Gritty McDuffs Scottish Ale

Brewed by Gritty McDuffs
Style: Scottish Ale
Portland, Maine USA

Date: 04/28/1999
Mode: Draft
Source: Brewpub

dark amber, thin head, malt aroma with a slight hint of butterscotch, sweet but well balanced malt flavor, just a touch of bitterness in the finish

Aroma: 5/10; Appearance: 5/10; Flavor: 5/10; Palate: 5/10; Overall: 10/20
Rating: 2.6/5.0
Score: *4
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(12oz bottle, best by 10/06) Small beige head atop a clear nut brown body. Aroma is moderately sweet, caramel, peach syrup, some molasses. Taste is medium sweet, caramel, peach, melon, some earthy, orange, butterscotch, faint peat. Medium body with a bit of stickiness, nicely drinkable. Malts may be the primary flavors, but the hops definitely make themselves known.

Pours a transparent copper orange with a thin froth of stringy-lacing white head. Aroma of slightly doughy sweet malts and some slightly earthy notes. Body starts fairly full and malty sweet with some earthy bittering hop character toward a crisp slightly peaty finish with a hint of tartness. A pretty decent Scottish ale.

Any first impressions?
-A thick, airy foam slowly dissipates on the fiery, yet sombre scarlet.
-Mineral effusions mar the nose’s first appeal.
-Earthy hops healthily contribute to the baccate caramel maltiness.
-The mouthfeel is appropriately carbonated in order to convey the desire for a rich session.

What if you dig deeper?
-The resinous hop bitterness is subtle at first, but builds up as the sips stack up.
-The fruity, earthy maltiness is somewhat simple, but it suits the beer’s needs perfectly.
-Grassy hops and toasted malt sweetness finally pierce the aroma once the mineral unpleasantness has evaporated.
-A very capable scottish ale which won’t turn many heads, but will satisfy most of those looking for a dance of many liters with the style.

Bottle; best before December ’06.

Pours copper with a white head. Smells malty with some tea elements. Taste is tarte and malty with some weird molasses like notes.

Pours sort of amber glass colored with khaki head. Aroma is bready scotchy malt, caramel, some vinous fruity notes, and some earthy peaty notes. Tastes malty, caramelly, with mild vinous fruit hints, a solid hop presence and some earthy peaty root cellary notes late. I really like this style, and this one was decent.

A dark amber ale with a thin off white head. A strong caramel aroma with notes of vanilla. In mouth, a rather boring ale, with sweet caramel, light hopping, nutty notes, rather cloying sweetness in final. Bottle from Gonzobeer.

22 oz bottle shared with the Master of Disaster, ClarkVV at his parents’ palatial chalet in Belfast Maine. Hazy dark amber with a tiny ring of foam...creme brulee dominant in nose with some nice earthyness and a touch of wet hops for balance...thick molasses in the body, bit of orangy fruitiness and acidity, very full, dry hoppy quite long finish. A surprise, honestly, I wasn’t expecting much.