Full Sail Keelhauler

Brewed by Full Sail Brewing Company
Style: Scottish Ale
Hood River, Oregon USA

Serve in English pint, Thistle

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Nice pour, deep red, thin white head, great clarity. From there it went downhill, to many hops, not enough body, needed more malt complexity to it. I thought this came out more like an ESB or Amber then a scottish, the hops were citrusy and overpowering, leaving it a bit oily. Malts give caramel and biscuit, but not enough of them. A touch of peat would have been nice.

May 2010: 22 Fl oz bottle drank at our B&B in Springdale, Utah after a day walking in Zion National park. The beer was purchased at a Lee’s Discount Store in Vegas and transported to Utah for reviewing at leasure. Poured into two stemmed goblets the beer looked a picture. Deep amber body, off-white, creamy foaming head, which left some good solid lacing as the beer sank down the goblets. Malty biscuits/molasses/toffee and a hint of smoked peat were the smalls I picked up. The sweetness from the aroma was evident in the first sip, but a hop bite and bitterness soon came along to remind you this wasn’t a childs drink. I thought it gave off a richness and warmth which helped my aching bones to recover for the next days hiking.

Bottle:   Clear burnt orange, on the darker side.   Moderate foamy off-white head, spotty lacing.   Biscuity nose, faint campfire, peat, smoke, charred wood... very faint.   First thing I notice is its not malty enough, not meaty.   Feels like more of a Bock type beer than a Scottish.   Not really getting any peat, charred wood, or campfire on the tongue.   Its a rather dirty biscuity flavor.   Body and mouthfeel are lacking, at least for a nice Scottish.   Not watery, just not enough body.   Has a bit of a grainy malt finish to it.   Not a bad beer, but very ho-hum and not caliber I would have thought for a Full Sail brew.

Bottle. Poured a clear dark orange color. The head was thin and light brown with decent retention. Big malty nose akin to caramel-soaked raisins and dates with a dash of brown sugar. Medium to full body and slightly sweet with mild bitterness. Molasses, caramel, and earthy hop flavors.

Bomber pours clear dark ruby amber with thin tan head. The aroma offers up loads of prunes, cherries and red apples as well as some caramel, spicy yeastiness and Belgian candy sugar. The taste is similar with plenty of cherries, prunes and ripe red apples. These notes are tempered by caramel malts, some malt roastiness, chocolate malts and some biscuit. I also get a mix of earthy hops and a touch of spicy hops that help round out the experience. This is complex and bold in flavor. If there was a touch less in the ester department and a bit more integration this would be truly dynamite.

22 oz bottle, 2009. Clear cola with a smooth beige coating. Nose is caramel, sweet smoke and dates. Soft and rounded medium body with prickly carb. Taste is toffee, malt, slightly burnt sugar and grass. Hoppy for a Scottish ale, even after a year or so, but it works well.

Clear copper color/ thin off white head. Leafy, spicy hop aromas. medium bodied. Big malty caramel, spicy flavors with leafy hops. Nicely bitter finish.

Bottle. Pours a deep amber brown with a thick tan cap. Aroma is sweet dark toffee, earthy old wood, brown sugar, and caramelized bananas. Sweet toffee flavour accented by earthy tones, wood, and vague fruit (not the banana hinted at in the aroma...plums maybe?). Tasty.

Pours black with large head. Aroma of toast, chocolate and grassy. Earthy flavor profile. Very grassy, yet toasty, chocolatey. Thin body

(bottle - 22 oz) Red/copper pour with a fluffy off-white head. Aroma is very dry and bitter with a lot of smoke and burnt malts. Maybe a little too much smoke. Almost coffee-like. Flavor is heavy roasted and smoked malts. Some caramel underneath but the bitterness really is what you taste the most of. Slightly sweet at the finish and well crafted. I like them smokey.

(bottle) Pours clear, reddish brown with an off-white head and some lacing as well. Aroma of coconut, cherry, caramel, must, green pepper, and smoke. Dorito’s chips. Wow, this thing smells even weirder the longer it sits. The taste is light caramel, faintly bitter, with just a hint of smoke and toasted malt on the finish, and really nothing else. A bit of berry skin tartness in here as well that intensifies with warming. Gets really dry on the palate. Mouthfeel is medium to light with fairly lively carbonation.