Sunday Night Suds - Saranac Shilling Ale

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Saranac Shilling Ale.

The Saranac Shilling Ale was introduced in this past winter's Irish Roots mix box, which included three of each of the following: old friends Black & Tan (reviewed here https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2010/06/sunday-night-suds-saranac-black-tan.html), Irish Red (reviewed here https://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2009/02/sunday-night-suds-saranac-irish-red.html) as well as new beers Irish Lager and the Shilling Ale reviewed this week.

The Shilling Ale is a Scottish Ale (as opposed to a Scotch Ale) which the gurus at BA explain:

Scottish-Style Ales vary depending on strength and flavor, but in general retain a malt-forward character with some degree of caramel-like malt flavors and a soft and chewy mouthfeel. Some examples feature a light smoked peat flavor. Hops do not play a huge role in this style. The numbers commonly associated with brands of this style (60/70/80 and others) reflect the Scottish tradition of listing the cost, in shillings, of a hogshead (large cask) of beer. Overly smoked versions would be considered specialty examples. Smoke or peat should be restrained.

The Shilling Ale was certainly malty, much more than I would have expected in an Ale. According to the bottle, the Shilling Ale is 5.60% abv, although it did not have any heavy alcohol flavor. When I poured the beer, the foam instantly filled the glass, but the carbonation was also a drop more subdued than I am used to from a Saranac beer. Overall, the beer is not obtrusive and worth a shot if you can find a single or a box on the end of season sale (these were brewed in December and their expiration dates are the end of June).

Saranac Schilling Ale is under the Kosher Supervision of the Va'ad of Detroit as is every other beer produced at the Matt Brewery plant in Utica, NY. Keep in mind, Saranac brews some varieties off site, so check the cans/bottles for kosher certification from the Va'ad of Detroit.

To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about the brew, please follow this link https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/99/391171.

As always, please remember to drink responsibly and to never waste good beer unless there is no designated driver.

If you've tried this beer or any others which have been reviewed on the kosher beers site, please feel free to post your comments (anonymous comments are acceptable).

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