Pike Kilt Lifter Scotch Style Ale - Pike Pub & Brewery

beals

Massachusetts

3.78/5  rDev +6.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 3

This is my favorite style, so of course I'm going to be a bit picky. To start, I take issue with this being called a Scotch-Style Ale, since it's only 6.5%. This should be listed as a Scottish Ale. Just saying...

A: Brown-amber hue, thin head.

S: Malty aroma, very little in the way of hops. Looking good so far.

T: Smoky / peaty! Pushes the smokiness to the limit of what I consider OK, but holds back just at the edge. Balanced nicely by the malty, almost chewy body.

M: Great mouthfeel, excellent body, as a Scottish ale should be.

D: Quasi-drinkable, only because of the smokiness. Rein in the smokiness vs maltiness, and you've got yourself a Scottish ale worthy of a session.

Serving type: on-tap

09-02-2007 23:22:00 | More by beals

roblowther

Texas

3.05/5  rDev -14.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

On tap at Lynx Pizza just outside Denali national park. The color is a reddish copper with minimal head and a bit of delicate lace. Do they use lace on kilts? The smell is rose hips and smoky malt. Now we're getting more Scottish. The taste has a nice hops bite followed by a sharp malt. Very dry finish. Not at all sweet, which surprises me a bit. The mouthfeel is nice but with minimal carbonation, although that could be the tap. There is some silkiness there to keep it all together. The drinkability is limited by the bone-dry finish but the malt balances that out as best it can before it is overrun. Not my favorite style but an interesting example of it. The alcohol is well hidden.

Serving type: on-tap

07-18-2007 00:37:52 | More by roblowther

skillerified

Illinois

3.5/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Nice dark amber color with red and gold hues peeking through in the light. No head, no real cap and not much lacing to speak of, maybe just a hint of tan and white floating in there. The smell is a sweet caramel-like scent. Not too complex. Some smokey tones linger there too. The taste was very much on the sweet side, but had a nice little spicey, smokey bite to it. Again though, not too complex. Light to medium bodied with a mildly carbonated mouthfeel. Goes good with the food at the pub, but I wouldn't necessarily be looking for this one otherwise.

Serving type: on-tap

02-24-2007 01:12:46 | More by skillerified

FightingEntropy

Minnesota

3.58/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

This was my wife's favorite of The Pike, but I thought it was a bit light for being a Scotch ale. The dark golden color with a white head was nice in the glass, but the mouthfeel didn't match up, watery and light for style. Sharp bite in the taste over a solid malt, almost but not quite astringent with a very light hint of smokiness. Musty in the nose with a light malt, and little hop anywhere. Too be expected, a little off center from style, but a very good beer. And, this was one of only two pints my wife ordered in three bars, so a pretty recom there.

Serving type: on-tap

10-28-2006 04:02:18 | More by FightingEntropy

xoqx

Washington

3.9/5  rDev +9.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This beer pours a straight copper color with a creamy off-white head exhibiting light retention and moderate lacing. The smell is malty and slightly earthy. The taste is focused on the malts, but there is a balanced hop presence. It tastes to me equally split between malt and hops, but the malt dominates the first several seconds of a taste and the hops fill in afterward. No significant fruit esters in this beer. One of the defining characteristics of the style, a drying finish despite a malty sweetness in taste, is spot on in this beer. The overall mouthfeel is drying due to the finish. This is a very drinkable Scottish heavy, but the higher abv, somewhat deceptively high, keeps it out of the session category.

Serving type: on-tap

10-20-2006 01:02:19 | More by xoqx

Gavage

New Jersey

3.48/5  rDev -2%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: crystal clear amber color with a 1 inch head. Some spotty lacing developed.

Smell: very light caramel sweetness is all that is picked up.

Taste: caramel, a hint of peat and nuts, soft plum sweetness, and a very light bitterness. Malt level seems a bit weak.

Mouthfeel: medium bodied. Crisp throughout. The caramel and peat softly linger on the tastebuds after swallowing.

Drinkability: not too bad, but this needs to be kicked up a few notches on the malt and peat levels. Decent beer.

Serving type: on-tap

07-18-2006 11:27:11 | More by Gavage

BDTyre

British Columbia (Canada)

3.8/5  rDev +7%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Enjoyable, but not what I'd expect from a scotch ale...more like a Scottish ale. Very light copper colour with a thin head. Peaty malt smell, but this is not very strong. Compared to Belhaven, this is far too light in colour and in scent.

Flavour, however, is not bad. The peat hints are there, but don't dominate. Malt is smooth, and the hops add just the right amount of bitterness.

At times, this comes off as thin and under carbonated. Its enjoyable to drink, but somehow seems a little slick at times.

Serving type: on-tap

06-08-2006 23:50:10 | More by BDTyre

Wasatch

Utah

3.5/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A - Pours a cloudy brown/amber color, some carbonation, tiny head, some lacing afterwards.

S - Scents of malts and a little smokiness.

T - The taste is sweet malty with a clean finish.

M - Light-Medium body, nicely balanced brew.

D - Drinkable. This brew surprised me, I thought that I would not like it, but it's really not that bad. Would buy again.

Serving type: on-tap

03-19-2006 20:04:02 | More by Wasatch

charlatan

United Kingdom (Scotland)

3.3/5  rDev -7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

This has a cloudy orange colour and an ample head. I wasn't able to divine much of a nose because of the smoky bar I was consuming this in.

It has a fruity, tangy flavour with a malt profile which manages to mix caramel and carrot. This is well balanced with enough hops to give it a little bite. As the beer warms the fairly high alcohol content becomes apparent. I like this beer but it isn't easy to knock back and an imperial pint was more than enough.

Serving type: on-tap

01-20-2006 04:05:24 | More by charlatan

Derek

British Columbia (Canada)

2.85/5  rDev -19.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2

This beer has a lot of complex flavours, but unfortunately, it didn't really do it for me.

The peated malt is apparant, and there is some residual sweetness, but overall, it was too bitter for this style. The flavours were just a little harsh for my tastebuds.

Serving type: on-tap

08-04-2005 17:00:32 | More by Derek

lastauss

Washington

3.33/5  rDev -6.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

I had the pleasure to drink this beer back in the days when there was a LOT of peated barley presence (and it was still called "Maul Hammer.") It still has some decent mouthfeel, and when it warms up, you get just the slightest reminder of that smoky peat. It has always been a smooth drinker, to the point of being quite dangerous in its 6.5% abv past, but I think it's been dumbed down to the point of near-fogettability. Still, it's better than most US attempts at a Scottish style.

Serving type: on-tap

09-24-2004 03:56:33 | More by lastauss

Mitchster

Michigan

4.13/5  rDev +16.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Made with Pale, Crystal, Munich, Wheat, Cara Pils, and Peated malts; Magnum, Williamette, and East Kent Golding hops.
OG=1.065, 6.6% ABV, 27 IBU.

Drank on tap at Pikes BC in Seattle, WA.

Clear, caramel-orange in color forming a beige head with good retention and lacing. Aroma is heavy with caramelized sugar, honey, vanilla, and a complete absence of hops. Taste begins with sweet caramelized sugar and malt, nuts, and a cookie-like sweetness. Peat comes in just at the end very end with a faint earthy bitterness. Mouthfeel is smooth with a medium body and a lightly dry finish. An enjoyable example of the style, and also more representative than most of the over-hopped, under-malted offerings by other breweries. Solid.

Serving type: on-tap

06-20-2003 21:16:09 | More by Mitchster

Fabric8r

Montana

4.03/5  rDev +13.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Real nice beer. I don't know if it can be called a "wee heavy", didn't seem thick enough, but the flavor was wonderful. Tad on the hpbby-bitterness side, but I am not saying that is bad at all. The color was a nice suprise, I kept holding it up to the light. I look forward to trying it there again sometime. I have to leave the family home though, they wouldn't let my daughter in the place, not even to sit on the couch. Kinda anal about that.

Serving type: on-tap

04-03-2003 11:31:21 | More by Fabric8r

jreitman

California

4.28/5  rDev +20.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

(from notes at brewery) Nice amber color with a good nose to boot. Nicely fruity and malty sweet with a pretty well hidden alcohol profile. Was very smooth drinking and light on mouthfeel. Surprisingly, there were quite a bit of floral hop flabors in there, but it did not detract too much from the style and was a nice variant.

Serving type: on-tap

07-27-2002 09:18:41 | More by jreitman