Harpoon Steve Stewarts Firth of Forth Ale

Brown with amber tint. Creamy head. Roasted chocolate taste with floral finish. Creamy feel in mouth.

22 oz. Bottle. Red-amber pour with a medium, frothy head with good lacing. Aromas of piney hops and Ivory soap. The taste is much more pleasant than the aroma, and is actually quite complex. Toasty malt morphs into mildly astringent hops. It finishes with unburned pipe tobacco and tanned leather. I stepped into a "mudbog" on the Firth of Forth once; this beer is as earthy as the mud that clung to my leg (up to my thigh).

First of all this is a textbook take on the style once you get a couple of sips in. Great lingering flavors on the after palate, amd the alcohol is very low making this an extremely sessionable beer. The nose has some light maltiness, but malt dominant with some fruits, toffee and caramel. The flavors on the palate are slightly earthy, dried fruits, some dates and brown sugar without being sweet, a hint of molasses as well. Soft carbonation, that remains very dry and a finish that stick around and lingers. I like that in a beer. Overall a bit small for the style, but the flavors are spot on, I would like them to do this in a weeheavier/heaviest style.

22oz bottle. Poured a clear ruddy brown color. The head was thin, light tan, and short lived. A citrusy hop aroma came out with the initial pour, but faded a bit over time. Molasses, dark toffee, and dark fruit smells dominated. Medium bodied and slightly sweet. Carbonation was on the lower end of the spectrum. Malt dominated flavor profile including the likes of caramel, toffee, and molasses. Citrusy hops hid in the background. Pretty good stuff. Some measure of peat would have been nice.

Bottle acquired via trade with Tweety...Great guy, great trade!!! Nut brown in color with a small eggshall head. Fairly simple character here...caramel, toffee, brown sugar: fairly sweet but not a ton of other flavors to play with the palate. A bit thin for the style. Average.