Iron Thistle Scottish Ale pours slightly hazy dark ruby red/brown color with a single finger 
fairly dense head. This dense head is light khaki with good retention. This reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of big caramel, brown sugar, brown bread crust, toasted biscuit, and nuttiness; with lighter notes of chocolate, cocoa, coffee, smoke, molasses, raisin, plum, cherry, fig, leather, herbal, pepper, and roast/toasted earthiness. Great aromas that provide balance and complexity the dark/roast/bready malt and light earthy hop/fruity yeast notes; with great strength.
Taste of big caramel, brown sugar, brown bread crust, toasted biscuit. Add to that nuttiness; with lighter notes of chocolate, coffee, smoke, molasses, plum, herbal, pepper, and toasted earthiness. Light herbal, grassy, spicy hop and roast bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of caramel, brown sugar, and roast/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malt and light earthy hop/fruity yeast flavors; with a great roast/hop bitter/sweet balance, and zero cloying/astringent flavors after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from lingering hop/roast bitterness. Medium carbonation and medium-plus body; with a very smooth, creamy/bready/grainy, and lightly sticky/chalky mouthfeel that is great.
Overall this is an awesome Scotch Ale from Rahr and Sons. All around great complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malt and light earthy hop/fruity yeast flavors; very smooth and easy to drink with the mild bitter/drying finish. Impressively rich English malt complexity for the ABV; very well restrained fruity yeast, and solid earthy hop balance against the sweetness.
Iron Thistle Scottish Ale by the numbers
ABV: 7.0
IBU: 35
OG: 16.3
Links to other posts in my Beers of Texas Series
