Highland Gaelic Ale

Brewed by Highland Brewing Company
Style: Amber Ale
Asheville, North Carolina USA

Jax Wine and Beer, Atlanta, Ga - 12 oz bottle. Dark orange to medium copper pour with a thin white head. Sweet, home-brew type aroma - smells similar to Kids vitamins. Flavor is artificially sweet with some sweet brown sugar candy notes, a touch of molasses and maple syrup. Mouthfeel is slighlty sticky, but not in the best way. Don’t go out of your way for this one.

This is a very fine American ale. I would love to try it on draft. Very flavorful, medium hoppy with a clean finish. Every fridge in the Carolina’s should have one in it!

On tap in Asheville, NC. Nice deep red/amber color. Very nice mix of malt and hops. Subtle hint of fruit, not too sweet and the finish is smooth and very refreshing. This is a very nice brew. Keep up the great work Highlands!

Aroma of plum, fig, slight grapefruit. Appears a hazy reddish-orange with no noticeble effervescence and with no head. Flavor is bitter hoppy and resinous with an underlying biscuity malt base. Palate is appropriately light and refreshing, with low carbonation. Overall, this beer is just slightly less than the sum of its parts, perhaps partly because aroma scored relatively high.

A pleasant blend of malt and hops, though it seems that the balance is not quite there. At first sip I tasted the hops a bit too much, but thereafter the malt sweetness seemed to be overwhelming the bitters. All in all, a pleasant brew when served nice and cold.

Bottle: Courtesy of BlueDevil0206 via trade. Aroma is a combination of apricot and raisins with a light hint of grapefruit. Pours a hazy amber with slight amount of sediment. Small off-white head quickly fades to a razor thin sheet. Dominant flavor is definitely raisin. Hints of apricot in the background struggle to get thru. Finish is lightly bitter. Nice somewhat creamy mouthfeel. Did not expect raisin flavors at all, at it’s a little too much for me.

bottle. Pours a very rich, deep red with a fast fading off-white head. The nose is predominantly malty and has hints of caramel, earth, peat, and dried apricot. The flavor has the slightest suggestion of earthy coffee. Fairly juicy sweetness is present with a berry-like finish and hints of tobacco. Not much in the way of hops. Not quite the typical amber ale, it’s almost a hybrid with a scottish ale, just lighter on the palate. Nothing special, but I could drink one of these any time.

Bottle... Dark, clear, amber ale. Tiny, off-white head. The nose is sort of non-descript, but it’s up against cigar smoke and something with a lot of vinegar just down the bar. Well-balanced flavor. Medium bitter and lightly tangy. Light-bodied and watery with medium carbonation. Finishes lightly bitter and dry.