Review: Robert the Bruce by Three Floyds
Robert the Bruce
Three Floyds Brewing Company
Style: Scottish Ale ABV: 9% IBU: 35 Serving type: Bottle
I don’t know if you’ve heard, but here in the midwest, Three Floyds Brewing Company is kind of a big deal. A popular day of craft brew celebration is Dark Lord Day, a date set ahead of time by Three Floyds for fans of the Dark Lord brew to gather, redeem their golden tickets, and drink a lot of beer. Now I have never been fortunate enough to try one of these Dark Lords, but I hear it’s epic. Maybe next year I’ll battle my way to Indiana and get in on the fun.
Tonight, however, I will review a bottle of “Robert the Bruce” by Three Floyds. I bought this beer from Beer Crazy on brewery name alone – since I had heard murmuring of Dark Lord. In my corner of midwestern breweries, however, the Scottish Ale style of beer already has a few formidable contenders. Olde Main Brewing of Ames, Iowa brews a local favorite – the Off KILTer Scottish Ale. As well, Brau Brothers of Lucan, Minnesota distribute their own Scotch Ale to the greater Des Moines region. To me, both of these local beers prove to be great tasting, and definitely worth the trip to find. But, will “Robert the Bruce” clobber the competition?
Appearance
First off, props to Three Floyds for the psychedelic bottle cap. It looks like the frame of a swirling green and purple comic book with three hands reaching out to the drinker, offering hops and barley. They have to be taking this seriously, right? Robert the Bruce pours a dark, but see-through brownish red. It’s a darker beer, but it certainly lets a lot of light through and doesn’t look heavy. The end result is a beer that looks like a great, light summer drink. A refreshing alternative to the light lagers that litter our summer days. If you crank the bottle you’ll get a little foam on top, but otherwise this seems like it would be a headless beer. Beware Ichabod. Small bubbles float slowly to the top, leaving a ring of foam around the edges of the glass.
Aroma
I love it when I can smell a beer as it pours out of the bottle. It’s even better when the beer smells great. Out of the glass, Robert the Bruce smells a little like cocoa powder used for my winter hot chocolates. It’s a pleasantly sweet beer, and not strong enough to come off as artificial – scents of caramel tend to be this way for me.
Taste
It’s gone! I drank it all before I could get to this part of the review. Well, there is a bit left at the bottom. I’m going to savor that until the finale. This is one incredibly smooth beer, with it’s variety of roasted malts and tiny bubbles. A bigger gulp will reveal a smokiness surrounding the entire flavor of the beer. Tasty, and ends a bit dry. You’re going to drink it dangerously quick, and not even take notice of its 9% ABV.
Overall Evaluation
Do you like malty, sweet beers? Do you enjoy it when a beer doesn’t attack you with hops? Robert the Bruce has something he’d like to say; “Drink this beer!”. This is a style of beer I feel is often forgotten, but I’m almost never disappointed by an entry. The variety of ingredients used in a Scottish Ale brings out a unique combination of flavors. Again, it’s for us malt-heads, who need to take it easy, or we’ll down far too many of these. 4.3/5.
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