3.7 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 16/20
Nice...thought this was a Belgian strong or a dubbel when I picked it up...apparently I missed the "Mc" part. Anyway very delicious. Pour was a beautiful dark brown witha 3 finger slightly off white head. Aroma of yeast, dark fruit, leather and spice. Taste was more like a Belgian that a Scotch (just my opinion). Medium carbonation and mouthfeel. Dark fruit and spices are strong. The licorice aftertaste had me gagging, however, as I HATE licorice. It only comes out long after the swallow so I just kept swallowing. Felt a little tipsy afterwards, too.
3.9 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
Brown sugar and raisin nose. Cloudy brown, medium beige head. Malty, with a surprising bit of funk for the style, brown sugar and raisin on the back end. Great balance, not overly sweet. Not all that fantastic, but very well made.
3.7 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 17/20
11.2 oz bottle. Fluffy tan head sits on a clear purple-brown. Leaves patches of lace. Malty, medicinal grape with butterscotch underneath. Light woody smoked raisins with some metallic sourness; carrot aftertaste. Medium light with light carb.
3.5 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20
On tap at the Rake, 7th March 2009. Slightly opaque dark amber. Pretty still. Heavily malted as you might expect with a soft toffee nose. Full bodied and strong.
3.5 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 13/20
(75cl bottle) Huge off-white and lasting head. dark brown colour. Malty aroma, some grains/cereals. Toasted. Full and creamy body with soft carbonation and a bitter finish.
4 AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 17/20
Outstandingly complex ale. Dark cloudy brown appearance with rather large creamy tan head. Strong carbonation. Aroma is rich and fruity: fig, raisin, licorice, chocolate. Flavor is strong and alcoholic with strong notes of raisin and licorice, chocolate, caramel and fruitiness less strong. A bit tart and funky in a Belgiany way, but fruity and sweet like a Scottish ale. At first the high carb bothered me, but after drinking a whole big bottle, I realized that without it, this beer would be a morass of strong flavors cloying on the tongue. The bubbles keep it light (well, more or less, its a heavy beer) and lively, and keep the flavors moving.
3.8 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20
Aroma of dark bread. Very robust head. Somewhat opaque dark reddish-brown, with some sediment. Some sweet, dark, fruity malt tastes up front, with a just a hint of sourness and some spices at the end (hops?). Very interesting blend of styles here, and it works. Medium body and some effervescence. Aftertaste is very nice, lightly citric, almost... Good stuff.
3.4 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20
jayme_9874 hits it precisely...I was left wanting more maltiness, in aroma and taste, more body. Good, but not great. I wanted so much to applaud this combination of styles, but this beer describes a point in the exact middle of a line connecting the two beer styles it is trying to combine. If I want an odd mixture, I would rather go with the scottish/doppelbock of Robert the Bruce.
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