Harviestoun Schiehallion

Today's beer: Schiehallion by Harviestoun

It's been a fair time since I last updated. I've meant to update more, but things have been hectic. I picked up this bottle several weeks ago. I've had some other beers by Harviestoun and have generally been impressed by them. Along with the Schiehallion, I picked up some variants of some other beers I've had including a Fuller's stout and a Young's London Ale. I'm excited to try them (and some others that I have picked up) and hopefully will do more that just two posts this month.

Schiehallion pours into the glass a cloudy yellow-amber colour with virtually no head, although that could be a result of how I poured it. My first sniff relieved the very definite smells of hops. I was surprised, however to detect some hints of malt and a very faint smell of citrus. The smell of malts is very uncommon in a lager. My first sip gave me a burst of hops followed by a wallop of malts finished by a very crisp hops. A most unusual flavour combination. I was surprised to find so much malt flavours in a lager, not traditionally known for it's malts. In fact, most lagers have very little malt, or just enough to balance the hops a bit. I quite enjoyed Schiehallion and would buy it again.

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May your glass always be full of good beer!

Driftwood Crooked Coast

Today's beer: Crooked Coast by Driftwood

Wow, again it's been a long time between posts. No holidays to pin this late update on, just me. I bought this today while at the liquor store looking for orange bitters. I didn't find the bitters, but I did find several beers including this one. The other beers were mostly stouts, and though the weather today may warrant a stout, I just didn't feel like a stout today.

Crooked Coast pours into the glass a cloudy dark amber with a moderate yellow-tan head that dissipates fairly fast. My first sniff revealed an unusual, but pleasant sweet smell that I cannot identify, along side with the fairly standard hops and malt smells. My first sip revealed a generous helping of hops. There is no doubt about it this is a hoppy beer. There is a small amount of malt, but not much. Crooked Coast is a very crisp beer. There is a tiny sweet taste on the very back of the tongue. There is little doubt in my mind this is more of a summer beer than a winter beer. I could see enjoying this beer a fair bit more on a hot summer day.

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May your glass always be full of good beer!

Cannery Brewing Maple Stout

Today's beer: Maple Stout by Cannery Brewing

First post of 2013! I picked this up along with a few other beers at the new beer store I discovered. I don't know whether to curse them for being so far away, or thank them for having such a good stock. When I discovered this I knew I had to buy it.

Maple Stout pours into the glass black with virtually no head. As might be expected, one of the dominant aromas is maple, but there is also the smell of toasted malt. There aren't many of the other smells usually associated with a stout. My first sip revealed a very slight taste of maple, but not as much as I would have expected. There is a very strong taste of coffee. I also detected a faint smokey taste. Maple Stout has more hops than a standard stout. The extra hops makes Maple Stout taste a bit on the bitter side. If there were more maple flavour and less hops, this would be a wonderful stout. As it stands, especially with the disappointing lack of maple flavour, I'm not sure if I would buy it again.

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May your glass always be full of good beer!