Moylans Kilt Lifter Scotch Ale

Brewed by Moylans Brewery & Restaurant
Style: Scotch Ale
Novato, California USA

On tap at California Brewfest. This dark amber ale poured with a short tan head. Tastes like a scotch ale should - balanced malt and caramel peat enhanced flavor.

pours a dark amber... the aroma is of sweet caramel and brown sugar... very smooth with medium carbonation... kinda watery with a sweet burst of caramel in the finish... doesn’t have a lingering aftertaste... enjoyable for an occasional indulgence but I couldn’t drink more than one and wouldn’t drink it often.

this brew smells very inviting. Scents of butterscotch and brown sugar. Moderately carbonated. Fizzy if you will. Sweet aftertaste. Don’t know if i could drink more than one in an evening.

Pretty mahogany to chestnut red-brown. Good 2-fingered head, lasts a bit, nice lace. Smells of fresh grasses, earth, hops, herbs, smoke, toffee ,smoke, maltose, yeast.and caramel. Tastes include earth, peat, smoky malt, caramel, toffee, brown sugar, molasses, honey, banana, raisens, and currants with a solid bitterness finish. While the bitterness was apparent, I didn’t taste much of the hops. I got a little bit of yeast, too. Balance, however, is definitely on the malt side. This is a nice peat-smoke, malty ale. Mouthfeel is good, the tiniest bit thin. Effervescent and refreshing, with a slightly metallic aftertaste which abated as it warmed.

Bottle, Fogg Robson

Bright dark amber colour. Big caramel aroma with hints of earth. Chewy, earthy body, with plenty of caramel and a hoppy accent in the finish. The malts aren’t as bright as I’d like them to be - the beer plods its way across the palate.

22 oz. bottle. My first and only Moylans. I like Scotch Ales, so I naturally compare this with the few I’ve had, like Skull Splitter and McEwan’s. The first thing is that the full malty aroma wasn’t there. The nice dark brown (a tint of red) color was there, nice mouthfeel. A tad overcarbonated. The flavor was good, but not top-notch. I certainly think Moylans is onto something here, though - the deficiencies are pretty minor overall - a step away from being great. Bottom line is I got this in a corner store in SF while visiting, and if I lived there I’d probably buy it on the regular.

On cask @ Moylans poured a clear dark brown with a small amber head. Aromas of carmel, toffee, and bread. Flavors of toffee, bread, hint of dark fruit, and a wee bit vinous.

Bottle. Pours a deep deep red with a brownish tint, off white head, clear with a few bubbles. Aroma is malty, kind of a bready smell to it, a hint of ethanol hanging in there too. Strong malt flavor, very rich with bourbony notes, a little bit of alcohol bite, hop bitterness peeks through as it finishes. Full bodied, carbonation was a bit heavy I thought, coats my mouth very smoothly, rich but not oily at all. It stacks up with the other Moylans beers that I’ve had, good stuff.