Brewed By: Three Floyds Brewing Company in Munster, Indiana
Purchased: Single 12oz bottle from a six-pack purchased at Jewel in Chicago, IL; 2011
Style/ABV: Scottish Ale, 7.0%
Today we go to Munster, Indiana, where Three Floyds has been brewing beer since 1996. The brewery was founded by brothers Nick and Simon, and their father Mike Floyd - hence, the name, Three Floyds. The first brewery was originally located in Hammond, Indiana. Eventually Three Floyds outgrew their original location, and moved to Munster. The brewery is probably most famous for their Dark Lord Stout. If you haven't heard of it, Google it.
Today's beer, Robert The Bruce Scottish Ale, clocks inat 7.0% and packs 30 IBUs. According to the brewery website, this is a complex and bold Scottish Ale brewed with roasted and crystal malts, and balanced with just the right amount of hops. They describe the beer as ruby in color, with a malty nose, a caramel and roasted profile, and a full body. This is a malty beer for malt lovers.
But what is a Scottish Ale? If you consult the BJCP you will notice that there are three variations of Scottish Ales. The BCJP states that the Scottish Ale sub-styles are differentiated by gravity and alcohol strength. There is a good article on Scottish Ales at Winning Homebrew. According to their article:
The Scottish ales follow in the English tradition of having a confusing naming convention. The names are steeped in tradition and history, one thing the Scottish are famous for. To start with are the Schilling designations. These are remnants of the 1870 rating system in which the price of beer, including the taxes, was rated in the old pre-decimal shillings. 60 Shillings was a light ale; 70 Shillings was a heavy ale; 80 Shillings was an export; and 90+ Shillings was a barley-wine known as "wee heavy". If the names didn't confuse outsiders enough, it happens that the lighter ales, which were equated with the English mild, were dark beers. And the heavy beers, similar to English bitters, weer light in color. The fact that the breweries in Scotland still use these terms to describe their beers, shows how much the Scotts believe in tradition and history.
Purchased: Single 12oz bottle from a six-pack purchased at Jewel in Chicago, IL; 2011
Style/ABV: Scottish Ale, 7.0%
Today we go to Munster, Indiana, where Three Floyds has been brewing beer since 1996. The brewery was founded by brothers Nick and Simon, and their father Mike Floyd - hence, the name, Three Floyds. The first brewery was originally located in Hammond, Indiana. Eventually Three Floyds outgrew their original location, and moved to Munster. The brewery is probably most famous for their Dark Lord Stout. If you haven't heard of it, Google it.
Today's beer, Robert The Bruce Scottish Ale, clocks inat 7.0% and packs 30 IBUs. According to the brewery website, this is a complex and bold Scottish Ale brewed with roasted and crystal malts, and balanced with just the right amount of hops. They describe the beer as ruby in color, with a malty nose, a caramel and roasted profile, and a full body. This is a malty beer for malt lovers.
But what is a Scottish Ale? If you consult the BJCP you will notice that there are three variations of Scottish Ales. The BCJP states that the Scottish Ale sub-styles are differentiated by gravity and alcohol strength. There is a good article on Scottish Ales at Winning Homebrew. According to their article:
The Scottish ales follow in the English tradition of having a confusing naming convention. The names are steeped in tradition and history, one thing the Scottish are famous for. To start with are the Schilling designations. These are remnants of the 1870 rating system in which the price of beer, including the taxes, was rated in the old pre-decimal shillings. 60 Shillings was a light ale; 70 Shillings was a heavy ale; 80 Shillings was an export; and 90+ Shillings was a barley-wine known as "wee heavy". If the names didn't confuse outsiders enough, it happens that the lighter ales, which were equated with the English mild, were dark beers. And the heavy beers, similar to English bitters, weer light in color. The fact that the breweries in Scotland still use these terms to describe their beers, shows how much the Scotts believe in tradition and history.
By virtue of ingredients - a large supply of malts and barley and a short supply of hops - Whiskey and malted beer is king in Scotland. Scottish Ales are malt forward and are balanced with some light hopping. Scottish Ales are brewed colder than most ales, and are usually cleaner with low esters and clean malt flavors. Because of this, the style gets compared to lagers like Bocks. This is a style of beer that can be very sweet, and some versions of they style may have a low to moderate peaty note (think whiskey). Peaty flavors are often earthy and smoky. Let's dive in and see how the Three Floyd's Scottish Ale stacks up.
 |
| Three Floyds Robert The Bruce |
The aroma on this beer is big raunchy malts with some hints of hop freshness. I'm picking up a light and clean hop note; herbal, earthy, fresh. There are roasted malts, some light nuttiness, hints of chocolate, caramel, a grainy or earthy note, and toffee.
This is a very funky beer in terms of taste. My first sip was nutty, grainy, peaty, malty; I am pulling hints of chocolate and wood, roasted malts. There is a nice warming grain burn on the back end. There is some butter/diacetyl on the front of the tongue. I'm picking up peat and roast on the sides of my tongue, and hints of caramel, toffee, and chocolate. There are virtually no hops in the taste - MAYBE a hint of herbal or earthy, but I'm not even sure that is from the hops. This is a malt bomb with huge peaty, roasty notes.
This is a big thick beer. This is a heavy beer with low carbonation and a thick mouthfeel. You do feel some of the 7% ABV on the back end, and there is a nice grainy and dry alcohol finish. I'm also getting some peanuts and peanut butter hints on the back end: fun, right? This has wonderful palate depth and solid complexity. The front end is: thick malt with hints of nuts and roast and peat; this rolls into the middle which is caramel, toffee, sweet, chocolate, woody, earthy, butter; the back end is grainy and dry with a touch of alcohol burn.
Rating: Above-Average
Score: 88%
I don't have a lot to amend here. This is a super malty, grainy beer that has a nice dry finish with hints of grain. This reminds me a bit of whiskey, more so in spirit than in taste. The heavy malt presence is something different: this is not a beer I would drink all the time. However, I would LOVE to pair this beer with something Asian and a peanut sauce. Actually, this beer would go good with any nutty meal or any peanut dish. I can recommend this beer, and in fact I enjoyed it quite a bit. I will pick this up again in the future, and you should too.
No comments:
Post a Comment