What to do with the Scottish Ale

I brewed up a Scottish ale over a month ago and just tasted it. It tastes better than the store-bought scottish ale I had to buy to learn what a scottish ale is supposed to taste like. For those who inquire further, the scottish ale was a kit given to my father. Neither of us ever had scottish ale before.

Anyway, to make a long story short, I learned that I am not very fond of a beer that malty. So the question remains, what do I do with it? I don't want to throw away good beer, especially after taking care of getting it in the first place.

Can I mix it with another beer, perhaps one more hoppy? If so, what would you recommend?

Would anyone who loves scottish ale care to swap some of their brews to try?

Any other recommendations short of sending everyone free beer?

Ha! I recently gave all mine away.

I'd try mixing it in a glass with something hoppy - hey, what do you have to lose, half a pint of something? Keep it for beer swaps, there was a poll here that indicated more than half the people around here preferred malt to hops. It may grow on you a bit, too.

Hehe, yeah, ya beat me to it! I would love to swap some of this for your Caramel Cream Ale!

Maybe it will grow on me. What foods would go well with a scottish ale?

Haggis!





I don't know, that's a good question. I would think something hearty and meaty would be nice. Was there any peated malt in the kit? Some Scottish Ales have a smoky flavor to them.

no, there is no smokey flavor. Well, not that I could tell in the first testing. I am going to condition it another 2 weeks before trying another. It can only get better, right?!?

Hmmmm, I also tried it at 55 degrees. I wonder how much different it would taste if chilled to 40? Will that make it feel less malty?

Well, if you have it bottled why not just sit on it? You never know when the mood will strike you.

Mk010101 said:

Hmmmm, I also tried it at 55 degrees. I wonder how much different it would taste if chilled to 40? Will that make it feel less malty?

Click to expand...

I believe so. Lower temperatures have a big effect on your taste buds in general. You should notice less of the maltiness. Give it a whirl!

I tried a scottish ale chilled to 40 degrees. It is amazing just how much malt flavor is lost. I think it actually tolerable now. I wouldn't mind drinking it at this temp or just a wee bit higher. I am just not used to 55 degree ales yet! I also mixed it with a hoppy commercial beer, called 2 Below. It is a strong hoppy flavor beer and it mixed pretty well, again to my surprise. I guess I will just have to remember this in the future--try different ways of drinking something to find a nice medium! Thanks again for the help.