Traquair Jacobite Ale

Brewed by Traquair
Style: Traditional Ale
Innerleithen, Borders, Scotland

"A most interesting selection, sir." Beer seekers need to try this one sooner or later. It’s something like a strong old ale with, of course, the prominent coriander character. So that’s what coriander character is like. Don’t waste time reading this trying to figure out what it’s like; just try it yourself. Swirl it around in your tulip glass. Savor it. Sip it. Do it until the end of the glass. By close to the end, when you’ve one or two sips left, you’re really getting somewhere.

A flavourful beer of chocolate, figs and spices, great young to excellent when aged. Page 461 of Michael Jackson’s Great Beer Guide and only 234 of his 500 Classic Brews to go.

wow, this is one interesting brew. an aggresive pour leaves almost zero head, just some lacing. Aroma is incredible, fresh fruit, plum, incredibly floral, almost like expensive perfume. Taste doesn’t disappoint, sweet fruits, floral, almost like an incredibly fruity tea, as well as some caramel, small hops and spice. I’ve never tasted anything like this before. It is made with coriander, so I assume that is a lot of the interesting smell and taste. I give this beer points for originality. This brew is a must try.

Pours black/brown with very little head. Strong aroma of citrus, maybe lemon, and a light floral quality. Understated hop bitterness that comes up toward the end, with citrus, molasses, and flowers.

Pours a dark mahogony with a small head. Nice spicy nose with hints of dark fruit as well as ripe fruit, anise, and the corriander is very pronounced. Great powerful mouthfeel with anise and corriander dominating, but there are hints of a light hoppiy nature. Great malt backbone with a nice spicy balance.

Bottle poured showing nearly no head. Dark caramel appearance. Perhaps a complex mix of tastes that came across to me as plain. I guess since it comes from Scotland I’ll say all the flavors equalled a "plaid." Minimal carbonation.

An unusual specimen: very dark, very murky chestnut brown, hardly any head or lacing. Chocolate, licorice in the nose with moderately toasted malts and a very noticeable but still not "hot" alcohol presence. Very smooth, perhaps undercarbonated, but refreshing and drinkable. Hard to pinpoint, but has a certain purity of taste and smell that clearly indicates exceptional quality and craftmanship. A perfect ale for cold winter’s eve.

Bottle. Nice brown colour with a medium rather short lasting head. Aroma of coriander indeed, nice maltiness and caramel. Flavour has coriander, toasty malts, sweet caramel, slight liquorice and some spices. Very tasty ale.