Brewview#4:MacBison Pale Scotch Ale by Flying Bison

Hello again friends!! I am back with another brewview. I apologize greatly for my lack of brewviews or additional posts. This is due to the unfortunate shuffling of my work schedule and being placed on night shift at the hospital. But one week down, one week to go! Seems like an excellent reason to enjoy a delicious beer by an amazing Buffalo brewery!

So, the MacBison Pale Scotch Ale made by Flying Bison, such a good beer! I am particularly excited about this brewview because I have had this beer on draft, bottled, and from a cask in which it was triple dry hopped!!! Today’s review will mostly revolve around the bottled version. Before I begin about the beer though I would like to share some praise of Flying Bison, such a nice venue to enjoy a beer, relaxing with a nice social atmosphere. I recently had the pleasure of speaking with the owner, Tim while purchasing my 6 pack of the MacBison. Such a great guy which is easily seen in work he does at the brewery!! Cheers Tim!!

Alright, onto the beer!!!

The Beer: MacBison Pale Scotch Ale by Flying Bison

This beer has been around Flying Bison as a holiday brew since the beginning. When talking with one of the brewers I asked which beer they’d prefer me to brewview and he mentioned this one due to its special place within the brewery.

ABV:7.8% IBU:30

Hop Profile:Nugget

UK East Kent Goldings

Malt Profile: UK Pale

Crystal

So lets begin with popping the bottle open. Such  a subtle aroma of fruity caramel, both combined in such a way as not to compete with each other but to compliment. Major thought and skill put into this aspect of the brewing process! Looking at the hop profile, respect must be paid only to the UK East Kent Goldings for this. Which from a source mentions the common aromas of fruit, leather, and tobacco articulated with these type of hops. I guess I’m missing the leather and tobacco, on the upside though the fruit aroma combined with those released from the malts are delicious!! Nugget hops on the other hand are not primarily used for aromas, but more for bittering due to their high alpha acid percentage.

Now, lets empty this bottle into a glass so we can experience a full appreciation of its appearance. With the pour came a slight head with mild retention. The fruity caramel aroma remains, if not a bit strengthened in the glass. Color wise, which is a product of the malts used, is an amber color, maybe a little darker but not too far in that direction. This beer though is crystal clear, I can see right through it!! I am wicked excited to take a sip!!!

With the anticipation built, just with the first sip I taste everything that I have read about this beer. So lets begin with the malts. Crystal malts tend to lend a caramel flavor, which I have already mentioned in the aromas but now I can also taste it. The sweetness can be attributed to the UK Pale malts, which are seen a lot in Scotch Ales, one of the well known ones being Golden Promise. To find the exact Pale malt used I would be required to conduct further research. For now lets move onto the hops and the relationship they will hold with our taste buds. Nugget hops are known mostly for their bittering abilities, with this beer I sense a slight bitterness, but ends smoothly and not too over whelming. The UK East Kent Goldings lend us their fruity characteristic which raises the taste factor to such a high level. Such a good combination, none of them over powering the other but coming together  in such a smooth, well balanced manner. The body of this beer is light, has a creamy feel but clears quick enough not to be overwhelming. I could see this beer being drank at any time throughout a night filled with pints!

Wow! What a wonderful Scotch Ale, not as strong as others I’ve had. But that was to be expected with it being a Pale Scotch Ale. My buddy Brian from Buffalo Beer Reviews recently reviewed this beer and he mentioned how he is not a big Scotch Ale fan, but this beer is making his list of what he would drink again! So if you were ever put off by Scotch Ales, please for the love of the Scottish, try this one I would be surprised if you came to regret it.

A quick note about the triple hop cask aged version. Wow!!! Talk about paradise in a cup, if you love Scotch Ales and a strong hop flavor this is your beer! I am thankful I was able to share one with the owner. I just can’t say enough of how delicious this version was, I would love to put a cask in my basement for my own personal use!!! Maybe Santa has a Christmas miracle for me!

Bringing it in, my overall rating for this beer was 4.5-4.75/5. How this beer flowed so well together with the hop combination, as well as the malts demonstrates such great skill put into this brew. I would rank this as one of my top Scotch Ales, which I am hoping they will continue to sell in the bottle! Flying Bison, thanks for making such an amazing beer!!

One last thing, please look my friend Brian up on Youtube, he is the impetus behind me starting this blog. I owe him a lot. You can find him at Buffalo Beer Reviews on Youtube!!!

Cheers!!!