Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5

Scotch (wee heavy) by this craft brewery in Aberdeenshire, enjoyed from a bottle at the Silver Darling, a commendable fish restaurant in the historical Footdee port town in Aberdeen. Medium sized, firm, pale greyish beige, irregularly edged, lacing head on a hazy ruddy chestnut brown beer with beautiful 'autumny' copper glow. Aroma of warm toast in the morning, caramel candy, sticky toffee pudding, hazelnut purée, ground almonds, a whiff of coffee, dried fig, fried pear, medlar, 'pepernoten', raisin bread, wet tree leaves. Sweetish onset, some yeasty-fruity notes (pear, medlar, fig, dried apricot), sharpish carbonation; slick mouthfeel, a tad oily, caramelly malts with hazelnutty and toasty edges, bittersweet with an almondy hint and more brown-breadiness in the finish when the yeast deposit is added. Vague clove and dried fruit effects are coming with this, paired with leafy hops and a subtle whisky-ish alcohol glow. It may have been the beautiful setting, looking out on the harbour through the large windows of the restaurant, but I thoroughly enjoyed this one as being among the best beers I had on the whole trip. Reminiscent of Orkney's Skullsplitter and the like, with smooth and balanced character as well as some ornamental yeasty notes, yet not to the extent that the overall effect becomes overly 'Belgian', if you get my drift - instead, remaining very - delightfully - malt-forward.

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6.5

Bottle from Strong Water. Pale brown body with a thin beige head. Faint lacing. Aroma of toffee and stewed apple. Flavour of caramel, malt loaf and brown sugar. Medium body with a chewy mouthfeel. Soft fizz. Sweet and warming.

bottle at home... August 2020... deep red brown.. thin tan lacing.. soft metalic.. bready mslts mode.. dark fruits.. but an odd herbalness

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5

Bottle picked deep / dark brown with a decent off-white head. The aroma is sweet, sticky, dried figs, figgy pudding, sultana, raisin, fruit cake, pie crust, spice, cherry cola, plum and date. The taste is dry roast, bitter - sweet, oily, plum, date, prune, Dr Pepper, cherry cola, fruit cake, toasty malts, touch of burnt toast, touch of booze, cola cubes and slightly herbal / medicinal with a slick finish. Medium body and moderate, prickly carbonation. Maybe errs on the sweet side, but there is a good load of fruitiness. Decent.