Erie Brewing Railbender Ale

Brewed by Erie Brewing Company
Style: Scottish Ale
Erie, Pennsylvania USA

Serve in English pint, Thistle

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Great drinkable beer, full malt flavor with a kick. Has a nice amber color with a soft hop flavor. Finish is light but not watered down.

Bottled. Poured a nice shade of medium amber with a beige head. The aroma picked up sweet, toasty bread and caramel notes, with accents of honey and a touch of green apple.. sweet and non-offensive. The flavor found slightly-smoked caramel and nutty malts, with dry bitterness on the edges.. some fruit and berry notes around there too.. finished dry and lightly-smoky with a kiss of berry. Light-medium bodied and dry on the palate.. prickly and a touch sharp at times.. decent overall feel and flow. This was aiight.

Nothing amazing, but not bad. It’s a very mild ale, in fact it’s kind of sweet. Maybe a little too sweet if you prefer your beer a little bitter, as I do. This one has kind of a fruit and nuts flavor. It doesn’t taste bad, but it’s not one I’d pick up again.

Bottle. It’s a Scottish ale, but overall, I found this to be on the weak side of Scottish ales. The aroma was a sweet fruitiness, the appearance translucent dark copper/bronze with a half inch of foamy head and zero lacing. The medium palate held a semi-sticky texture, and the taste started and ended bitter, the middle serving up a little sweet malt, all notes very muted, which drove down my rating. I’m perplexed why this is Erie’s self-proclaimed "flagship" beer. Their IPA, Misery Bay, is much better than this. But I suppose flagship doesn’t always mean best.

Pretty nondescript beer. Looks and tastes kinda caramelly, though it’s not overly sweet.

12 ounce bottle
I am not sure where this came from but it is a good enough beer. I don’t know that it is a great example of the scottish style (or even an average one). Regardless it at least has enough depth to avoid being a drainpour.

Aroma / Appearance - Coppery bronze this looks just like any other scottish ale made to style. A soft white head looks like sweet icing. Candy corn, sweet malts, and warm apple cider are bright at times but dull at others.

Flavor / Palate - Bronze polish, apple juice, and noble hops provide some depth. The finish is a bit like orange liquer. Balanced and even there is just something missing. I can’t put my finger on it exactly but it just does not have that "wow" factor of a beer made with passion and skill.

~Sweet candy caramel/toffee like aroma with hint of earthy smokiness. ~Pours a clear amber with small white head. ~Caramel bready and biscuit malt flavor with musky earthiness. ~Light med bodied, med CO2, sweet earthy abrupt finish. ~Not sure why the bad ratings... Scottish ales aren’t supposed to be hoppy. I really enjoyed this one.

12 oz bottle, Hazy caramel color, Sweet aroma , sweet taste. It is a scottish ale taste, but it misses.

12oz bottle. Aroma of of caramel malts, some cereal and butterscotch, and some floral hops. Flavor the same. Average texture. A decent beer.

On tap at Tu Tu Tango. Clear butterscotch pour. Uber malty and unbalanced.

12oz bottle poured into snifter. Light brown color with a thin head. Aroma has hints of honey and malt. The flavor is a tad too sweet for my liking. It starts off sweet with a dry finish, flavor is a little unbalanced.