Most of the time when we’re buying fresh produce, we will opt to get organic if it’s available and priced reasonably. However, for whatever reason, I’ve never gone out of my way to buy organic beer. It’s not that it’s priced higher — I just never thought too much about it.
Last week on a grocery run to Trader Joe’s, I picked up a pint-sized (actually it’s a little more) bottle of Caledonian Great Scot Organic Pale Ale, from Scotland-based Caledonian Brewery. A little-more-than-a-pint bottle for $3 seemed like a decent deal, and I had to have something fresh to try for this week’s review.
My first impression of this beer was that it tasted grassy, which was most likely due to its somewhat unique barley flavors coming out. This isn’t your typical pale ale and, unlike what I’m used to for “typical” pale ales, it didn’t stand up all that well with food. I had this one with a burger, which I would have expected to be perfect pairing with a pale ale.
Getting back to the grassy taste, Deb commented that she thought it had an almost wintergreen taste to it. Maybe I let her get to my head, because after I was halfway through my glass, I could taste what she was talking about. It was quite a turn-off and it almost made me not want to finish it. Of course, not finishing it would be blasphemy and a sin against humanity, so down it went.
The color and head was pretty much as pictured to the right, which definitely gives it an appealing look. Then you take a swig and you’re in for a disappointment. I definitely won’t be going out of my way to grab this one again, but for the price, if you’re curious, it’s not so horrible to judge for yourself.
RateBeer gives Great Scot a 28 score. That sounds about right.
Clacked by Keith McDuffee 
on Mar 07, 2009 @ 15:01 EST5EDT
