這樣好不好，不要IPA一詞火紅就甚麼都去靠邊，煩不煩…？這會兒，連經典的80先令(80/-) Scottish Ale都來ㄍㄚ一腳了… 

Traditional Scottish Ales, Ben Nevis (India Pale Ale), 4.0%abv. (Scottish Ale)

Purchased at the Lidl supermarket, coming in a 500ml brown bottle; BB 09/2014, served cool in a straight imperial pint glass. It is self-styled an “India Pale Ale”, well, we’ll see what “type” of IPA this beer purports to be.

3.5/5 Appearance: pours a loudly hissing dark reddish chestnut brown body, with the beige beer head disappearing in no time, while the carbonation remains constant and fine.

3.5/5 Smell: sweet raisiny malty as well as lightly stinky earthy/peaty/hay-ish notes upfront are underlined by lightly roasted nuts, caramelised chestnuts, melted brown sugar, and attenuated aroma from ripe-plummy hops. Despite the level of sweetness, the slightly toasty aroma seems to lift the weight by stealth, not unlike the way a Rauchbier works.

3.5/5 Taste: bitter-sweet toasty malts manifest with a light stinky edge of earthy-peatiness, toasted chestnuts, faint raisins or dried berries, then a mildly chewy hop bitterness chimes in to render a bitter-sweet and interestingly roasty-dry finish, not without a healthy dose of acidity to render a rough balance.

3/5 Mouthfeel &3/5 Overall: the loose carbonation is always a bit in the way of full appreciation of this low-gravity, lightly-bodied, but interestingly flavourful ale; to label itself an IPA is, well, very very misleading, but as a 80/- Scottish Ale it doesn’t lose its charm, at least to someone who hasn’t got much experience with this beer style!

--Yau (tasted 19/04/2013, notes transcribed 23/04/2013)