Once again, G-LO was approached by some generous craft brewers and offered an opportunity to try some distinctive brews. Not surprisingly, he said yes (it might have been “YES!” or even “Absolutely!”, “Unreservedly!”, “Unequivocally!”, “Yessirree!”) to their offer. The package contained the current three beer lineup from Monday Night Brewing: their Eye Patch Ale (which G-LO reviewed), their Fu Manbrew (also reviewed by G-LO) and their Drafty Kilt Scotch Ale.

Like G-LO, I was not familiar with Monday Night Brewing. After a quick check of the interwebz, I found that they make some very respectable beer. And, they make the beer on the East Coast (take that West Coast crafters!) out of their brewery in Atlanta, GA. As an aside, I just came back from a trip to the South and had some excellent beer from SweetWater Brewing (also from Atlanta). I am thinking that I might need to find a reason to travel to Atlanta (work or play; doesn’t really matter) and sample some of these brews on tap.

Anyway, here is what Monday Night Brewing has to say about their Drafty Kilt Scotch Ale:

A roasty scotch ale with a hint of smoke. Full-bodied, but not overpowering. Smokey, but not in a creepy bar kind of way. Sweet, but not obnoxiously so. Sound like your ideal mother-in-law? Fair enough, but it also is a pretty dead-on description of our Scotch Ale. In a difficult hop-growing climate, Scottish brewers relied on other ingredients to impart flavor and bitterness – one such ingredient was smoked malt. Drafty Kilt is a dark, malty bombshell of a beer.

I found the beer to be…

Appearance: Chesnut brown with ruby tinges, not much foam and good lacing.

Chesnut brown with ruby tinges, not much foam and good lacing. Aroma: Malty, doughy with a little roasted smoke and a little spicy (cloves, allspice).

Malty, doughy with a little roasted smoke and a little spicy (cloves, allspice). Taste: Light on the carbonation, with a nice balance of roasted malt, caramel sweetness and spice.

Light on the carbonation, with a nice balance of roasted malt, caramel sweetness and spice. ABV: 7.2%

I think this is a very tough style to get right and an even tougher style to drink with regularity. So I tip my cap to the folks at Monday Night Brewing for attempting the challenge. I found the Drafty Kilt very drinkable, almost easy drinking for a Scotch Ale. There was a certain simplicity in the flavors and an almost earthy or grassy quality to the finish. I really enjoyed this beer.

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Many thanks to the good people at Monday Night Brewing for sending us this sample bottle!