Quick Takes: Harpoon's Firth Of Forth Ale

As many an American across the country did, I spent the better part of yesterday in the kitchen, cooking up a feast for the family. On the menu? A non-traditional, but still excellent, rotation of Cranberry-Thyme Cornish Game Hen, marble-rye and sausage stuffing, and mashed sweet potatoes. A menu like this would, for normal folks, be accompanied with wine. Fortunately, I'm not a normal person.

To accompany my Thanksgiving feast, I cracked open a bomber of Harpoon's Firth Of Forth Ale. Guest-brewed by Scotsman craft-brewer Steve Stewart, the Firth Of Forth Ale was released by Harpoon as a part of their 100 Barrel Series of session beers. The bottle described the brew thusly: "a combination of Scottish malts and American hops give this dark Scotch style a malty, roasted character with caramel notes and a hint of chocolate."

My take? Most assuredly more malty than hoppy - the hops are barely there, to be honest. The malt and caramel are front and center with this brew, which lent itself nicely to an end-of-the-meal beverage. Didn't catch the chocolate, to be honest. The thing that I loved the most about this brew? The carbonation was minimal, to say the least. This was the closest I've ever seen to a cask-conditioned ale in a bottle.

If you want hops, this is not the beer for you. But otherwise? This was phenomenal. So, if you want hops, grab yourself a Caskazilla. This is a malty brew, through and through, and satisfied the palate all the way to the bottom.