We're currently experiencing a heat wave here in Scandinavia (~29°C/84°F), and personally I find it hard to endure such scorching days without a beer or two. So let's give McBrian Ale from Swedish craft brewery Qvänum Mat & Malt a try. The brewery has produced beer since 2005 and is housed in an old barn belonging to a farm by the name of Gategården, situated just south of Vänern, the third-largest lake in Europe.
The brewery takes pride in collecting the raw materials; such as malt and hops from the local area. The majority of it is organic and the water is from their own well. What we get is thus natural, unpasteurized and unfiltered beer completely without additives. What more can a beer geek like me wish for? Well, the craftsmanship has to be reflected in the taste of course.
The bottle we'll put to test today is the McBrian Ale, a scottish style ale with an ABV of 6.5%.
.JPG)
Qvänum McBrian
Origin: Kvänum, Sweden
Brewery: Qvänum Mat & Malt AB
Style: Scottish ale
ABV: 6.5%
Hops: Cascade, Target and East Kent Golding.
Malts: 3 sorts of local malts.
500 ml bottle
Appearance: Amber with an almost clear liquid and a finger high foam which leaves no residue.
Nose: Roasted malt. Some fruity and sour notes of raspberries together with citrus bitterness. Didn't expect that in a Scottish ale. The alcohol is quite noticeable.
Palate: Malty and sweet as expected, with notes of roasted bitter almonds and butterscotch. Hints of dark rye bread. There are also some light citrus notes that you don't usually find in these types of ales. Quite sticky mouth feel.
Finish: Raw alcohol, sweet bread, dried raspberries, fresh malt and a lingering bitterness.
Conclusion: Surprisingly refreshing and not as heavy as I feared on this scorching summer day. A lot thanks to the tart citrus notes. Although it's not my favorite style of beer, it's a genuine craftsmanship that I can't justify giving a lower score to than 4.3 out of 5.