Traquair House Ale

Brewed by Traquair
Style: English Strong Ale
Innerleithen, Borders, Scotland

12 oz. bottle - pours clear, dark brown with trace tan head; thick aromas of dank fruit, apple juice; medium body, rich, fruity, malty and dry; nutty and yeasty; quite a bit going on with lots of dark fruit, raisins, toffee and chocolate coming out; coriander too; flatness of texture is the main complaint here; very nice though

Enjoyed from a 11.2oz bottle in a pub glass. The beer pours a dark brown to just slightly lighter than black with a small but noticeable just off-white head. Complex malt notes come through in the palate, with an especially strong emphasis on crystal malts (perhaps ranging from C-40 to C-80). No hop presence is found in either the aroma or the palate, unsurprisingly. The palate is unapologetically malty, showing the aforementioned crystal malt notes, hints of milk chocolate, and a very very subtle roasted character. Overall, excellent.

Bottle into a pint glass. The aroma on this is a bit hard to describe... Almost like smokey, malty, and bready. The flavor is like smoked meats mixed with orange peels, baking biscuits, and fresh malt syrup. Almost a strange combo. Not bad. Pretty high carbonation. As I go through it I’m noticing more and more of the qualities of an old ale - some esters and a hint of alcohol.

Bottle - Pours hazy brown with a small tight tan head. Rich roast toffee and caramel malt aroma, with some chocolate. Wonderful smooth creamy body. All of the malts come together for a wonderful almost syrupy flavour. Short lived dry finish which has almost a buttery finish....wish I had bought more than one of these!

Pours dark amber brown with a big off white head. Aroma is a mix of bready light, caramel and roasted malts and an almost metallic earthiness. Flavor is nice blend of caramel, toffee and chocolate, with the same earthy metallic bitter finish. Pretty good.

Dark ruby pour, fizzy off-white head. Dark caramel malt, dark dried fruits, plum, and earthy. The body is actually fairly thin, the strong aroma I thought it would be heavier. Malty with dark fruit, caramel, molases, a bit of smoke, and earthiness. Decent.

30cl bottle from Waitrose, Edinburgh. Deep copper colour with a thin white head that rapidly fades to a ring; rich malty aroma with lots of winter fruits, prunes and raisins; more thinly bodies than I expected, smooth and buttery with toasted malts and light fruit flavours - cherry and plum; the finish is earthy, peaty and slightly smoky, and hides the alcohol very well. A pleasant ale, but I was expecting more.

Reddish brown with little to no head. Big toasty sweet malts with a slight molasses aroma. Flavors were a complex blend of caramel malts, rich dark fruit and a little peatiness. Subdued bitter alcoholic finish-almost like wine.