Renaissance Stonecutter Scotch Ale
This is the big, hearty ’red wine’ of our range. Nine malts are blended to produce layers of caramel, coffee, liquorice, chocolate and roasty flavours and these are balanced by a tart, raisiny fruitiness that gradually gives way to a lingering dry finish. Rich, full bodied. warming and moreish. Stonecutter pairs well with venison, roast beef or lamb, or the heartiest casseroles and stews. For dessert try with a creme brulee or, of course, Scottish shortbread.
3.6
342 reviews
Blenheim, New Zealand
Community reviews
Big smokey malt on the nose with a hint or herbalness (toatra maybe). Moderately sweet, and moderately thick mouthfeel. Hoppy bitterness and smokey malts on the finish. Great beer, got me out of Ratebeer retirement to rate. Favorite beer of New Zealand.
Great beer! Rye, a bit hoppy. Strong bread aftertaste. Medium bitterness, a clear taste of scotch.
09-02-19 // on tap at Mikkeller Berlin. Rich malty. Sweetness with a dry malty body. Definitely scottish.
Aroma: caramel, toffee and dark fruits dominate the aroma with some smoke and maybe, chocolate as well in the background. smells really sweet.
Appearance: clear dark amber to copper color with a tiny beige head disappearing fast.
Taste: caramel, toffee, dark fruit such as raisin and prune, a little bit smoky quality.
Palate: medium to full body. weak carbonation. moderate alcohol warmth. dry in the finish.
Overall: This is my first scotch ale and absolutely a malt-forward beer. I barely found any hop aroma in this beer. Dryness in the finish helps balance out the malty quality and thus, makes the drinkability good. Not so complex, but it's tasty though.
Tastes quite smokey to me. Buried underneath there are hints in scotch. It is a strong beer and quite bitter to balance it. All around decent, I would like more body. Castle Berlin
Stonecutter Scotch Ale pours a hazy dark amber color with a small beige head with fair lacing. Scents of malty caramel and brown sugar float up to the nose and are accompanied by dried dark fruits. The darkly malty molasses attack is followed by a dry center of toffee, prunes, and a hint of honey before the finish with its cocoa bitterness and a hint of funk takes over. This brew is full-bodied and rich from attack to finish, carried by just a little carbonation to balance its weight out. Neat.
Bottle, 330 ml, courtesy of JFK10000. Shared with him and Max. Brown with off-white head. Malty, caramel, some scotch, bit thin finish, soft carbonation. Some bitterness in finish. Medium bodied.
The color is a deep reddish brown, and the beer has little carbonation. Rich aromas of dark chocolate, toffee, and malt are available on the pour, with somewhat subtle peat and smoke.
On tasting this beauty, though, you get all of the bitter chocolate and toffee, plus a good amount of smoke. Molasses and plums provide a sweet finish, but not one that lingers too long.
Overall, what a well-crafted and full-bodied wee heavy Renaissance has produced here! A few pints would bring warming comfort and easily stave off the chill following an afternoon clambering up the Buachaille in driech weather. (And let’s not forget a whisky and a toastie too!)
Pours clear mahogany with a full, yellow-beige head. Aroma is brown sugar, honey and dried fruit. Taste is brown sugar and plum, warming to breadiness and clove. Finish is complex malt. A very well done Scotch ale.
500 ml bottle.
An inch of foam is what I get with a fairly vigorous pour. Does well with the lacing.
Smells on the sweet side. Caramel, toffee, chocolate, other than that, it has a smoky, peaty aroma that a lot of this style seem to embrace.
Taste wise, Smoky, peaty, strong malty sweetness up front with toffee, hints of dark fruit mid palate, chocolate finish. Bitter chocolate.
Great mouthfeel.
A well brewed Scotch Ale but I was hoping for something like MacAndrews Scotch Ale. No go there but this is a very good one.
KØLF 171117. Amber color with a beige head. Aroma is caramel, alcohol, raisin. Flavor is caramel, alcohol, wood, malt, toffee, coffee, roasted, sugar. Medium to full body. Nice beer.
An absolute gem. Sweet and tasty and complex and well-priced and our very own Godzone channeling memories of the colonisers.
Bottle at Hundholmen, Bodø. Has a slightly hazy dark mahogany colour with small light beige head. Malty and sweet aroma with caramel, cranberry, roasted almonds, liqueur, leather, heather and some chocolate. The flavour is similar but with more wood, caramel, leather and some roasted coffee. Has a slick mouth feel, medium body and a light bitterness. Malty and sweet, nice scotch ale.
Tap at Beer Geek. Alcohol lightly coming across. Full body and low carbonation. Light feel of fresh cut grass. Otherwise mostly malty, deep nutty toffee character. Rather sweet. Good, but not great.
(draught) deepest amber-brown colour with a fothy beige head. aroma of butterscotch and grape juice, with a light touch of pumpernickel, plum dum and toasted malts. flavour is mostly tobacco, soy sauce and earth, heavy heavy umami, with a hint of roasted malts and bran flakes in the semi-dry finish. heavy-bodied with soft carbonation.
The scent of caramel, chocolate, and dark fruit are noticed as you take a drink. A mixture of nine different malts create the complexion of the flavorful body. An abv of 7% is nondescript to our senses.
The balance between the two flavors of chocolate and caramel take ahold of you. You can’t taste one without getting the other at the same time. Juicy toffee accentuates the caramel feel.
The taste of raisin is sensed and is more apparent in the slightly dry finish. Dates adds to the raisin flavor of the drink. A cherry tart bite grabs you right when you drink.
Licorice assists the tart bite and compliments the chocolate and caramel body. An anise spice adds to the sweeter part of the take. A walnut flavor is comprehended from the nutty feel.
The water quality is exceptional. The water presence creates a watered down feel to the brew, which is nice considering the weight of the many malts used. The water makes the beer refreshing and easy to drink. The 7% alcohol content will sneak up on you.
Stonecutter is a Scotch Ale that is deceptively deep in flavor. The chocolate and caramel body is lovely. Raisins and dates sweeten the beer. Cherry, licorice, and anise combine to create a very unique bite I have not experienced. The watery body makes this beer incredibly easy to drink. Stonecutter has a lot to offer than you think.
Cheers. Prost. Drink for the love of beer.
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Renaissance Stonecutter
Scotch Ale
Served in my thistle glass this Yamaya cheapie was a deep reddish brown with a creamy beige head. It's blessed with a rich malty aroma featuring dried fruits, cocoa and a sharp biscuit.
The taste has some smokey peat, biscuit and roasty chocolate. A bit sweet and all around another winner.
Fresh from the tap at Hopfenreich. Dark Redbrown with a thick foam layer. Multi-malty aromes are dominating.
330ml bottle. Cloudy, reddish brown colour with average, thick, frothy to creamy, moderately lasting and lacing, off-white to beige head. Malty aroma has notes of toffee and nougat, fruity hoppy overtones with hints of red berries, a touch of plum. Taste is fruity hoppy and moderately sweet, slightly toasty and minimally smoky malty, notes of toffee, nougat, plum, red berries, honey, wafers; bitter hoppy finish, minimally sticky palate. Clean, rich, balanced.
Blij deze te kunnen drinken. Een warm, wijnig bier, maar niet barley achtig. Fruitig, koffie/caramelachtig en ook nog een beetje rokerig. Grappig.
From a beer hawk mystery case. Was 7.5% Pours dark brown with a thin head at about 4degrees c. Little aroma. Taste of malt ,chocolate and whisky overtones. Smooth, sweet and very nice for a change. Not a session ale !
330ml bottle. Pours brown. Biscuit, sherry, apricot, dried apple, pepper, little funk. Fine.
7 3 6 3 13
Draft at Kaapse Maria. Hazy amber brown with a creamish tan head. Aroma of tart dark fruits, malt, caramel, vinous notes, light smoke, light coco powder and raisins. Flavour is heavy sweet and a little sour. Medium bodied with soft carbonation. [18/06/2017]
Frothy beige head stayed well dark oak coloured, still body.
Malt & demerara aroma with plum & berries.
Medium bodied. Lightly carbonated, thin on back.
Sour berries tastes with plum, cherries, brown sugar & raisins.
mørk mahogni i fargen med fint skum. Karamell, vanilje noe røykt torv og lett tobakk preger både lukt og smak. Silkemykt
Bottle, at Duggfrisk. A dense, pale beige head forms over an unclear brown body. The aroma has lots of sweetish toffee, with dirt and some chocolate and coffee. It’s full-bodied and quite sweet on the palate, smoothly carbonated, and with toffee and dark sugary sweetness dominating. Some chocolate and coffee chiming in, and there’s a good bitterness as well. Lasting sweet, malty finish. A really pleasant scotch. 160820
Bottle from beer hawk. It is a red wine of a beer, deeply flavourful and sour. Spicy on the palate. I find it an uncomfortable half way house though of sour and barrel aged. Aroma is very much like port (wine, raisin, molasses). Nice but wouldn’t get again; no doubt exemplary for its style.
Leicht trübes, rötliches Bernstein mit relativ wenig Schaum. Malzig, etwas Karamell, dezent rauchig, nussig, leicht fruchtig, Rumtopf.
330ml bottle from Westholme Stores, Goring. A copper coloured pour with a thin cream head; boozy aroma with some sweet grains; sweet caramel and barley sugar taste; and a slightly drier finish with some warmth. Seems more like an old-fashioned barley wine to me.
From Labirratorium. In Teku glass. Watching Los Soprano 5x09. Some caramel, specially in nose, with a significant yet not excessive smokyness and a good dose of neutral hops in the finish.