Tag Archives: Scottish Ale

25 Beers of Christmas: Day Thirteen – Sun King Wee Mac

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This is the second day in a row I’ve picked up a beer that has “quaffable” in its bottle/label description. Ahhmazing. Because you know what you do after having a lame day? You come home, have a Sun King Wee Mac, appreciate vocabulary, and watch dogs in cars. (thank you Laura!)

Ah I feel so much better. Don’t lie. That was inspirational. Doesn’t hanging your head out the window look so peaceful?

All in all…I really thought that this Scottish ale was actually quaffable – it is very mild, smooth, but not in a velvety or heavy sense like a stout, and the hops are delicately understated. It has a genuinely nice flavor – I think that if the Wee Mac was to be personified it would absolutely come help you change your tire or come pick you up if you were stranded somewhere. If it had a truck it would help you move, as well.

I can also attest to the fact that it is a very good beer to have in a plastic cup at a cyclocross race…truth. It also makes me want to eat many many carmel candies. Though I liked changing things up with a can and truly enjoyed this beer, I’m not the biggest fan of the design. There is a lot going on for the eye to process, and the style of the ale on the bottle was easier to read than the name itself. On second look I can make out the “Wee Mac” and see the blue and white, but whenever my eyes shift back to the can they cross for a minute in order to adjust to everything.

Recommend to a friend? Yes, I really would

How much snow are you willing to scrape off your car for this? (3) Ten minutes – (4) Twenty minutes what!

I haven’t had enough Scottish Ales to compare this to any others, so right now I’m between those. Part of the (4) is attributed to the fact that I would (see below) have several more of these, and that it is low in ABV, which I really appreciate.

Safe for lightweights? Yes it is, at 5.3% ABV

Plus one? Because this is so mild, but still retains flavor that I really like, I would definitely have another and stick to it for the evening. It’s a beer that is really satisfying to me, and that provides enough flavor so that I don’t get bored.

25 Beers of Christmas: Day Three – Brugge Černé pivo at Twenty Tap, Indianapolis

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All in all…This was actually an impromptu “beer for the day,” and unfortunately I wasn’t completely happy with it. However, this could have been attributed to the fact that (1) I already had a Sun King Wee Mac followed by an Upland Dragonfly that afternoon and (2) immediately prior had a pulled pork slider & Greek style lamb slider.

[Sidenote: I was at the NUVO cyclocross race today with Sun King's beer truck, and four other food trucks. That explains the Wee Mac, growler and different sliders.]

Anyways, there were quite a lot of beer and food flavors going on before having this, which really makes me want to try this beer again in a different situation. Our server didn’t know much about this other than it was a “dark beer,” and I couldn’t find a whole lot about this other than that it is a Belgian style dark beer Czech black lager (see below), and that it is about 5.0% ABV so my frame of reference was not spot on in any sense. Tonight I didn’t think a lot of it, the hops that were in it left it a little dry, and any bitter flavor felt a little burnt. It did, however, have a refreshing feel right upfront, but it simply left me wanting the Mad Anthony Pale Ale that my friend had ordered.

It is so true that food, previous beers, and even your environmental situation can affect how beer tastes and feels. There are some that may completely flop one evening, but the next time you have them you fall in love. A dark beer like this may be wonderful starting your night out, but probably isn’t the best after a tiring afternoon and following a Scottish Ale, IPA, BBQ, and Greek style food.

Recommend to a friend? I can’t give an informed answer for that right now. I’ll definitely update this though if I get to try it again.

How much snow are you willing to scrape off your car for this? (2) Five minutes

Safe for lightweights? Absolutely, 5.0% ABV

Plus one? Not tonight. I’ll be really interested in trying this another time by itself, or maybe with some food that will bring out more of its good points.

update: My apologies for the mistaken identity of this as a Belgian style instead of the proper Czech Black Lager-thank you to @hoosierbeergeek and Ken for the correction. This mistake says a lot about taking the time to verify information, and frankly stepping it up as far as proper research goes… “Černé pivo” is a black beer, while the similar “tmavé pivo” is a dark beer (Good Beer Guide: Prague & the Czech Republic)…working on more details, but I wanted to get this out there ASAP.