Traquair House- Jacobite Ale

Playing safe on choosing this as a lazy and rainy afternoon sipper while vegetating ? I have had this one hiding at the back of my beer cupboard for around 3 years now. I think they put a 10 year best before date on this as this was has dec 2019 printed on...

Lovely aroma of port wine?, roasted malt, plums and dark fruits from the pour.

Jacobite Ale pour dark ruby red with a quick diminishing tan head. Roasted malt, raisins, chocolate and spices on the sweet intake. The finish is quite bitter and spicy. This has a long fruity christmas pudding type aftertaste with ripe plums and dark berries. Mouthfeel is smooth and creamy. Although you can feel the warmth of the alcohol it does not interfere with the taste of the ale and is well hidden.

What a cracking ale that was a pleasure to drink. I wonder when this is at its absolute best ? I really enjoyed this one and would have no problems with buying a few of these and just letting them age. Summing up, in my view a perfect strong ale/winter warmer for drinking by a roaring fire..or in my case a tepid radiator.

This scored a jaw dropping 9/10 on the 'I'm lost for words' Beerometer.

Alc : 8 %
Where to buy CPH : Seen in Høkeren, Ravnsborggade 13, Kbh N the last time I was in.

Haandbryggeriet - Norwegian Wood

Continuing the Nordic theme, this one from Norway. Not my first encounter with Haandbryggeriet  as I have tried their Dark Force Imperial Stout before which i thought was tremendous. On to the beer in question which is styled as a Traditional Norwegian Smoked Ale. Blurb below...

Once, every farm in Norway was required by law to brew its own ale. All of that ale had a natural smoky taste because the malt was kilned by fire, and most of it was spiced with juniper berries. Norwegian Wood, a recreation of that traditional style, is made by the "Hand Brewery" - four guys brewing in their spare time, on an absurdly small scale.

Beautiful aroma of smoke, wood, malt and spices from the very lively pour.

Norwegian Wood pours a dense muddy brown with a creamy beige head. Moderately sweet intake with roasted malt, caramel, smoke and juniper berries. The finish is mild hoppy bitter and has a woody dryness. It has a pleasant sweet aftertaste with smoke, caramel and juniper. Quite fizzy and slightly oily mouthfeel.

Not the best looking beer but a very tasty smoked ale and I really enjoyed drinking this one. A lot lighter than I expected. If buying, be careful on the pour or you will end up with a lot of sediment floating about. No problem for me buying and drinking another. One gripe, I thought the carbonation was too high. Summing up, a light and tasty smoked ale which left me very impressed.

This scored perhaps a bit low 7.5/10 on the 'I still have not forgiven them for AHA' Beerometer.

Alc : 6.5%
Where to buy CPH : Kihoskh, Sønder Boulevard 53, Kbh V

Williams Brothers(Heather Ales) - Alba

The last bottle in a historical ales of Scotland gift pack that I had, this is a Scots Pine Ale. After tasting quite a few of the other Williams Brothers range now I would recommend to anyone that has not encountered them before to give them a try, they are well worth looking out for....

A light sweet waft of fruit, hops and citrus from the pour.

Alba pours clear amber red with an off-white head. Very sweet on the intake with roasted malt, pine, caramel and light fruits while the finish is spicy with alcohol warming through. This has a long peppery spiced aftertaste with caramel and honey in the background. Quite a silky smooth mouthfeel due to the low carbonation. The alcohol, while you can feel it does not overtake the flavours.

At first I thought this was too sweet for me but after a few chugs it balanced a lot more out. I ended up quite happy drinking this as more flavours came out as it warmed in the end to room temperature. My lesson to mainly myself here is, let this one warm up a bit if you have chilled it. They do recommend room temperature on the label blurb...which depending where you are in the world and what time of year it is means absolutely zilch. In the end I enjoyed this one and would have no problem buying or drinking again...one a night is enough. My little personal gripe with this, not enough pine, I'd like more.

This scored a braw 8.5/10 on the 'Slainte mhor agad !' Beerometer.

Alc : 7.5%
Where to buy CPH : Last seen in Fish & Beer a month or so back.

Williams Brothers(Heather Ales) - Fraoch

I've been keeping this one back for a while. I don't know why as I thought the Ebulum was extremely good, perhaps because of a Scottish overdose after finishing all the Cairgorm range. After tasting a few of their other brews the past weekend when out I think it is time to give this heather ale a go....

Sweet malt and ginger spice waft from this on the pour.

Fraoch pours clear amber gold with a creamy white head which leaves good lacing all the way down.  Sweet on the intake with mild ginger, floral from the heather, honey and malt. The finish is crisp and slightly bitter with a sharpness from the ginger. Honey, malt and heather linger in a very pleasant aftertaste. Lowly carbonated, there is a smooth mouthfeel to this.

I quite like this. It is light, refreshing and very easy to drink. You would not go far wrong if drinking this as a summer ale. While there is nothing earth shattering about it I would have no problem drinking this on a session on or buying again. No gripes on this one, I must be in a good mood.

This scored 6/10 on the 'Heather, remember the boots I made for you ?' Beerometer.

Alc : 5%
Where to buy CPH : Last seen available in Fish & Beer a month ago.