Neustadt Springs Scottish Ale

decent beer, nice brown colour, decnt head, good malt character, definate sweet malts in the body, nice beer prefer it to the 10W30 now.

RE-RATE - I deduct three points overall for this otherwise excellent brewer marketing this beer as a ’Double fuggled IPA" --- go fuggle yourself !!! --- Fresh six-pack from LCBO. Reddish golden hue and foamy cap. Some very nice fruity and chocoalatey ale character although it is in the light and refreshing side. Ale-wise I slightly prefer the 10w-30 for the extra character. A class act from Neustadt’s more serious brewing approach of late.

341ml bottle - pours a very hazy orange with a big, frothy, rocky head on top. Looks great actually, though maybe isn’t as dark as a Scottish ale should be. Has a sort of earthy, chocolately aroma with some fruitiness in behind. Flavour is chocolately, caramel malts off the top, followed by a very light hoppiness, carried through by more sweet malt toward the finish. Medium bodied, the flavour starts big and finishes light and I could deal with a longer, lingering flavour towards the end, but this is certainly not bad and more earthy notes came out as the glass warmed. I never tried the previous formulation, but based on this "new" recipe, this beer most certainly deserves a higher overall rating than it currently has.

ReRate: Sampled at the Brewery... Bottle and glass taken right from the brite tank: I’m adjusting my rating based on the fact this ale was reformulated recently. The pour puts a lovely orange-amber ale in my thistle glass with a decent lasting rocky tan cap....modest carbonation and big lacing on the glass. Aroma is really nice, burnt treacle, succulent fruits and wet hay. Firm malt spine...lots of protiens bulking up the body and a rounded mellow fruity-earthy character. Big chewy caramel malts in the front mid palate I get fruits, light smoke, nuts all riding on a sweet malt carrier that never gets cloying...in the finish we get a musty-earthy tone from the hybrid NZ hops that turn the malty/fruity tones lightly bitter in the end and leaves a light metallic after taste. A very nice rendition of this ale stye and certainly deserbes a "most improved" medal for an Ontario Micro ale.

341ml Bottle: Grabbed some of these at the brewery tour, and tried some bottle samples as part of a special sampling. Pours orange/amber with a thin head. Aroma of candy floss, fruit, a little earthiness common to most Neustadt (perhaps from the water source?) Flavour is excellent with a hit of grapefruit and malt, followed by a touch of hops. Just enough bitterness, but with a great sweet profile to fill it out. I have a feeling this has been reformulated a bit based on what some of the previous reviews are noting as it was far better than the reviews indicate.

Lightly hazed amber ale with an extra thick big bubbled lightly off white head. Lightly herbal malt in aroma. In mouth, a crisp malt with peppery yeastiness, veering on being off, or starting to go into saison land. Not bad...for an infected beer. Medium bodied.

Aroma:fruit,bubble-gum... Appearance:clear gold-amber,nice white head... Flavor:fruity,light malt flavor,watery...

Medium-amber with a short head; nondescript malty aroma is very weak, and there is a very thin malt character to it, and a slightly bitter finish. Some bread and red fruit perhaps, but much too mild for the style. Not bad, per se, but there’s nothing there. Not quite an insult to the style, but poorly executed.