Big River Grille Scottish Ale

Brewed by Big River Grille & Brewing Works Chattanooga (Gordon Biersch)
Style: Scottish Ale
Chattanooga, Tennessee USA

Date: 01/25/2003
Mode: Draft
Source: Brewpub

Dark amber, big tan head, toasted malt aroma, lots of sweet toasted malt flavor, touch of sweetness, more of a big viennia than a scottish ale
-------- /> Date: 02/06/2007
Mode: draft
Source: brewpub
Score: 3.3 to 3.4

sweet caramel aroma with a yeasty bread character, still lots of the toasted malt aroma and flavor from before, picking up much more caramel sweetness than before, nice biscuit in the final sip, this place makes lots of drinkable viennia ales with many names,

Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 14/20
Rating: 3.4/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: **4

(draft) Clear copper body with off-white head. Aroma is sweet, caramel, butty, faint peat. Taste is medium sweet, caramel, some nutty, peat. Medium body, some sticky. (cask) Hazy copper with off-white head. Aroma is medium sweet, caramel, grapefruit. Taste is medium sweet, grapefruit, caramel. Light-medium body.

Draft at brewpub. Poured clear brown pour with a moderate off-white fizzy head that lasted and had good lacing. Solid toasted malt aroma. Medium body. Good toasted malt flavor with a medium bittersweet finish of moderate duration. Good drinkable brew.

On tap at Big River – Chattanooga. Poured clear coppery caramel with a light cap of beige head. The aroma picked up sweet caramel with a touch of molasses.. sweet overall and simple.. but decent. The flavor found very sweet toasty caramel at the core with a touch of smoke.. the back-end had thicker caramel and a little darker fruit.. also decent. A touch lighter than medium-bodied on the palate with high carbonation.. a little odd sourness rounded out the finish.

I was told this was the best brew that Big River produced. Medium brown color, average tan head. Some malt in the aroma, but no rich maltyness or smoky notes anywhere. The flavor was middle of the road sweet, with no real assertiveness. Drinkable but very tame.

A dark copper pour with little or no head. A mediciny bite with a raisin kicker not a lot of maltiness nor hops but a good flavor overall. Good carbonation and a prety good mouthfeel make it a solid palate.. Not bad for a brew chain Scottish Ale.

A dark copper color with a light head. Looking at Boto’s comment it seems they have improved on it over the years. The palate is a little thin but not terribly so. A very malty and vinegar type flavor but somehow it works. Loads of caramel and molasses in the flavor. A slightly bitter aftertaste. Nothing great but not too bad either.

Draught. Pours a light red hue. The aroma is certainly akin to a Scottish ale, though rather generic. Notes of peat, caramel, pipe smoke are detected though mostly a sweet malty aroma dominates. The body is almost sticky with a fairly smoky, nutty finish like toasted almonds perhaps. Mild notes of rose and peat turn up in the sweet flavor. Pretty average, sweet, malty beer. Drinkable.