type: Stout
origin: Scotland
ABV: 4.5%
location: house
served: 330ml bottle to a glassGlencoe Organic Wild Oat Stout, to give the beer its full name, is produced by Traditional Scottish Ales near Alloa (it says Stirling on the bottle, but it's marginally closer to Alloa) and while the naming it after a part of the highlands is a slight example of geographic poetic license, at least the Alloa link gives them plenty of permit to the 'Traditional Scottish' part. Alloa was once one of the most prominent brewing towns in the British Isles, due to the high quality of the local barley and water - something that Glencoe Stout can draw upon to this day, but sadly, most of the breweries are now defunct or consumed by big-business corporations.
This isn't one of those corporate beer-by-numbers efforts though, and is clearly an independent operation, evidenced by the strong emphasis on 'organic' beer. While this label might attract people who read the Guardian, and concern themselves over whether the lentils in their soup were free-range or not, the important bit is this attention to organic ingredients results in a clean, light taste. Chocolate and roasted malt elements abound.
Smell: quite strong, but balanced, and just the good bits. 3/4
Colour: a dark caramel, inviting and warm 3/4
Taste: malty, quite sweet and with just a little bit of bitterness. Very smooth, very balanced and very clean - especially in the aftertaste. 3/4
overall: a good traditional Scottish-style stout; smooth, warm and flavoursome. 9/12
more info: www.traditionalscottishales.co.uk
No comments:
Post a Comment