Way back in 2016, I was delighted to find a deliciously dark ruby tinged ale inside the bottle of Santa Paws, BrewDog's Christmas Scotch ale. It has a large frothy beige head that is quite loose but does leave a thin foam layer when it disperses.
The aroma has a lovely cinnamon spiciness to it that reminded me of Coca Cola and it's a lovely blend of malt, dark fruit and caramel with a hint of winter spice. The aroma transfers to the flavour and it's a delicious blend of chocolate, malt and coffee with a treacle or slightly burnt toffee aftertaste, perhaps from the heather honey that is included in the brew.
Well carbonated, it gives my tongue a good tingling but the body is rather thin. It's only 4.5% and it feels quite light to drink so it goes down very nicely indeed.
I do like a scotch ale now and again as a lighter alternative to stout or porter, and Santa Paws is a lovely subtle, easy drinking scotch ale. If it's brewed again, Ale Be Seeing You!
Brewed by BrewDog Brewery, Ellon, Aberdeenshire
4.5% ABVMy rating:
