Orkney Red MacGregor (Bottle)

Brewed by Orkney (Sinclair Breweries)
Style: Premium Bitter/ESB
Stromness, Orkney, Highlands & Islands, Scotland

I found this a pretty unremarkable drinking experiance. Pour is reddish deep amber with a nice bubbly head. Aroma is malt, and sweet caramel. Not much to speak of in the hop dept in either the nose or flavor. Earthy flavors, slightly peaty, and almost like a light scotch ale.

Bottle courtesy of daknole. Pours reddish brown with a nice rocky off white head. Smells of grassy hops, hay, straw, some hints of roses. Tastes tarte and grassy with an earthy finish.

Deep amber color with moderate sized creamy head. Smells vegetal (perhaps even peaty, but this might just be because Im seeing Scotland on the label). Definitely smokey. Fairly full body for an ESB. Toasty and malty, much more so than for many ESBs.. Characteristically dry finish, though without much of the citrusy aftertaste I generally expect. Good beer.

500ml bottle from Villeneuvewines in Edinburgh. Great lacework from a decent off-white head. Ruby-brown body colour. Moderate dry malty smell. Light taste of caramel malts with slight smokiness. Some hints of bitterness on the swallow. Medium bodied. Good, but it didn’t match the cask version [25.10.2008].

As I try to avoid all cliché movie references, I still have visions of Mel Gibson in a kilt with a painted face and bloody axe wielded high as he lets out an enraged and blood-curdling cry. Movie references and spoofs aside, the brewery which has brought me today the Red MacGregor is none other than the Orknay Brewery which produces a divinely intense brew by the name of Skull Splitter. I sense a theme, but it could also just be me. Splitting skulls and kilts included, I am more than ready to dive into my Red MacGregor, a Scottish red ale of what I hope to be delectable proportions.
My Red MacGregor pours a deep burnt red with hints of brown glaring at me from her deepest depths. A huge head rushes to greet me, fading ever so slowly to a rather thick blanket on top. Already impressed just by her pour, I raise my glass to see if her nose is equally so. Sweet toasty malts and toffee, baked bread crust, hints of apples and spice, citric esters, and a dazzling array of lace with each swirl is the greeting I receive. Wow. Without hesitation or fear I delve greedily into her liquid depths and am equally amazed. A very clean mouthfeel with sweet toasted malts right up front. A touch of lemon and citric bite in the finish brings me back for multiple sessions. Toffee and toasted bread along with fresh apples dance merrily along my tastebuds. A very quaffable session Scottish red ale with a low ABV means I could very easily enjoy a couple three of these brews without any trouble. Instead, I verily say it would be two to three times the pleasure and enjoyment. As I finish out my glass, I reminisce fondly of our intimate experience, replete with rich toasty malts, sweet toffee notes, fresh crisp apples and spice and a cleansing bitter lemon finish.
Red MacGregor is living proof that kilted skirts and war-paint wouldn’t stand a chance against the multiple winning combinations of this Scottish red ale. I am in such a sensory nirvana that I really have so little that I can say about this beer other than magnificent. I could have one every day and never grow tired of my Red MacGregor.

Thanks 17thfloor! Pours a dark brown/red color with a small off-white froth. Aroma is sweet and malty with some definite caramel malts playing a big role. A lot of a sugary hard candy. Flavor starts sugary with a nice bit of nuttiness and earthy wood. The bitterness quickly enters the scene and takes over along with some mild fruit notes and bitterness. Medium body and avaerage carbonation. Good ESB but a bit weak in the aroma and quick in the finish.

Deep garnet and brown body that shows copper when held to light. There is a light khaki head on top. The smell is rich caramel with some light milk chocolate. There is also a little bit of tobacco and plums. Rich. The taste is slightly bitter with some leathery goodness and a little bit of oranges. There is also some iced tea. A nicely made brew, but needs a little smoothing.

Thanks to rcasta. Bottle: Powerful aroma hints of a powerful beer. But starts faints almost ’air’ like, the warms and releases stout characteristics, finish just as it starts subtle.