A friend of mine sent me a few bottles of Gaelic Ale made by Highland Brewing Company, so I thought I would write up a quick review about it. The beer manufacturer is based out of Asheville North Carolina, and is a well known across the United States. As for the beer itself, it falls into the amber ale genre of brews. In the run up to the beer review that I conducted, I chilled my bottles in the refrigerator for eight hours, as I like my ale to be ice cold. As far as the drinking vessel goes, I used my tried and trusted Scottish style pint glass. I generally like to add a small lemon or lime wedge to my ale, but this time I left them out, so that I could taste the beer without any distractions. Now I'm by no means any sort of a beer snob, but when I'm testing a beer, I like to put on a little Handel, and just optimize the room for a soothing and relaxing atmosphere. One could say I take beer tasting to an extreme level of self-indulgence.
When pouring the Gaelic Ale, it comes out semi-clear with an almost copper amber hue. The head was thin and white, which seemed about normal for a cold amber ale. As I brought the poured beer to my nose, the first aroma that I could detect was that of a lightly toasted caramel malt, with hints of floral hop spice, and maybe even a sprinkle of tree ripened fruit. I couldn't pinpoint which type of fruit I was smelling, as it was quite faint and very accentual. The ale's carbonation was about medium, and it carried the brew's aroma to my nose with ease. Overall I would have rated the the aroma of the ale at about a nine, as I really enjoy a fruity and caramelly aroma combination. The aroma wasn't overpowering either, it was light and seemed to quickly dissipate, as opposed to lingering for longer than necessary, as is the case with stronger ales. If you buy this brew, be sure to make time to focus on the aroma.
I finally took a fairly large pull from the pint glass, and then let a little of it linger in my mouth at the end. My first impression is that it was delicious, and very much inline with the aroma. I would consider it a full bodied ale, with flavor notes consisting of toasted caramel malts, a subtle pinch of spices, with a fleeting tinge of iced tea and maybe even some floral hops. The ale's finish was semi-dry, which is where I could detect the iced tea and floral malts the most, obviously both being overshadowed by the rich caramel malt body. As for the aftertaste, it mostly left a light and refreshing caramel malt flavor in it's wake, which I found absolutely perfect. The ale does have some bitterness, which I found to be in good proportion to the flavor, and it doesn't linger too long. The flavor and enjoyment of the beer's taste was consistent right down to the last swig, and it didn't seem to flatten out towards the end.
Overall I loved this Highland Brewing Gaelic Ale, and would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a delicious Scottish style ale. The beer's alcohol content is 5.8% by volume. The actual hops that it features are Chinook, Cascade, and Willamette flavors. The beer presentation itself is pretty cool looking too, the label features a hearty Scotsman complete with a bagpipe. As this ale was a gift from a friend, I'm not sure how accessible it is, and where the best place to buy it would be. If you can't find it at your local store, then you should probably visit Highland Brewing's official website, and see if they have a list of places where it is available. If that doesn't work, then you should drop them an email, as maybe they can assist you in finding some for purchase either on or offline. Thanks for checking out this delicious and recommended ale review, I hope that you enjoyed it, as I know I certainly did.
