Upstream Dundee 90 Shilling Scotch Ale

Brewed by Upstream Brewing Company
Style: Scotch Ale
Omaha, Nebraska USA

I have been through Omaha twice, and each time I make it a point to stop and purcahse a pint of the Dundee Scotch. It is a excellent beer with a full body and a smooth flavor. Highly Recomended!

Cask conditioned version on tap at the Old Market location. Two-hued ruby-brown in color with a small head. Strong caramel malt aroma with some green grape and bits of woody grains (wheat), a touch of toffee. Wow, is this stuff highly carbonated - I’m shocked that what I had was cask conditioned. Malty, slightly sticky malt flavor with some definite grain sourness. Decent.

I think this is the second best of Upstream’s brews (behind the Ebenezer). It used to be better. Needs more smoky aroma and flavor from peat-smoked malt. Seems thin in consistency and taste for a 90 Shilling.

Tap. Average in the glass, but a shade darker. Aromas are hops, pine, and some live yeasty esters. The pine flavor is bold upon tasting -- a big hop bite, too -- and a dry but sweet finish. More complex than Upstream’s other offerings, but one can’t escape the watery base and the homebrew characteristics. The components here really aren’t working together.

This was my first scotch ale, and I guess it was a little blander than I expected. I did really like it though.

An employee favorite. Well that alone suggests to me that it lacks taste. I decided to give her a try and found I was quite right. Very smooth and sweet. Dry finish with some maltiness. Amber in color. One of the better Upstreams.

On tap at the 1st Annual Liquid Arts Festival at the Hot Shops, 16th and Nicholas Streets in Omaha, NE. At least this beer has a little color! Foamy white head is somewhat adequate. Seven other homebrew beers were present at the same festival and if none of those beers were available, this might have been a better beer than tapwater, but since on the day after Brando’s death all of these Real Beers were indeed available, this ale was nothing but a bum (certainly not a contenda).

Light brown, only a little light gets through. Very suburban ... only the vagues of nutty tones, overall sweet and caramelly. Totally misnamed ... more like an English style Amber.