Several months ago, I heard that the Eventide Brewery of Atlanta, Georgia was canning a Scotch Ale: Eventide Highlander Strong Scotch Ale. Now, beer geeks today are totally fascinated with hops, and hey, I love hops, too. Malt is the real heart and soul of beer, though, and as Michael Jackson once said, you should taste malt in every glass of beer. So, I was looking forward to this one.
In February of 2018 I strolled into Target on a fine Sunday morning, around 11:45 AM, and there it was: a beautiful six-pack of Highlander. I had to wait until 12:30 PM to get it though thanks to Georgia’s stupid law about Sunday sales. It was worth the wait for a malthead like me.
From the label:
Scotch ales are the cleaner, meltier cousins of English ales and are a welcome departure from the lighter, heavily hopped ales that dominate today’s craft market. The Strong Scotch Ale, or Wee Heavy, is the undisputable king of the style. 7 malts are used to create this wonderfully complex Strong Scotch Ale. Notes of caramel, toasted bread, honey, dark fruits, chocolate, and roasted coffee are all prevalent. Allow it to warm to cellar temperature to experience the full flavor profile.
Eventide Highlander Strong Scotch Ale has an alcohol content of 8.2% by volume with 40 IBUs. I paid $10.44 for a six-pack, and my cans are stamped on the bottom as best before 07/12/18. I think this beer can age nicely, however.
Eventide Highlander Strong Scotch Ale pours to a dark mahogany color with a thick creamy tan head and a rich chocolate and treacle nose. Taking a sip, the beer has caramel and chocolate up front with hints of dark fruity raisin and prune. It finishes balanced with grassy herbal hops, but the malt still shines. Toasted nuts and sweet molasses are here, too.
Quite good! Rich and malty, toffee and chocolate, raisin and molasses. I would like a tad more dark fruit and toffee but I love the maltiness here. Definitely a rebuy on the Bruguru scale.
And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.
*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.
(B)=Bottled, canned
(D)=Draft