Miasmatic Review

Arcadia Ales Scotch Ale

Tonight’s beer I had seen in the stores for a while, but something about it made me not want to try it. I’m not sure what it was, but it was almost like maybe the display or packaging was trying too hard to get my attention. Finally I caved in and bought it to try. You’ll see why that’s surprising. Tonight I tried Arcadia Ales’ Scotch Ale by the Arcadia Brewing Co in Battle Creek MI.

It came in the standard 12 oz brown bottle. The neck label had the brewery name on it and some Celtic knotwork. The body label was the Cross of Saint Andrew’s with a pair of two-handed claymores crossing and a thistle in the middle. The name of the beer was in purple under center.

The coloring was a rich dark brown with a ruby tint. Light passed through it with some difficulty, but was able to pass through. It poured no head. The best I got was a ring around the edge of the glass. It left no lacing and after a couple of minutes the thin, barely noticeable ring had faded to nothing.

The beer smelled of a nice smoky peat you get with a good Scottish ale. A mixture of sweet spices and molasses helped round off the scent. The first sip revealed a taste that was a combination of smoked grains, caramel and a slight raisin accent. It had a rich malty flavor. There were some hop accents, but not much, almost no bitterness at all.

It had a good medium body to it. A slight creaminess helped coat the tongue and mouth. There was a nice level of carbonation that gave a slight bite to the tongue.

I’m a huge fan of Scottish Ales; they are of my top three favorite beers. (Can any of you guess what the other two are?) This is not a bad Scottish ale. Unfortunately it’s not one of the best out there either. I found this to be appealing, yet still there was something about it that made me feel like it was trying to hard to cater to the “Scottish” crowd. Over all I’m rating this a 5 out of 10.