McNeills Scotch Ale

Brewed by McNeills Brewery
Style: Scotch Ale
Brattleboro, Vermont USA

Bottle at ’December at DougShoemaker’s 2005’ -- courtesy of Sammy. Pours a cloudy reddish-brown with a small off-white head. Nice aroma of scotch, smoke and malt. Average flavour that follows the aroma. Nice but nothing special, it’s O.K.

Bottle, Doug’s Christmas 05. Some malt in mild aroma. Hazy dark brown, small tan head. Mild mat taste, no smoke that I can tell, I am having a heard time figuring out how this is a scotch ale. Fairly bland and inoffensive, it looks like this as not transferred nearly that well to bottles as it has tasted on tap. Oh well, I’ll rate what I try and this was truly unremarkable.

Cloudy amber, brown ale, smallish head on top. Off buttery, scotch aroma, gentle woody feel. Overall nothing special. A bit smoky, with more of woody character, light sweet fruity malts, strawberry like finish. Acidic palate.

Sourish toffee, some chocolate. A bit of alcohol burn. Flavor has sour toffee, a bit of chocolate. Very bitter cocoa/caramel finish. Blah.

Unfiltered yet bottle conditioned 2005. Good cocoa aroma as well as peat. Great head with soap bubbles and lace. Nice dark colour. A medium mouthfeel and body. Malty and caramel, not that much peat in there,

Pours a dark mahogany with a thin ring of light tan head. Aroma has a nice sweet, toasty caramel maltiness with a touch of peat. Full malty body has a good sweet caramel flavor with a sticky, semi-dry finish. A pleasant Scotch ale.

2005 bomber shared with Muzzlehatch on 11/4/05. Summery orange colors mix with chestnut browns in a hazy, well-carbonated body. Half a finger of off-white head is well-retained and provides for ample lacing. Smells of light buttercream, nuts, lightly toasted grains. First flavor notes are of a dry, nutty and floral bitterness, quickly moving to a lightly sweet toffee with buttercream and a strong hops bite. A bit astringent/dry sourness, but a moderately expansive carbonation and unfiltered mouthfeel provide a solid vessel for flavor expression here. Light licorice and nuttiness on the finish, with light earthy/dry yeast notes that are, again, sour. Body is medium for the style, with no alcohol apparency and significantly less fruitiness than I was expecting.

Poured a dark copper color with an off white head and nice lacing on the glass. Smokey, sweet, lightly roasted aroma. Mostly the same in the taste plus a touch of alcohol. Mouthfeel could be a bit fuller. A very nice Scotch Ale, thanks EDA!