Town Hall Hope and King Scotch Ale

Brewed by Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery
Style: Scotch Ale
Minneapolis, Minnesota USA

This is a well done Scotch Ale. Beautiful mahogany color with a deep ruby overtone. Sweet, malted barley aroma. Certainly a "roasted chocolate" flavor, hints of toffee and a very slight taste of sweet fruit. Buoyant on the palate.

On draft at the brewpub. A semi-clear copper amber pour with a thin off-white head that disappears quickly. Aroma of vanilla, caramel, roasted nuts and maybe bread. I was quite impressed by the aroma. Taste was not as good as the aroma. Flavors of butter, malt, and a toffee or butterscotch come through, but all are weak except for the butter. I think this is what turned me off more than anything. It was not bad, just not as good as I would have expected.

Cask pour into Pint Glass. Dark reddish-brown, dark ruby when held up to light. Thin head. Aroma of smoky, caramel malts, light hops. Malty, sweet, but not quite as sweet as expected. Smoke and biscuit flavors. I never know what to expect from Scotch Ales, as some seem to actually be Export Scottish Ales (80), while others are very sweet and are definitely Wee Heavys. This tastes in between; maybe this is what would be deemed a 90 shilling. Low carbonation, relatively dry despite semi-sweet taste. Easy to drink. Overall nice flavor, so could definitely have another.

On tap at the brewpub.
Pours a clear chestnut brown with white wispy head that leaves almost no lacing. Aroma is surprisingly sweet and vinous. This is unlike any Scotch-style ale I’ve ever smelled. Flavor is intensely rich and vinous, though it’s "rich" without being "thick" or syrupy. In fact it’s a pretty thin palate on this beer. Very modest hop bitterness. This is almost like a light-bodied traditional Englsih barleywine. I’m not sure how accurate this is for a Scotch ale, but it sure is impressive on its own merits.

Pint at the brewery - Aroma is toasted malts, caramel and toffee. Flavor matches but is very sweet and thin. Too clean and non-eventful to be a good scotch ale.

A rich, dark, red tinted, brown colored beer with a rich, tan, creamy head. Dirty, malt aroma. Heavy, syrupy mouthfeel. Very sweet flavor with molasses, sugar, roasted toffee, and caramel. Heavy caramel malt flavor. A little chocoaltely, light and sweet onthe finish. This would make a good after dinner beer, after a roasted lamb or something.

Sample at the brewery. Very dark brown pour with an off-white head. Sweet malty, caramelly aroma. Light fruity flavor, more caramel, nice sweetness, very nice drinker.

Malt bomb. Lots of malt but lacking some of that chocolate remainder you get from a scotch ale like Great Divide’s Claymore.