Broughton Black Douglas Ale

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

Crystal bronze pour under a thin khaki head. Mildly floral but mostly roasted malty aroma. Flavor of roasted malt, toffee, and overripe fruit with a hint of nuttiness. A little thin in the palate and a sweet finish.

Deep reddish colour with a beige head. Roasted malty aroma with chocolate bitterness and a vague fruity note. Roasted malty flavor with hints of coffee, fruit and chocolate.

Bottle sampled with the Mad Indian. Pours deep bronze with a decent sized off-white head. Aroma of chocolate, roast, and citrus. Flavor is chocolate, citrus, roast, and finishes bitter. Good body, drinkable brew.

Bottle... Crystal clear, ruby ale with a large, frothy, mushroom-colored head. Good retention. The malty, earthy nose delivers notes of chocolate, dark fruit, wood and red wine. The flavor is malty with light molasses, chocolate and dried plum. Leans just a little on the bitter side of balance. Light to medium-bodied and fizzy. Crisp, mostly clean finish with an aftertaste of dark, dried fruit.

Not from my favorite or a fancy style, that’s for sure. Poured a brownish-reddish color with a nice pillowy head, good lacing. The darkest bitter I’ve had. The aroma was of caramel, tofee, and dark fruits (I like OrvalPlease’s "fruit cake" descriptor below, that’s it!). The flavor was comparable, with some roasted malts in there and a dry finish (hops?). Mouthfeel was moderate to heavy for the style.

Bottle. Poured dark brown with a large frothy off-white head that diminished slowly with good lacing. Moderate roasted malt citrus aroma. Medeium body with a thin texture. Medium roasted balanced flavor with a medium bitter finsh of average duration.

Bottle. Clear orange coloured with an off white head. Light roasted aroma of malts and fruits. Light roasted flavour of malts and fruits.

The beer makes good its escape from the 500ml brown bottle into my glass, the color a deep blood red, the head Bunyanesque in size, the texture creamy and the color a beauteous light tan, as it slowly dematerializes, the lace forms a concealing blanket to obscure the glass. Nice rich malt nose, with a bit of caramel, sugar like, and a bit of fresh churned butter, start is lightly sweet, the grain profile adequate and the top light to medium in feel. Finish is surly in its acidity, the hops perfection, quite dry and refreshing on this 100 degree day in Arizona.