Inveralmond Blackfriar Scottish Ale

Brewed by Inveralmond
Style: Scotch Ale
Perth, Perthshire and Kinross, Scotland

Pours apricot color with a decent beige head and lots of floaties. There is a nice toffee aroma and a carbonated smoked malt flavor with a bitter finish.

50cl bottle, design has been updated since the one on the photo - but there’s still the same black friar at the center. Pours a deep copper with a medium light beige head. Very good retention, generous lacing. Aroma of toasted malt, sweet berries and hops, with a hint of cinnamon. Medium- to heavy-bodied strong ale with a thick, creamy mouth feel. On the lower end of moderate carbonation. Caramel, chocolate, roasted malt, coffee and a surprisingly deft note of hops dominate the flavour - but there’s an oaky note in there, too - or is it smokey?. Appealing balance of sweet opening, bitter middle and dry, hoppy finish. Lingering, wee bitter after taste. Alcohol is noticeable but not obtrusive. This is a characterful, strong brew from Scotland. Very well balanced, agreeably complex - but still sessionable. Somewhere between an ESB and a stout - intriguing!

Murky chestnut colored with a very large light tan head that evaporates quickly and leaves nice lacing. Nutmeg and cinnamon, with scotch and malt. Starts sweet and progresses to spice then bitterness. Somewhat complex, with a nice combination of spices. Very full bodied, yet does not show its alcohol. Overall a nice scotch style ale, good on a cold winter’s day.

Copper colur, off-white head, some lacing. Aroma is malts, malts, malts, honey, toffee, sugar, plums, raisins. Flavour is malty and rich with a nice ending bitterness to balance the malts. Mouthfeel is smooth, this was a nice acquaintance from a brewery that is new to me.

11/04/2009: The Inveralmond Brewery Blackfriar... Aroma: Dust? I don’t really smell anything. Maybe an extremely faint hint of smoky butter. Appearance: Dark? The label says dark, but it isn’t anywhere near dark. Maybe it meant dark-ish gold. It also has a slight haze and a frothy, persisting white to off-white head of foam. Flavor: Toasted malts; creamy vanilla-ish toffee malts; traces of almonds; extremely mild earthy hop notes in the finish. Palate: Medium-full; smooth, mellow, and milky texture. Overall:

1 pt. .9 fl. oz. bottle ( 7% alc./vol.; Best before: FEB 201Z ) shared by Tmoney99. Thanks Tom! Rating #215 for this beer.

(bottle) Hazy, amber colour with a big and bubbly off-white foamy head. Slightly sweet cara-malty aroma with notes of caramel, ginger and peppery spicy, also slightly fruity hops. Sweet-bitter flavour, medium bodied with a soft carbonation. Cara-malty taste with caramel, candy, spicy notes and a mild fruity touch. Medium-dry, sweet-bitter, slightly fruity and woody hoppy finish with a moderate alcoholic burn. Not outstanding but pretty palatable. 09.XI.09

An amber color body with a quick leaving cream colored head. Leaves a thick film behind that laces nicely. The strong hoppy floral smell is dominant with a background of brown sugar. The taste is big in hops, malt, and some butterscotch. Pretty good beer. I’m enjoying this one.

Pours a deep reddish amber with a good two fingers of off-white head. The nose is malty sweet with a little whiskey and brown sugar. Floral hoppiness is light. The taste starts with brown sugar, sweet whiskey, burnt malts, perhaps a little peet too. next comes some molasses with a dark raisin flavor. The end has some floral hoppiness to it. The finishes sweet but not cloying. Alcohol is warm on the tongue. The mouth feel is full. It doesn’t have as much of the burnt smoke flavor as other Scotch ales I’ve tried, and it is a little sweeter, but it is still a nice representation of the style.