McNeills Tartan Export Ale

Brown colour. Excellent aroma - toffee, graham cracker, molasses, Christmas fruitcake, portobello, earth. The palate on the other hand is bland over bland - vague caramel and a little bit of orange. What happened?

On tap at Mcneills. Copper hue, lasting beige ring. Mellow yet interesting candy bouquet, caramelic and cookiesh. Well balanced in mouth, not too sweet and rather light, but has pleasant touch of smoke and earth together with raw barley and bready undertones. The mouthfeel could be a bit fuller perhaps, this is a bit watery and strongly carbonated..

Bottle shared courtesy of egajdzis (thanks!). Poured a darker and cloudy brown color with an averaged sized off white head. Earthy aromas and tastes with some caramel and toffee. A sour funkiness came out in the taste.

Crystal clear, dark, caramel-colored ale with a large, tan, rocky head. Nice lacework. Terrific nose. Notes of dates, hazelnuts, molasses, earth, toffee, sweet bread and alcohol. The flavor doesn’t stand as tall as the aroma. A bit of caramel, hazelnut, smoke and cocoa. Fairly nondescript, but not at all offensive. Medium-bodied with a lightly creamy mouthfeel and mild carbonation. Moderately dry finish.

Sept 02, 22oz bottle: Pours beautifully, bubbly and foamy, dark brown and rich; eventually a very large head forms, which when settled leaves a lot of lacing. Aroma reminiscent of a sweet brown ale; hazelnutty, very malty, molasses -- but rather on the weak side. Flavor smoky, sweet, little carbonation, earthy, grassy, hoppy towards the end; quite complex but a little too much competition in the flavors. Body moderately full, finish long and bitter. Very interesting concoction from Ray McNeill, but not one of his most successful.

Jan 03: It's a super-cold depressing lonely Friday evening, and the ultra-sugary maltiness is much more appealing now. I love the creme brulee overtones and the earthy undertones; this is a beer for -5 degrees if you're not going for an Imp Stout or Barley Wine.