Alba Scots Pine Ale

Alba Scot's Pine Ale is the fourth and final selection from the "Historic Ales from Scotland" collection that I bought a few months ago. This beer really surprised me. I was expecting a strong pine/spruce presence in a somewhat dry beer. What I discovered was a moderately sweet, very fruity, wine-like ale with only a small hint of pine. The bottle recommends drinking the ale at room temperature, which I didn't do initially. I allowed it to reach room temperature, which brought out the fruitiness of the ale even further. This ale is brewed without hops, which also contributed to its vinous character. I deliberately left this beer 'til last because of a bad experience I had brewing my own spruce ale. My fears were groundless. This was a delicious ale, just like the other 3 in the assortment. Check out the "Historic Ales from Scotland". There's not a bad beer in the bunch.

Orkney Brewery's Skull Splitter Orkney Ale

Orkney Brewery's Skull Splitter Ale is a high gravity malty brew from Scotland. It poured a deep amber with a 3/4 inch off-white head. Unfortunately, the picture is not doing it justice because it's so dark. We can thank Tropical storm Fay for that! This is a sweet ale in the style of a Wee Heavy, with lots of malt, and with the flavor of toffee and dark fruits. It's a bit higher in alcohol at 8.5%. The alcohol is obvious in the finish, and there is almost no evidence of hops. This would make a nice winter warmer!

Grozet Gooseberry & Wheat Ale

Tonight, I had the 3rd choice from my "Historic Ales of Scotland" assortment - Grozet Gooseberry & Wheat Ale. I had never heard of a gooseberry until I started brewing, and then I noticed some gooseberries in the canned fruit section of our local supermarket. They're canned by Oregon, a very popular brand of fruit favored by brewers due to their lack of preservatives. Based on the picture on the can, a gooseberry looks a lot like a white grape. This was a very mild-flavored ale, and very refreshing as well. It poured a golden color, with almost no head. It didn't have the usual tartness of a wheat beer, but instead had a wine-like quality to it, presumably from the gooseberries. I'm not sure if there are any hops in this ale, because I certainly didn't notice any. So far, this assortment of ales has been a winner. Every one has been very enjoyable.

Orkney Brewing Dark Island Dark Ale

This ale surprised me, right out of the gate. I wasn't expecting a smoky ale, but that's the first thing I tasted. From using smoked malt in my homebrew, I believe it is peat-smoked malt used in Orkney Brewing's Dark Island Dark Ale. The picture is dark because of a thunderstorm that was going through here, but you can tell that it poured a deep brown, with a small beige head. Aside from the smoke, I also tasted some roasted malt, some toffee, and even some burned fruit. I have tried several beers from Orkney, and I have been impressed every time. This Scottish brewer has a good thing going. Check it out.

Tennent's of Scotland - Scotland's Finest Lager

I was pleasantly surprised by this lager from Tennent's of Scotland. I've been a bit shy about trying yet another European Pale Lager. Maybe it's because the UK isn't part of the EU, but this lager was different from my other recent samplings. This beer has much more body than the Estrella I recently tried, and was sweeter and maltier as well. It had enough hop flavor to offset the malt, without being too obvious. I'm really learning to appreciate Scottish beers. This is the first time I've used my Florida State beer mug, a gift from my daughter. It's her Alma Mater, not mine.

Ebulum Elderberry Black Ale

Ebulum Elderberry Black Ale is part of the "Historic Ales of Scotland" assortment I picked up a while back at Whole Foods. The 4 brews in the assortment were made by Heather Ales in Scotland. Black pretty well describes this ale, as you can see in the photo. When held up to the light, there were some ruby undertones to the beer. It had a small beige head that evaporated very quickly. The beer had a roasty flavor, and a soft creamy mouthfeel. I could smell the fruitiness of the elderberries more than I could taste them. This is another fine ale from Heather Ales. So far, the assortment is two for two - both of the bottles I have tried have been very enjoyable.

Belhaven Wee Heavy

My preference for malty brews was satisfied by Belhaven Brewery's Wee Heavy. Belhaven is a Scottish brewery, and they make a number of great ales. A Wee Heavy is a stronger version of a Scotch Ale - this one is 6.5% alcohol. The ale is a nice mahogany color, with a creamy tan head. The head lasted a while, and left nice lacing on the glass. This beer has a nutty, roasty, malty flavor, with a slight alcohol finish.

Kelpie Seaweed Ale

This ale surprised me. I was expecting a much lighter-colored ale, but this looks like a stout - deep brown to almost black, with ruby highlights. It had a nice fluffy beige head. I don't taste anything seaweed-like. It tastes pretty much like a mild, watery stout - roasty with chocolate malt. It went fine with my chicken. Kelpie Seaweed Ale is from Heather Ale, LLC in Scotland.

Fraoch Heather Ale of Scotland

This beer came from a 4 pack of "Historic Ales from Scotland". It is brewed from malt and Heather flowers. The heather is used in place of hops, making for a very smooth mild-flavored ale. It poured a beautiful honey colored gold, with a small white head. It has a nice malt body, with a floral note to it. It reminds me of a dry mead. If this was a little easier on the wallet, I could see myself drinking this pretty frequently during the warmer months. Here's hoping the other selections in the 4 pack are as impressive as this one.

Orkney Dragonhead Stout

A new wine and ale store opened up here in Clermont, FL, so I had to stop in and see what they had to offer. I was a little concerned that their emphasis on wine would cripple their ale selection, but I was pleasantly surprised. They had a decent selection of domestic microbrews and imports - without a single bottle of Coors, Miller or Anheuser Busch in the store. The best part - they'll sell any of their beers as singles. So I picked up a six-pack of singles plus 1. Orkney's Dragonhead Stout was the odd one because it was the only 16 oz bottle I selected. The Orkney Brewery is on an island off Scotland. This stout is dry and roasty with some coffee and chocolate in evidence. It also has a tangy flavor in the background, very reminiscent of Guinness. I like stouts almost as much as porters, and this one was very good. It poured a nearly black color with a small deep beige head. I also liked Orkney's Skullsplitter ale, which I sampled a year ago.

Belhaven Scottish Ale

Tonight, I sampled another beer from World Market's "Beers of the World" selection. Belhaven's Ale is a good example of a Scottish Ale, with a nice malty backbone, and touch of smokiness from Peat smoked malt. It poured a beautiful amber gold, with a creamy head that lasted longer than most. I like malty beers, and this was right up my alley. I made a Scottish Ale of my own about a year ago, which was one of my favorite homebrews. Belhaven also makes a great Wee Heavy - sweeter, more malty, and with more alcohol than this one.