Broughton Black Douglas Ale

Brewed by Broughton
Style: Premium Bitter/ESB
Biggar, The Borders, Scotland

A Mes rate: 50cl bottle from Thirst for Beer in Pwllheli. This is rather tasty. Let down a little by a slight soapy note but I’ll let it slide. Nose is dark fruits with plenty of malt and some brown sugar. Only just picking out the hops. Wonderful deep dark mahogany colour with a thin but long lasting tan head. Roasted malt in the mouth with notes of lemon surprisingly enough and some raisins. Reasonably well balanced. Satisfying chocolate then coffee finish. Good beer. Incidentally, I don’t think everyone is rating the right beer here. The label on my bottle was slightly different (dark blue background and ’Ale’ written along the bottom) and if you look at what some people have said about the appearance it seems to me there are two different beers of a similar name. There is no way this is a clear amber colour. It’s almost black!

Pours from the bottle to a dark brown with hints of ruby red, and an off-white head that lingers thru mid-glass, and leaves some, but not much, lacing. Aroma is a mild malty roasted nuts, with a bit of toffee. Taste is a continuation of the mild malty sweetness, though never real pronounced, nicely balanced wioth hops. Finish was nice and smooth, and overall, this was a darn good beer of which I could drink several.

Bottle. Pours a ruby-tinged dark brown with a moderate off-white head that quickly dissipates. Aroma is extremely roasty initially; after a while, some dark fruits and generally sweet malt become apparent. Flavor is roasty as well, with a bit of smokiness, moderate sweetness, a small amount of bitterness, and a moderately dry finish. Just slightly thin, but quite a bit more robust and interesting than most bitters I’ve head. Recommended.

Aroma of stewed raisins, prunes, mild chocolate and toasted, burnt malt. Body is a dark tinted bronze and holds a slowly diminishing thumb thick tan head. Has notes of licorice in the fore with mild cocoa, earth and very faint smokey notes. I’m not sure how the mouthfeel should be because I have had few of this style, but I’d like it thicker and it seems thin to me, but the aroma and flavor are very nice and kind of remind me of a schwarzbier/baltic porter. Flavor gets a touch thin in the finish, but I get a lingering peat and licorice note that i rather like.

Tasted from the bottle in where else but a lonely pub just across the border in Scotland on our way to Peebles. Poured a deep reddish copper that sparkled in the lights. Head erupted atop, wickedly rocky and lasting, leaving behind daubs of frost down the glass. Robust, chocolate, leather, burnt wood and spicy herbs make up the aroma, but is sadly short-lived. Woody and peaty, strong but dry malts in the mouth. Nice earthiness of rough Scottish malts with a light astringency in the back before a rather smooth, bitter malt swallow that showed some more peated malts and smoke. Good mouthfeel - not big, not thin - and quite light on in carbonation. This is a little heavy for a bitter, but it went down quite nicely and refreshed what the long drive from Alnwick took out of me. Quite nice. (50cL, BBE 06/07, unnoted pub name)

Beautiful beer with somewhat sweet aroma. Taste finishes dry almost unpleasant to me. Curiously, I continued to enjoy.

Pours a ruby-hued bronze with a compact, tan head that fades over time to a thick halo. Peaty, malty aroma with caramel that becomes downright chewy as it warms. Time also reveals a toasted bread character... maybe more like the crust of an egg-twist loaf. Steady, bittersweet flavor with earthen notes and a touch of sweet tea in the finish. Smooth and slightly heavier than "mid-bodied". Well done.

<font size=-4>Puchased at <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Place/indiana/highlan Liquor Stop, Highland, IN 46322<font size=-1>

Poured a clear dark amber color. Aroma of aged sweet malt. Some caramel/toffee notes. The malty flavor was sweet and dull. Flat mouthfeel.