Inveralmond Blackfriar Scottish Ale
Bottled, special
Inveralmond Brewery was founded in 1997, but its young brewers are already rated among the best in Scotland. Blackfriar is the first in a series of beers honoring the role of the familiar orders of Dominican monks in the history of Perth. It is, naturally, a dark brew, hardy and warming, with a slightly sweet malty character balanced by a nice hoppiness. (Okay, it’s actually more of a deep burnt sienna than black, but "Deepburntsiennafriar” just didn’t have the same ring.)
Blackfriar is loosely described as a ’wee heavy,’ but its assertive hoppiness will quickly dispel that notion. It may not fit in any classification, but Brother Daniel declares it an ’instant classic,’ and we think you’ll agree.
malt: pale, crystal, chocolate, wheat
hops: pilgrim, cascade, fuggles
OG: 1066
EBC: 45
Inveralmond Brewery was founded in 1997, but its young brewers are already rated among the best in Scotland. Blackfriar is the first in a series of beers honoring the role of the familiar orders of Dominican monks in the history of Perth. It is, naturally, a dark brew, hardy and warming, with a slightly sweet malty character balanced by a nice hoppiness. (Okay, it’s actually more of a deep burnt sienna than black, but "Deepburntsiennafriar” just didn’t have the same ring.)
Blackfriar is loosely described as a ’wee heavy,’ but its assertive hoppiness will quickly dispel that notion. It may not fit in any classification, but Brother Daniel declares it an ’instant classic,’ and we think you’ll agree.
malt: pale, crystal, chocolate, wheat
hops: pilgrim, cascade, fuggles
OG: 1066
EBC: 45
3.4
451 reviews
Perth, Scotland
Community reviews
Bottle @ Torben Mathews tasting. Nice head with good duration. Color is brown. Aroma and taste are rich fruits, caramel, candy sugar, malt and hops.
Bottle, 50 cl, Pipes of Scotland, Uppsala. Well balanced, smooth still huge taste (high ABV). NB. Last bottle of Scotch ale at this pub. before (sadly) closing.
500 ml bottle at Brasserie sjökanten Lysekil. Amber with off white head. Grain, malt, bread, caramel and dark fruit, dried fruit. Semi sweet with drier finish with low to medium bitterness and low carbonation.
330 ml bottle. Unclear dirty copper, fading off-white foam. Malty sweet aroma and taste, caramel and toffee, faint herbal citric hop. Softer carbonation, medium bodied, low hopped. NFL (Not For Lagerboys)
500ml bottle. @home 26-08-2015.
Courtesy of Michaelawesome. Thanks a lot!.
BBD: Dec 2015.
In short: malty robust ale.
Pours little hazy amber with nice oiff white head. Moderate head retention, some lacing. Malty, toffee, caramel nose. Medium body, soft carbonation, oily texture. Taste is sweet malty, spicy, caramel, liquorice, ripe fruit. Robust mouthfeel, quite enjoyable.
Bottle at some random Scottish place in Tallinn. Pours dark opaque amber with beige head. The head stays for a second. Aroma is sweet, caramel, malt. Flavor follows mostly the nose, but also has some bitterness. Overall: nice brew.
Cask at Congress, Longton. Pours dark chestnut. Sweet barley wine style, not particularly boozy enough. It’s OK just a tad too sweet.
Eigentlich sagt die Nase nichts ausser etwas Holzfaesschen. Dahinter versteckt sich jedoch eine ordentliche Portion Whisky und Fass. Recht trinkbar, schwer, etwas angetrunken und getreidig. Ganz ok.
Bottle from Britische Biere in Düsseldorf. The beer has got a quite clear amber-brown colour with a small head and medium to smooth body. Aroma of barley, wine, caramel and malt. Taste of wine, sherry, barley, malt, caramel and vanilla. Smooth to drink, tastes like there is a lot of alcohol in it. Malty finish. Nice one.
KØLF 141114. Deep golden colour with an off-white head. Aroma is fruit, spices, apple, malt. Flavour is fruit, spices, hop, pine, caramel, malt, dried fruits. Medium body. Ordinary beer.
Very solid scotch ale....i get an almost butterscotch or caramel taste...a real nice tasting beer....(#478)
Burnt amber body with a lacy white head, aroma of citrus, taste is sweet with hints of nuts and caramel.
Pours dark copper with a frothy head. Malts and caramel, a little bit of a chocolate taste. Dark, slightly sweet with a brief taste of alcohol.
Bottle from m and s. Brown head. Dark brown colour. Aroma of alcohol. Full flavour with lots going on and slightly sour.
Orange-brown pour with a creamy off-white head. Aromas of toffee, vanilla, oak, licorice, and a touch of bread. Licorice comes out more in the flavour, with some toffee and a light smokiness. ABV is very well masked, and the mouthfeel is a little thin for the style. Very nice flavour though, and overall a tasty scotch ale.
Bottle from Tomlinsons in Inverness. Poured a dark rusty copper colour, slight haziness, with a decent head fading with some lacing. Aroma of caramel, dark fruit, dates and spice. Medium sweetness, light bitterness, slight dryness to finish. Medium body, slick texture. Decent if unspectacular.
At Boban factory in Vranovo-Serbia, 0,50 bottle. Pours Amber cloudy (going dark, bright), off-white little head. Nose: caramel, wood, whiskey background. Mouth: mild butter cookies feel, caramel, hint of alcohol, minimal bitter final. Strawberries. Cool.
500ml bottle from M&S
Pours reddish, black with a very slight orange tinge.
Smells malty dough.
Taste is subtle fruit, some dough, slight orange.
Medium sweet with quite a strong alcohol taste in the finish until the ale heats up in the glass when the alcohol taste disappears and leaves a very pleasant, smooth finish.
Very nice.
Color of a brown ale with a thin white head. Aroma is of a raisin. Taste has some caramel with a mild liquor bite little bitter at the beginning with a clean finish. To be honest its pretty good enjoy it quite a bit more then any other scotch ale I’ve ever had.
Pours with a thin head, very pleasant almost orange appearance. A very nice aroma of plum, sweet malt, caramel and spice. Taste is medium sweetness. A bit of caramel. Doughy and a hint of citrus. Alcohol is hidden though perceptible and lingers in the aftertaste. Very warm. Overall very good and unique.
330 ml bottle. Pours a dark mahogany with light ot moderate head. Aromas of sweet malts, bread, and golden raisins. Flavors of dusty malts, breadcrusts, burnt caramel, and old apples. Bitter finish. Odd for a Scotch Ale - more a strong Amber.
13
Reminded me of a slightly bitter Innis & Gunn, with a fruity, caramel, malty aroma. Had a hoppy, malty smoky flavour. A bit malty for me, but a good beer nevertheless.
330ml brown bottle, Craft Beer Advent Calendar, day 13. Hazy orange, small beige head with creamy edges and small lace rings. Caramel malt nose, some fruitiness. Taste is peat, earth, bread and caramel sweetness. Bitter end with peaty notes and light alcohol. Medium body, soft mouthfeel. Pleasant.
Quite a buttery and doughy nose to it. Pours up a clean copper color..not as scotchy as id expext from scotland.. extremely buttery dough taste.. not bad at all I do admit for a 7% .. nice cresmy feel on the pallet would drink again..
Bottle to pint glass
Aroma of scotch, malt, and caramel. Pours a clear dark amber with a thin, off white head, an occasional bubble and a few tiny particulates. Even though, thin, with low effervescence, retention is pretty good. Taste is scotch, peat, malt, bread, and moderate late bitterness.
CBAC Day 13: Medium amber pour with a creamy foam head. Mid bodied with flavours of malts and some hops. Slightly earthy and smokey.
Bottle into pint glass. Pours a clear amber colour. Aroma is sweet malt with with some piney earthy hops. Taste is sweet malt with enough bitterness to balance out. Decent beer.-- rated via 'Find A Beer' for Blackberry 10
2014 Advent Calendar #13, 330ml, best before April 2016.
Pours clear deep amber with one finger of loose light tan head diminishing rapidly to a thin skim, minimal patchy lacing. (4/5) Nose is dark boozy fruit, brown sugar, possible diacetyl, slight smoke. (7/10) Taste is moderately strong sweet, mild bitter. (6/10) Medium to full body, moderate to low carbonation, boozy and dry sharply bitter astringent finish. (3/5)
I found it difficult to rate this one, since I’m not a fan of the style in general, but I tried to keep the rating fair to the style. However, there are some characteristics of this one that I’m fairly sure are not indicated, like the faint buttery diacetyl. The BJCP guidelines say hops and bitterness should be low to medium-low, but I’m tasting a strong astringency that, while it may not be a hop bitterness, is certainly bitter. I’m finding this to be unbalanced and generally not my cup of tea. (10/20)
Pours a somewhat clear light brown with a thin spotty white head and good legs. Aroma is rich malt, caramel, earthy, and some mild fruity esters. Flavour is rich malt, caramel, touch of alcohol, earthy, faint bitterness, nutty and light smokey notes.
330ml bottle pours a deep amber color with a finger of white head that leaves some spotted lacing on the glass. Aroma is caramel and pine with some herbal notes. Taste is a pine and herbal hop bitterness with a caramel malty sweetness. Medium bodied with decent carbonation. A decent scotch ale that is worth sampling.