12 oz single courtesy of James all the way from Scotland. many thanks.

Beer pours with an impressive rocky, white head which gives some super lace. Body is a slightly hazed, golden pour with mid to low carbonation – a smashing looking beer.

Nose gives some typical sweet malts abut also a little white peppery bitterness.

The beer drinks very dry with a lack of malt presence for a beer in the English pale Ale category. There is a very stout, Saaz-like, crisp bitterness which gives a little pepper, and given the relative lack of malt character, I might have even guessed the style of this beer to be that of a Pilsner.

The finish mimics the style too, with more lingering bitterness, a dry aftertaste and more cracked grains.

This is a pretty tasty beer with a lot of flavor packed in (take note you lower ABV beer bashers), but it’s a bit strange for the style. There’s a lack of malt presence which doesn’t make it a beer that doesn’t taste good, but it does make it a beer that is not really what is purports to be.