Kelpie
Williams Brothers (Heather Ales) in Alloa, Clackmannanshire, Scotland 🏴
Traditional Beer Regular|
Score
6.56
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Seaweed Ale
Prior to the 1850's Scottish coastal alehouses brewed with malted barley, grown in fields fertilised by seaweed. This environment gave the barley a very specific flavour which we recreate by the inclusion of fresh seaweed in the mash tun. A rich dark chocolate ale, which has the aroma of a fresh Scottish sea breeze and a distinctive malty texture.
Prior to the 1850's Scottish coastal alehouses brewed with malted barley, grown in fields fertilised by seaweed. This environment gave the barley a very specific flavour which we recreate by the inclusion of fresh seaweed in the mash tun. A rich dark chocolate ale, which has the aroma of a fresh Scottish sea breeze and a distinctive malty texture.
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6.6/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 7
Overall 6
Dark brown, with reddish hints if seen through light, possibly a bit hazy. A not too big off-white head, good persistence and just a hint of lacing. Aroma shows malty sweetness (caramel and only the slightest hint of roasted malts), milk chocolate and a hint of saltiness. Taste follows the aroma closely, with medium to high sweetness and close to no bitterness; it's still balanced enough though. Both taste and aroma are clean, though scarcely deep or intense. Light bodied with low to medium carbonation, resulting in a very easy, smooth and semi-silky mouthfeel. Pleasant enough, though really not interesting to me.
Tried
on 04 Nov 2018
at 09:00
6.8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 6
Bottle. Backlog rating from bottle collection and historic scoring. Source not recorded. No tasting notes kept, just rating.
Tried
from Bottle
on 04 Sep 2017
at 13:23
6.6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 5.5
Bottle - no label taken - pours dark brown - nose and taste of minerals, earthy nutty malt - medium body
Tried
from Bottle
on 29 Apr 2017
at 07:50
7/10
Tried
on 23 Oct 2016
at 12:12
5.8/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 4
Overall 6
Shared 16.9 oz. bottle. Dark brown with a surprisingly light off-white head. Nose is roasted malt, chocolate, with maybe some mineral/vegetal notes that I’d hesitate to call "fresh sea breeze". Taste follows, with almost an imperceptible saltiness. More watery than expected given the style, but not bad.
Tried
from Bottle
on 07 Jan 2016
at 15:05
5.9/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 4
Overall 6.5
Bottle. Nose is malt, yeast, caramel, some red berries, biscuit. Taste is milk chocolate chocolate, caramel, malt, the faintest hint of salt, plums and dark fruits. Feels a lot like an old ale. Mouthfeel is thin. It’s an old ale with chocolate malt. It’s OK. The seaweed is a gimmick more than an ingredient.
Tried
from Bottle
on 11 Dec 2015
at 16:55
6.9/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
Rated from old notes. Very dark, almost like a stout in appearance, but with a lighter body. Very strong chocolate notes. Faint saltiness. Good even if the ingredients don’t quite fully come together.
Tried
on 09 Dec 2015
at 15:02
7.2/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
Bottle at home. Black / dark brown coloured pour with reddy hues and alasting light tan head. Aroma is sweet nutty toasted malts, earthy roast, malt loaf, little raisin. Sweet and rounded malts on the nose. Flavour is composed of nutty, sweet malts, earthy, mineral, little salty, sweet plumy fruits, dried fruits. Palate is medium sweet, moderate carbonation, little tang in the finish.
Tried
from Bottle
on 12 Sep 2015
at 17:19
6/10
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Appearance 4
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 7
Clear dark brown, small offwhite head. Malty, light roasted aroma. Roasted, malty flavour. Ok bitterness. Decent.
Tried
on 05 Sep 2015
at 09:46
6/10
Tried
on 28 Jul 2015
at 20:20