Today was a pretty decent day at work. My employees were gone and I had a fairly good talk with boss (who I’ve only gotten a chance to talk with about 3 times since I started about 3 months ago). I was also able to get home at a decent time. So, to celebrate the day, I cracked open this beer while making dinner. I picked this one up during one of my many work trips up to Chicago lately.
Location: I poured it into a snifter pint glass at my home in Bloomington, IL.
Numbers: 6.5% ABV, 25 IBUs, ~220 Calories
Appearance & Aroma: It’s black in color with some brown-ruby highlights when held up to the light. It’s so dark, I can really tell about its clarity. The head fell after a couple minutes to a thin tan layer across the top, and the aroma was a dark caramel maltiness with hints of toastiness and nuttiness.
Taste & Feel: The body is medium and the mouthfeel is slightly crisp and a bit creamy at the same time. Up front, it’s sweet with a nutty caramel maltiness. The malty nutty flavors get richer in the middle, and in the finish, a roastiness comes in to match the caramel nuttiness as the two boldest flavors. The roastiness and nuttiness last for a couple minutes in the aftertaste.
Food Pairing: The nutty and roasty flavors are the most prevalent in this beer, and therefore, is a very easy decision to pair this with a steak. The char of the steak could mix nicely with the roasty and nutty flavors in this beer. As a secondary option, I’d also pair this with BBQ.
Overall Impression: I thought this beer had some good flavors very drinkable. The rich maltiness was exactly what I’d expect from a Scottish style, but the nuttiness and roastiness added some complexity to it. The roastiness was not astringent, and came in late to balance the sweetness a bit. Overall, I thought this was a solid beer, and a nice one for a cold winter day.
My Rating: 
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