Friday, April 3, 2009

Beeronomics: Scottish Ale

I don't generally like Scottish Ales. The Scots may have mastered the Malt, but to my taste their ales are far too, well, malty (and by 'their' I am really referring to the style called 'Scottish Ale' as practiced in the US - I have no idea what a Scottish Ale tastes like in Scotland, I am always too consumed with trying the aforementioned malt when I am there, and the beer I have tasted there was no different than the stuff in Eng-er-land). I tend toward the more hoppy ales of the Pacific Northwest. But I adore just about everything Full Sail's John Harris brews. So the news that John has made his first Scottish-style ale, 'Keelhauler,' raises the distinct possibility that I may have found one that I am really going to like. I don't think John could stand for a beer that is too malty/sweet. I expect one that is nicely balanced and that opens my mind to the possibilities of Scottish Ale. Yum.

Pilsner Room anyone?

1 comment:

Idler said...

The typical Scottish "heavy" is indeed a dark brown, malty beer. Very different than an English bitter. The Scottish Scottish tends not to be anywhere near as strong as the American Scottish.