer. 4.2% ABV, 50cl, �2.00, brewery website.

Fyne Ales, Piper's Gold (Scotland) This golden ale pours with a moderate, quite persistent off-white head. There's a honeyed character on the nose, with malty and nutty aromas and a certain crisp and floral fruitiness. On the palate this has a nice bitter, hoppy and grown-up edge to a solidly fruity core. It is medium bodied, and perhaps lacks a little bit of mid-palate texture, but it combines a refreshing hop and citrus zestiness with with a touch of sweet malt in a nice, easy-drinking style. Almost sneaks four full stars. 3.8% ABV, 50cl, �2.00, brewery website.

Fyne Ales, Vital Spark (Scotland) This dark, chestnut-coloured beer has a hint of ruby at the core and a moderate creamy coloured head that leaves a distinct lacing. It has a nutty, roasted oatmeal and roasted chestnut nose, with some leafy notes and a fruity undertone. On the palate it is quite full and rich, with plenty of bitter hops powering through the mid-palate, a warm toastiness and a bitter cherry or plum skin grip too. Slightly less sweet than Loch Fyne's Maverick, it has more complexity too. 4.4% ABV, 50cl, �2.00, brewery website.

Harviestoun, Bitter & Twisted (Scotland) This beer is bottled at two-thirds the pressure of most beers, presumably in an attempt to help capture the quality of the cask version, which won Champion Beer of Great Britain in 2003. It pours a delightful gold colour with a thinnish, just off-white head. The nose has crisp, aromatic notes of flowers, citrus and a grassy quality, with a hint of sweeter, more honeyed notes. On the palate it is fresh and pert, though with a smooth texture, as herbal and hoppy notes dominate, with a suggestion of lemon zest and a crisply-defined, dry and tangy finish. A fine session beer. 4.2% ABV, 50cl, �1.60, Booth's, Luvians, Morrisons, Onlyfinebeer.

Harviestoun, Old Engine Oil (Scotland) Former Ford worker Ken Brooker only turned to brewing in his 40's, but has already established a great reputation and following for his unusual and playfully named beers. This jet-black beer has a creamy, thick but quite quickly dissipating head. The nose is sumptuous: loaded with tar, liquorice and thick malty treacle aromas, and a hint of stewed prunes. On the palate it has a chocolaty texture and roasted, smoky flavours with more of that treacly depth of sweet malt, a really nice fruity core and a bite of incisive bitter hops on the finish. With fantastic length, this is a fabulous Porter-style beer with extra bittersweetness and depth. 6.0% ABV, 33cl, �1.29, Luvians, Sainsbury's.

Harviestoun, Schehallion (Scotland) Named after a Scottish mountain, Schiehallion is a lager-style beer brewed with Hersbrücker and Challenger hops, that pours pale gold with a thin white head. There is a good hop quality on the nose, that is grassy and herbal, with a floral, talcum-powder lift and some citrus fruit. On the palate it is quite light and fresh, and that sweet-edged, floral and bright pear fruit character continues, though it is soon drowned out by a good level of bitter hops, a whisper of malt and grapefruit pith acidity. A refreshing and moreish beer. 4.8% ABV, 50cl, �1.69, Booth's, Luvians, Sainsbury's.

Heather Ale, Craigmill Swallow IPA (Scotland) The instantly intriguing thing about this beer is that it is the only commercial beer brewed with hops from the Clyde Valley, about half hour from my home. From the same brewery that makes the popular Fraoch Heather Ale, this has a pale to medium gold colour, and a subdued, but not unattractive nose of hops and a malted brown bread. A little bit yeasty and honeyed too. On the palate some bitter hop character and a note of grapefruit pith are delivered in a medium-bodied format. Unexceptional, but quite easy to drink. 4.0% ABV, 35.5cl, �0.99, Peckhams, Safeway Scotland.

Heather Ale, Ebulum Elderberry Black Ale (Scotland) This Ale is based on a 16th century recipe, and brewed from roasted oats, barely, wheat and fresh elderberries. The colour is jet black, with a hint of ruby at the core. The fawn-coloured head is quite thick and persistent. On the nose, the immediate impression is if liquorice and chocolaty malt, with just a hint of blue/black, inky fruit quality. On the palate this is surprisingly light-bodied and unsubstantial. There's a definite flavour of the elderberry fruit that is both sweet and tart, then more of that dark-roasted malt. It has good acidity and a tangy finish, and I think this would be an ale to drink with hearty food, as it is a little unsatifying on its own. 6.5% ABV, 33cl, �1.49, Peckhams.

Heather Ale, Fraoch (Scotland) This beer is brewed with heather flowers, along with hops. It pours a slightly dull and hazy orange colour, with a remarkably low-foaming white head. The nose offers a deep well of quite complex aromas: malt and biscuit, a tang of burnt orange, and a definite honeyed note. There's a little high, lavender-like note that is presumably from the late additon of heather flowers. On the palate it is medium-bodied with very gentle carbonation, and a palate that is quite toffeed and sweet. There's plenty of fruit on the mid-palate and a hint of ginger, before a nice grip of bitter, hoppy flavours and a dry acidity emerges in the finish. A very distinctive and most enjoyable beer that is not at all gimmicky, but a very worthwhile recreation of an historic Scottish ale. 5.0% ABV, 50cl, �1.49, Luvians, Oddbins, Peckhams, Safeway, Sainsbury's, Waitrose.

Heather Ale, Kelpie Seaweed Ale (Scotland) From the Heather Ale Company who brew the better known Fraoch Heather Ale, this beer is made with Bladder Rack seaweed in the Mash Tun, in an attempt to create old Scottish ales made near the seaside, where seaweed was used to fertilise the barley fields. It pours a very dark brown that is almost black, with a thick coffee-coloured head. The nose is mostly about stout-like charcoal and chocolate aromas, with some burnt, chicory aromas and yes, the merest tang of something vegetal and seaweed-like. On the palate it is roasted barley and chocolate that dominates, with lots of toasty, charry-edged flavours in a medium-bodied but rich beer. There's a freshness in the finish, with some good, bitter hops, but any seaweed influence is lost on my by this stage of a good, solid dark beer. 4.4% ABV, 50cl, �1.69, Luvians, Peckhams.

Houston Brewery, Peter's Well (Scotland) This micro-brewery is attached to the Fox & Hounds pub in Houston, Renfrewshire and at the moment this golden ale is their only regularly bottled product. It pours a glowing orange/gold, with a moderate white head. The nose is immediately fruity, with orange-zest and a yeasty, slightly floral aspect. There is a nice hoppy fragrance and a subtle malt background. On the palate the beer is medium-bodied, with a fruit and hop character that is quite grassy with citrus notes, and a nutty dryness in the finish. A very enjoyable beer. 4.2% ABV, 50cl, �1.89, brewery website, independents.

Innis & Gunn, Cask Strength (Scotland) This new beer from Innis & Gunn (as of October 2005) is the 'cask strength' addition to their small and absolutley superb range of oak-aged beers. This spent 77 days in small barrels, and pours a dark, burnished bronze colour, with a thinnish off-white head. The nose has a delightfully honeyed character, with masses of vanilla-pod and creamy notes, toffee and a core of very fruity, Christmas-cake aromas. On the palate it is thick and rich, with a very sumptuous, mouth-filling texture and a sweep of raisin, spice, and cocoa dusted flavours, with hints of mashed banana, rich, biscuity malt, and a long, long finish that piles on generous fruity acidity and bitter notes to counteract the beer's innate sweetness. Another stunning beer from this Edinburgh brewer. 7.7% ABV, 33cl, �1.85, Asda.

Innis & Gunn, Limited Edition 2004 (Scotland) The regular Innes & Gunn oak-aged beer is a five-star favourite of beer-pages, so this 37,000 bottle edition, in a presentation box, launched November 2004 promised much. The colour is perhaps a shade lighter, with an off-white, creamy head. The nose is fantastically nutty and toffeed, with notes of buttered popcorn, roasted sesame seeds and Seville orange. On the palate a caraway and burnt toast depth is layered with espresso beans, dark cholate and more of that marmalady fruit quality. There's a complex and unfolding quality to this beer, with a tang of bitter hops and a sweet suggestion of vanilla pods as well as a brightly-focused acidity that really lifts and extends this beer in the mouth. Brilliant, unusual and a must try beer. 5.3% ABV, 33cl, �1.99, Sainsbury's.

Innis & Gunn, Limited Edition 2005 (Scotland) A limited edition of 50,000 bottles and exclusive to Sainsbury's, this oak-aged beer from I&G; spent 107 days in barrels (as opposed to the regular beer's 77 days). It is massively unctuous and toffeed on the nose, with notes of hot buttered popcorn, toasted coconut and caramel. A fruity sweetness and suggestion of leafy hops adds complexity. On the palate it is thick, creamy and sweet - the sweetest of the I&Gs; so far - with a dark chocolate richness, still a lovely zest of citrus and a creamy, mellow finish. There is a bittering edge of hops, and whilst excellent, this beer errs on being just a tad too sweet for my palate. 7.2% ABV, 33cl, �1.99, Sainsbury's.

Innis & Gunn, Oak-aged Beer (Scotland) One of the most innovative products in the beer market today, this Edinburgh ale is aged in brand new malt whisky barrels, made from American oak. The colour is a glowing gold, with a creamy head. On the nose it is intensely aromatic, with really fresh, grassy hop character and quite a deep, almost briney note. The oak influence is more noticeable on the palate, where a luscious vanilla and caramel note permeates the beer. This adds an unguent sweetness on the mid palate, but the freshness of the hops cuts through and the acidity is clean in the finish. I thought this beer was delicious. 6.9% ABV, 33cl, �1.69, Asda, Luvians, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Sainsbury's, Tesco.