209. Devil's Backbone Kilt Flasher Scottish Ale

I decided to enjoy this beer after dinner, getting a glass of this with my popcorn while the wife and I caught up on some tv shows we had on the DVR.  Good times.  I have to admit, the picture on the bottle is humorous.  I've never heard of Devil's Backbone Brewing Company (http://www.dbbrewingcompany.com) until I had picked up the beer, so I'm hoping for some good things.

The beer was poured into a stemless brandy snifter.  It has a nice dark brown color, very reminiscent of sweet tea (or just regular tea for you folks that don't live in the South).  It had about a finger of tan head that had low retention.  No signs of lacing on the glass.  Aromas of caramel, toffee, toasted malt, some dark fruit, and some alcohol esters.  

The taste was similar, more caramel, toffee, and malt than anything.  The dark fruit barely comes through, just enough to make you think something is there.  A little bit of the alcohol comes through as well.  There's a little more depth to this beer, maybe some earthy notes.  It's sweet, but not overly sweet.  Medium bodied but with low carbonation, it's easy to drink but the sweetness might get cloying after a while.  I haven't had a Scottish Ale in a while and I was pleasantly surprised by this and enjoyed it.  I'm not sure how it compares with other beers of the same style, but it will get some pretty good marks from me in the meantime.  For a beer that might be available in a six pack, I would definitely recommend.

Grade: B+

Price Paid: $2.29 (12 oz bottle) 

61. Mystery Brewing Ballantrae

Well, this review is coming out better late than never!  Anyway, to make a long story short, after I watched the NC State Wolfpack get the better of the Duke Blue Devils, I had an appointment to keep for a brewery tour at Mystery Brewing in Hillsborough, NC (http://www.mysterybrewing.com).  Mystery doesn't exactly offer brew tours, but this was a special offer through LivingSocial, and I thought it would be nice to check it out.  The brew tour itself wasn't much of a tour..got some souvenir glasses, some tokens to turn in for some beer samples, and a quick "tour" followed by some Q&A.  Not that I'm complaining or anything; everyone there was in it for the beer, all the other stuff was just filler.

I tend to drink beers either through what's on draught, or what's in a bottle.  Mystery's primary means of distribution are growlers, which is one of those things I don't buy.  Since I'm the only drinker in the household and I don't drink that often, I'm afraid of getting something so big, only to have to waste the majority of it.  I'll need a party and some of my helpful buddies to take care of one.

So onto my first review of the 4 beers that were being offered during my tour.  We'll start with Ballantrae, a Scottish Ale offered by the brewery.  The ale had a nice reddish bronze color (forgive my poor color descriptions, it was a little dark in there).  Light head, decent retention, no noticeable lacing.  Not a lot of hop aromas coming out of it, more of a malt base coming out of this.  Sweet aromas, toffee, caramel, that sort of thing.  

The taste was solid, had a slightly bitter note that lingered at the end for some balance.  A smooth, light bodied, easy to drink beer.  Nothing that stood out or wowed me, however.  I'd find a lot of Mystery's line to be pretty good, and you'll see those reviews coming up in just a bit.

Grade: C+

Price Paid: Free (7 oz draught)

33. Bell's Christmas Ale

The holidays are soon upon us!  And with that note, I've been working towards obtaining and consuming the recent seasonals that have come out in the last few weeks.  Bell's Christmas Ale (http://www.bellsbeer.com) was a brew I picked up while I was shopping or some going away gifts for a co-worker.  Yeah, I couldn't help myself, had to get something that was for me!  While being subjected to a cliche and lame Hallmark/ABC Family Christmas movie, I decided to crank this baby out, then use the movie as a drinking game.  Everytime something cliche happens during the movie, take a drink.  I didn't make it to the end.

As far as the beer is concerned, it poured a nice amber color, with a finger of off-white head.  What was weird was that I couldn't smell much of anything.  I could catch some of the malt, but that was it.  No spices, nothing I expected from a Christmas seasonal.  If there was any spice, it was in the finish, but I couldn't pick it up.  Medium/high carbonation, I felt like I could be drinking a soda.  

I guess I had overly high expectations, especially since it was coming from Bell's, but I was ultimately underwhelmed.  

Grade: C-

Price Paid: $2.29 (12 oz bottle)