Nessie's Monster Mash - Cairngorm Brewery Company, The

BlackHaddock

United Kingdom (England)

3.48/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

500ml bottle: best before 28 May 2013. Poured into a UK pint sleeve at home on 30 Dec 2012.

The beer looked good: deep reddy brown body with a full biege head on top.

Malts all the way in this brew: semi-sweet and fairly mild roastiness wise is both the smell and taste. Some hints of peat smokiness try and sneak into the flavours along with dark chocolate and a hand full of mixed nuts (unsalted). Pleasant enough and although a 'tourist-beer' it was OK.

Serving type: bottle

12-30-2012 21:56:17 | More by BlackHaddock

flyingpig

United Kingdom (Scotland)

2.85/5  rDev -12.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Nutty brown in colour and semi-clear with a very thin white lacing for a head

Sweet smelling ale that is a mix of dark summer fruits & toffee. It is quite typical for the style.

Again pretty typical for the style with a taste that closely matches the aroma with dark fruits dominating. A nice bitter finish.

Light bodied and smooth to drink but not watery.

Pretty decent for an ale and almost right down the middle of the scale in every aspect. A nice, drinkable pint although not necessarily one I'd look out for again. I did enjoy the name though.

1001 Beers to Try:
http://abarwithnoname.wordpress.com

Serving type: cask

07-09-2011 02:29:13 | More by flyingpig

AgentMunky

Alabama

3.95/5  rDev +21.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured from a 500mL bottle into a pint glass.

A: Two fingers of frothy, pitted head. Well-defined lacing down the sides. Dark-dark beautiful brown.

S: Malty gingerbread. Interesting and pleasant. Aromatic floral scents and molasses.

T: Malty yes, but with initial roast that fades into caramel flavours. A bitterness bites, but it's mostly round and sweet, with hints of chocolate. The aftertaste is mild.

M: A bit watery, especially over time. As carbonation fails, so does the mouthfeel. Otherwise nice.

D: Good name, good beer. Goes down very easily. Would drink again.

Serving type: bottle

11-07-2010 19:55:35 | More by AgentMunky

ivanwatling

United Kingdom (England)

1.75/5  rDev -46.3%
look: 2 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1

Appearance: Dark brown, very little head that disappears to nothing within a minute. Not an auspicious start.

Smell: Very pleasant aroma suggesting a sweet, thick brew

Taste: Awful. The bottle notes talk about a strong malt character, but to me it tastes too bitter and quite acrid. Hints of metallic bile push to the forefront, making a most unpleasant drinking experiance.

Mouthfeel: Nasty acrid aftertaste that had me reaching for some water to get rid of the awfulness

Drinkability: Verges on the un-drinkable.

It's amazing how a brewery that can produce such wonderful brews (Trade Winds, Wildcat) also puts out something as repulsive as this. It's almost as if they bottled the dregs and sell it with a 'nessie' label to guillable tourists. Tarnishes the image of an otherwise good range of beers

Serving type: bottle

04-28-2010 18:50:39 | More by ivanwatling

kmacphail

United Kingdom (Scotland)

4.13/5  rDev +26.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A nice dark coloured Scottish Ale, with a good creamy head that lasted thoughout the whole duration. This had a good smell of hops, if a little bland in comparisson to others. There is a good taste of hops combinecd with a nice roasted taste and a hint of nuts. This went down very well and at a reasonable abv this is a beer that can realistically be drunk all night.

This is a beer that must be taken at room temperature, it does not react well to the cold, which changes its character totally. When taken cold it removes the lovely taste and increases the fizz, starts to taste a bit like a dark lager.

Well worth a try.

Serving type: bottle

06-23-2006 15:26:33 | More by kmacphail

arizcards

Arizona

3.4/5  rDev +4.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Sampled the last month of April in Aviemore.

This beer poured a mahogeny color with an OK head. Nose was somewhat malty but generally non-descript. Taste started off light but concluded with a medium hop bite finish. Mouthfeel was light to medium bodied. Overall drinkability was pretty good with a low abv and an overall pretty good feel to it. Definitely worth a shot.

Serving type: bottle

05-14-2006 23:23:05 | More by arizcards

GreenCard

Oregon

3.08/5  rDev -5.5%
look: 2.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Appearance: dark amber, good clarity, not much head development

Aroma: lush malty backbone w/ just a hint of dark malts and roast, very light woodsy hops, strawberry fruitiness, angel's foodcake, hazelnuts

Flavor: subdued malt sweetness, predominating flavors are dark malts and a pronounced hop bitterness, hop flavor is definitely "English", wood, finishes dryish with resiny hops and a hint of corn (weird!) in the aftertaste

Mouthfeel: medium body, mild carbonation, a bit astringent or "dry" feeling

Overall Impression: Pretty good all around. Full-flavored, but the hop bitterness is a bit too harsh for my taste. Not too bitter, just a bit harsh on the pallate.

Serving type: bottle

06-30-2004 19:03:32 | More by GreenCard

StevieW

Florida

3.45/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

500ml stubby brown Euro shaped bottle. Label has a menacing looking green cartoonish Nessie eyeballing you, alot like Todd's picture. The picture in the background depicts the famous loch ness and the castle.
Described as a "mahogany ale, malt predominating" on the label, I think it is loosely in the Scottish Ale category. Shiny mahogony color, with a dense, tightly carbonated beige head. Lasted forever. Sticky lace down the side of the glass.
Murky aromas of barnyard, and wet grass. Very muddled.
Taste is dominated by highly charged carbonation bubbles. Underneath is a whisper of earthy scottish malt. Some very slightly toasted malt in the background. Flavors are a bit more noticable toward the end. Carbonation is really strong, I guess that's better than it being flat. Medium bodied. Tasty enough.
I bought this one at roadside restaurant on highway 82 in sight of the famous Loch Ness, lugged to Florida and stored in my fridge for six months. Best buy date of April 2004.

Serving type: bottle

12-21-2003 02:33:58 | More by StevieW