Whim Old Izaak Ale (Bottle)

Formerly brewed at Broughton
Style: Premium Bitter/ESB
Biggar, Scotland

Serve in English pint

Bottled Old Izaak which I sampled, is actually contract brewed for Whim Ales by its sister brewery Broughton Ales LTD over the border in Scotland. Old Izaak is a traditional old ale, coming in at 5% abv. It is brewed with Marris Otter pale malts, crystal, black malts, and hopped with one variety, English grown Northdown. This was a wonderful beer to sip and savor before a nice meal, it is a great beer to enjoy in the cold winter months. Old Izaak pours to a beautiful, deep garnet to brown color with a dense tan head, and a soft to moderate carbonation. When held to the light, this beer is really a brilliant, deep ruby color that is a site to behold. The nose on this beer is very inviting with lots of good sweet malty aromas, pleasing slightly citric, and flowery hop aromas, and touches of plummy fruit. The palate is soft and full on the tongue with lots of good caramel, toffee, and fruity, estery flavors of plum and black currant, and an undertone of chocolate. Old Izaak finishes with more malt, toffee and fruit up front, then ends with some nice hop bitterness and fruity flavors that slightly linger on the tongue. This is an excellent old ale, very traditional, and very delicious. I am always very impressed with this beer, and believe it would work very well as an after dinner drink, night cap, or desert beer. This beer would be wonderful with a nice warm slice of mince meat pie with a big dollop of fresh whipped cream. If you see Old Izaak in your market, it is a beer well worth seeking out. I paid $7 for a pint bottle, but that of course, is a marked up bar price. You should be able to find this beer retailing in a good beer store for about half that cost($3-$4) a pint bottle. This is the type of beer you will warm right up to.

Poured nice medium chestnut with thick, dense tan head which faded slowly to thin covering with nice lacing. First aroma hit was milk chocolate then malt, very little yeast on the nose. Flavors were nice malt, som hops, pepper, and background of herbs. Very pleasant ale to drink.

A deliciously sweet, malty English ale not all that different from Olde Suffolk Ale. Low alcohol content means I can drink all I like. The Northdown hops are an unusual variety and are very subtly used here. Terrific!

Tastes like it is bottle conditioned and oak aged. Malty, woody and caramely. Slightly smoked and not very bitter at all. I could drink this one again and again. Lokks like a nice ruby port ... dark and warming. Very interesting combination of hops ... must be the Northdown. I gotta homebrew with summa them hops.

Pillowy head with nice lacing and a maple syrup color. Toffee malts with a nice bitter hop and an almost bourbon character. This tastes very authentic. The aftertaste is sweet with a black Earl Gray tea quality. A bourbon aged aroma. Strong, sour, bitter flavor with a cigar element. Points for a nice bottle and beautiful label.

Bottle. Pungent autumn cider, baked cinnamon crab apples, bitter leaves aroma. Red brown beer with bitter-style tight beige head. mmm... cinnamon brown sugar medium sweer tobacco apples de garde. roasty, nutty finish. repeat drinking anaytime. smooth, warming ratio is autumn/spring. warm chestnuts. chocolate mocha flavor later. buprs alternately taste like diner or cookie. Xtremely sessionable at 5 abv. nice long finish. A good friend.

Peaty, bockish aroma. Chestnut brown, darker than the pic, with foamy head. A little briney, presents with a watery initial flavor, then turning to a sweet and bock/ale flavor. Excellent and drinkable brew.

Poured invitingly, dark brown and well-topped. There's a pleasantly warm, roasty nose. The flavor is initially sweet, and light-bodied, but finishes a bit acidic and mellow, not at all what the aroma would suggest. Turns out this is a lightly flavored, mellowly hopped beer, not the heavy warmer the look and smell would lead you to believe. Still good.