Overall Impression
A low-alcohol, malty beer with light caramel, toast, toffee, and fruit flavors. A slight roast dryness offsets the residual sweetness in the finish, with the bitterness perceived only to keep the beer from being cloying.
Aroma
Low to medium maltiness with caramel and toffee notes, and light toasty and sugary qualities that might be reminiscent of toasted breadcrumbs, ladyfingers, English biscuits, graham crackers, or butterscotch. Light pome fruitiness and light English hop aroma (earthy, floral, orange-citrus, spicy, etc.) allowable.
Appearance
Deep copper to dark brown. Clear. Low to moderate, creamy off-white.
Flavor
Medium toasty-bready malt with caramel and toffee overtones, finishing with a slightly roasty dryness. A wide range of caramelized sugar and toasted bread type of flavors are possible, using similar descriptors as the aroma. Clean maltiness and fermentation profile. Light esters and hop flavor allowable (similar descriptors as aroma). Sufficient bitterness to not be cloying, but with a malty balance and aftertaste.
Mouthfeel
Medium-low to medium body. Low to moderate carbonation. Maybe be moderately creamy.
Comments
See category introduction for detailed comments. May not seem as bitter as specifications indicate due to higher finishing gravity and residual sweetness. Typically a draught product, but somewhat rare. Do not mis-perceive the light roasty dryness as smoke; smoke is not present in these beers.
Characteristic Ingredients
At its simplest, pale ale malt, but can also use colored malt, sugars, corn, wheat, crystal malts, colorants, and a variety of other grains. Clean yeast. Soft water. No peat-smoked malt.
Style Comparison
See category introduction. Similar to other Scottish Ales but lower in alcohol, and darker in color. Similar in strength to the low end of Dark Mild, but with a different flavor profile and balance.
Vital Statistics
- IBU
- 10 - 20
- SRM
- 17 - 25
- OG
- 1.030 - 1.035
- FG
- 1.010 - 1.013
- ABV
- 2.5% - 3.3%
Commercial Examples
Belhaven Best, McEwan's 60