Try?
About a month or so ago, I met Epinions own Bryan Carey for the first time. He was telling me about a great little brewery up in Asheville, North Carolina, called Highland Brewing. Now, I hadn’t thought about Asheville as a great brewing town, but apparently it is, with Highland and a great little brewpub or two all going on.
Last Sunday, I stopped in at Summit’s Wayside Tavern to watch the Patriots play and enjoy a few pints. To my surprise, one of the beers on tap was Highland Gaelic Ale, the first beer from Highland I’ve seen offered here in Georgia. Highland brews a respectable lineup including an oatmeal porter, a pale ale, an IPA, and a winter brew.
The brewery opened in 1994 and is currently celebrating its ten year anniversary. Their beer is available on tap and also in six-packs. They have a 6500 barrel capacity and according to their website they distribute their beer in North and South Carolina plus parts of Tennessee and now apparently Atlanta.
As to the Gaelic Ale, here’s what Highland has to say about it:
A deep amber colored American ale, featuring a rich malty body. Cascade and Willamette hops add a complex hop flavor and aroma. This ale is exceptionally balanced between malty sweetness and delicate hop bitterness.
IBU: 32
Alcohol content: 5.8% by volume
Hops: Chinook, Willamette and Cascade
OK, sounds pretty good to me. They call it an American ale, though of course to me the moniker “Gaelic” recalls an Irish or Scottish connection. As does the name of the brewery. So what are they going after here? Let’s look at the tasting notes:
Highland Gaelic Ale pours to a deep amber orange color with a sweet
malty nose and a medium sized head formation. There’s a lot of sweetish,
rich crystal malt on the palate. It has an almost rock candy like character
with it. There’s a touch of fruit as well. In the finish, there’s a touch of grassy, lightly citric hops to balance out all the sweetness and leave just a touch of bitterness. Clearly, this is a beer patterned after Bert Grant’s (another Scottish inspired brewer) old Celtic Ale. The hop selections would imply that too.
Overall, a very nice beer, and a great general purpose sipping brew. Mine washed down some wings quite nicely while I watched the Patriots win. If you find yourself near Asheville, do yourself a favor and pick some up.
Update 6/22/2013: Highland
Gaelic Ale at Taco Mac! Love this brew, delicious sweet caramel malt and tea
like hops.
Update 8/6/2018: Harrah's Cherokee Valley River Casino has just expanded their bar areas, and that means more draft craft! I was happy to see my old friend Highland Gaelic Ale and ordered up this gently sweet, very malty treat for $6.60 a pint. It's a bargain in cans and bottles these days too, as Total Wine sells it for $8.99 a six-pack either way.
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
(D)=Draft
(G)=Growler
