Highland Tasgall Ale
Our Scotch-style ale, named from Norse mythology, combines the heritage and tartan of our brew team. The roasted barley and chocolate malt lend a bold flavor to this delicious dark beer. Its increased hop level is a modest departure from a true Scotch-style ale. We hope you agree this is a beer worthy of the name Tasgall, "Cauldron of the Gods."
3.7
292 reviews
Asheville, United States
Community reviews
Poured into my recently purchased Highlands pint glass.
4.5 A: Clear deep amber brown color. Two fingers of tan creamy/frothy head with very good retention and a good amount of lacing. Good here.
4.5 S: Grainy malts with ample amounts of caramel and toffee. A decent toastiness with some roastiness and hints of chocolate. Lastly, the thing that sets this apart is a pleasant herbalness. I’m not sure what heather smells like, but I think this might be it.
3.5 T: Taste is good, but it really doesn’t compare to the appearance or nose. Lots of toastiness with a strangely noticeable burnt flavor. Grainy and bready malts. Again a good amount of toffee and caramel, but not much sweetness overall, at least not for the style. Also a reasonably noticeable bitterness. Whether this comes mainly from the hops or the roasted malts is up for question.
3.5 M: Medium to heavier medium body. A bit lighter than I like for the style. Good moderate carbonation. Could be creamier, but good smoothness.
3.5 D: Not a bad beer, but I expected this style to be perfected by THIS brewery. Anyway, worth a drink if you stumble upon it.
Serving type: bottle
Reviewed on: 05-17-2011 22:46:00
Bottle. Deep, dark pour - almost black with a bit of ruby when held to the light. Head is medium, tan with little lacing. Roasted chocolate malt in the nose along with some hops in the background. Nice dark, roast chocolate malt taste up front trailing into a burnt caramel wood flavor with just a hint of hops flavor. Highland does not disappoint with this beer.
Dark brown pour with a light tan head. Malt, chocolate, honey wheat bread. Sweet flavor with chocolate, yeast, wheat thins. Very good.
Growler. Brown pour with a medium tan head. Aromas of chocolate malt. A little milk chocolate and coffee taste. Kind of winey finish.
I opened the bottle and poured into my nonic pint. A beautiful, brilliant dark mahogany. Decently sized tan head rests up on top. It takes a bit longer to subside, but when the creamy goodness does fall, it leaves ample lacing on the glass. Almost like shaving cream. The smell on this thing is definitely malty. Almost smells like wort it is so malty. There is some roasted notes and a bit of a smokiness to it. A slightly nutty aroma as well. No hop aroma. As if I thought there would actually be one in a Scotch ale. Smells very good. The guy I traded with is right so far.
Big nutty taste. A bit of tobacco as well. And, of course, malt. Tons of malt. Roasted malt, nutty malt, smoky malt. It’s all there. There is a sweetness from all that malt that is played against the dryness very well. And a dried dark fruit, mostly raisins, taste that is very well placed. There is a slight bitterness, but I’m sure that is from the roasted grains that were probably used in the making of this. Again, no hops are showing up in the flavor or aftertaste. And, again, not very surprising as that isn’t what this style is all about. There is also a slight taste of spices in there. I can’t really place them, and they are very subtle, if they are even there at all. My mind could be playing tricks on me. Geto Boyz!!!
Darker malts and higher hops make for a Scotch Ale that, as the kids at Burger King say, rules your face. The malts are the stars of the show, roasty and full of deep caramel, yet the hops trim up the fat, preventing the brew from growing saccharine-- you end up thinking of Tasgall as a brown ale in a kilt. Which is perfectly fine, when you think about it. What an original, under-appreciated brew. (12/5/08)
22oz bottled March 4, 2011. Served at cellar temperature.
Pours dark brown with a decent sized tan head that leaves some spots of lacing and holds a light cap.
Aroma is caramel, brown sugar, some light peat/smoke, and some grainy, grassy notes. Moderate to good strength.
Flavor follows with more caramel, toffee, brown sugar, a hint of chocolate, some peat, some herbal notes, a bit of alcohol at the end. Mild sweetness, low bitterness.
Mouthfeel is medium bodied, creamy, smooth, carbonation is on the low end.
Very good Scotch Ale.
Reviewed from notes.
Served in a tulip glass. Pours a moderate brown color with a bit of a light tan head, though not much lacing. The nose is brown sugar, some toasted malt, and not too much else. The taste is about the same and ends up being quite bland. There’s some semi-sweet malt and a bit of toffee. A bit of alcohol in the feel and a decent body. Well made, but not all that great.
Serving type: bottle
Reviewed on: 11-14-2010
22 ounce thanks to TURDFERGUSON. Slighty malty with caramel notes. Nice pour, good carbonation. Nice creamy taste.
On tap at the Brick Store Pub. Pours dark brown with a hint of amber. The head is large, tan and pillowy. The aroma is coffee, hickory smoke, pecans, and milk chocolate. The flavor is a musty sweetness up front with a mild bitter finish. The palate is heavy and creamy. Overall, a unique, flavorful beer.
Tried as part of a local flight at Thirsty Monk in Asheville. Nice and sweet with chocolate coming through. Well balanced. Lacking a bit in aroma and poured with almost no head- prefer a darker beer to have a bit of a top. Also seemed overly carbonated- almost looked like Coke in the glass. Bit off-putting. Saw a few pints poured after mine that looked better. Would give this one another try. Worth a trip to the brewery itself.
From a tap,medium body,white head,sweet,carmel, taste the high alcohol. NOT A BIG FAN.
Wow, can’t believe I have not rated this. Probably my favorite Highland beer they have ever made. Pours dark hazelnut brown with a small off-white head and steady lace. Nose is peat, various hops, bread, chocolate malt, yeast. Oily and slightly chewy mouth feel, with more peat, some smoke, bread, molasses. I remember this beer being a big more roasty in the past, and I find this one to be a bit sweeter with some dark fruit notes going on.
Poured from a 22oz bottle. Aroma is typical of a Scotch Ale, tons of peat, some caramel and some smoke. Taste follows the nose. Lots of nice peat flavor, not too sweet. A good amount of smokiness. This is a great little Scotch Ale.
Old rate. Very dark brown pour with a nice brown/tan head. Sweet malty aroma with some chocolate, bourbon and dried fruit. Active carbonation but smooth tasting. Very sweet initially. A little bit of alcohol creeps into the middle. Lots going on in the finish which is moderately bitter and sticky. Chocolate, plum, raisin just a lot of fruit maybe some citrus hops... some smoke and peat. Nice!
Appearance: murky brown under a feeble head bordered by a tannish collar. Scattered bubbles with a puddle in the middle.
Nose: dark fruits, dark breads, and spice. Raisin bread overflowing with raisins; pumpernickel for the bread. Malty all over. Prunes. Rummy spice in the back and underneath.
Palate: clean then chewy and bready with a sweet spiced finish. Tart dark fruits tickle the top and back of my tongue. Chocolate in the finish; chocolate cake, chocolate covered prunes and chocolate covered raisins. Tasty and definitely chewy. Spice tickles the back and lingers in the breath. Prune and dark grape skins for tannic bitterness.
Final Thoughts: overall a tasty chewy earthy malty scotch-style ale worthy of her Scottish descent. I like malts as much as I like hops; I’m a flavorholic after all. A fine contribution to my tasting queue and one I would gladly revisit.
Bottle. Pours a murky dark brown beer with a thin tan head. Scent is sweet malts, some sorghum molasses. Taste is malts and some hops. Very nice dry finish.
22 oz. bottle via trade with Beerlando - Pours a clear brown color with a nice size light tan head. Nice lacing. Aroma is caramel malt and esters. Flavor is toasted malt, esters, and a bit of chocolate. Medium body. A pretty nice beer. Thanks Bryan.
Bottle. pours a hazy brown with some red highlights and s small tan head. aroma of peat, scotch, brownsugar which mold quite nicely together. awesome beer. haevn’t had a good scotch ale in a while and this hit the spot.
Thanks to emacgee for this one. Deep amber in color with a small/medium off white head. Aroma has alot of clean malty character- caramel, brown sugar, some fruit....light floral hops. Taste is fairly full bodied with caramel, brown sugar, and some dark fruit. Some nice light to moderate hop bitterness to balance...clean and well done.
Bottle. Poured a dark reddish brown with a medium sized beige head. Nose is roasted malt, dark fruit, caramel, chocolate, and peat. Medium to full body with a smooth mouth feel. Pretty well balanced brew, primary notes of bitter chocolate, roasted malt, and caramel with secondary notes of dark fruit, peat smoke, and nuts. Finishes with light warming alcohol.
Bomber courtesy of the Tampa Crew. Pours amber copper with an off-white head. Nose is malt, maple, brown sugar, and slight roast/ smoke. Flavor is similar with lots of malt and maple-esque sweetness. Finish lingers with maple. Good Scotch Ale.
aroma is really funky with smell of dusty and chalk and basement smells. taste gives a nice amount of caramel and dark malts. this is one for the cold nights.
The aroma is sweet and malty with toffee, dust, caramel, and a bit of hops. The appearance is brown with a decent head. The flavor is like the aroma with a bit of cardboard. The palate is smooth. Overall not bad but a bit disappointing.
Bomber pours deep amber with lasting thin tan head. The aroma is sweet with malts mixing with burnt malts, chocolate, caramel, earthiness and some heat. The taste is also sweet with malts, syrupy sweetness, a dash of caramel and chocolate. Into the finish the flavor picks up additional notes of coffee and burnt malts helping to dry out the palate some.
22 ounce bottle thanks to Brent. Pours a deep mahogany color with a medium beige head. The aroma is great; powerful fruity malts waft out, caramel and roasted malts. The flavor is also nice; a dominant fruity malt, rich and powerful, light dryer flavors, grains and light smoke or meatiness. A really nice example of the style. Highland gets no hype, but man I love their beer. This was a really nice one.
Bottle from Kingdom Liquors. Poured dark hazy brown color with an average frothy brown head that mostly diminished with fair lacing. Moderate to heavy earthy, alcohol and toasted malt aroma. Medium body with a smooth texture and flat carbonation. Medium to heavy toasted complex sweet flavor with a medium to heavy sweet finish and small alcohol burn of moderate duration. Good complex brew.
Pours brown with ruby hints. Nose was sweet malts, cocoa, coffee, earthy hops, some smoke. Flavor was big sweet roasted malts, some smoke, sweet fruits, dark fruits, berries, toffee, earth. Very nice.
Bomber. Pours a hazy brown with a thin tan head. Nose of rich malt, some chocolate a touch of spicy earthy hops. Flavor is rich caramel, a touch of roast, some brown sugar, a little fruit, some slight earthy hop bitterness. Hints of booze. Lush, drinkable. Very solid.
bottle poured a cola color with a thin off white head. aroma has a nice smoked peat, malts, toffee, and bakers chocolate. nice texture to the mouth feel leads to flavors similar to the nose with some burnt caramel and hops coming through. a bit of a wild card beer but this one was enjoyed.