Pike Kilt Lifter Scotch Ale

Brewed by Pike Pub & Brewery
Style: Scotch Ale
Seattle, Washington USA

Tap@Brewpub, 6.5% ABV. Malty and light peaty aroma. Amber colour, beige head, good lace. Sweet, bitter, peaty, herbal hops, nutty. Sticky and soft mouth feel. Flavourful and highly drinkable.

Really like this brew. My first ’Scoth Ale’ was expecting more of a Scotch Whiskey taste to it, but was supprised a a complex yet easy drinking brew of very new style to me. I highly recommend it.

12-oz. Pours a deep, dirty-penny coppery amber. Not much head, just a touch of lace at the collar. Big sweet and sour malty nose--not Flemish sour, just a nicely nuanced malt mix. Big sugary malt buckwheat flavor on the attack and through the mid-palate; lots of sweet simple pleasures to be had there. Medium body, light carb. A bit of hop for balance toward the end; what’s there is herbal. Light finish, some very faint hop held to the wall of your throat by sticky sugar. Good stuff, if not quite enough to make me stand up and play Amazing Grace on the pipes right this minute.
The Lagavulin-aged version is scarcely worth adding as a separate entity. Had it on draft today, 7-22-07, at Brouwer’s. Kill all the malt and hop flavors and aromas, soften the carb by half, and replace all the other flavors with a non-descript note of vanilla at the end. Meh.

Reddish brown color, medium head. Slightly hopped, very malty. Scotch like maltyness. Nice balance. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is malty, smoky undertones.

This one is a toss up for me. I used to prefer McEwan's, but this one is really winning my favor. Full bodied with out being overpowering, balanced and hoppy, with a smooth creamy aftertaste, slightly smokey and complex in the finish, but his just leaves you wanting another pour.

Much, much, MUCH better the second time. On tap; poured a red mahogany with an offwhite head and some lace. Aroma was nearly pure butterscotch. The taste was more of the same, with a slight hint of chili and a definite smokiness.

This Scottish ale poured into rich, dark, and clear amber colour underneath a foaming off-white head, albeit on the small side. The aroma was quite malty with some undertones of hops, and it was quite pleasing to the nose. The taste was very much as I’d expected a Scottish to be, with malt sweetness and what I thought might be some caramel as well. Mouthfeel was "solid", and the finish was quite right.

Notes from the night say this exactly: Dark copper. Light chocolate aroma. Chocolate, smoke, and leather in the flavor. Good Shit!