I bought half a dozen from Beerstore and had the first one last night. I'm very impressed, a good combination of hops, malt & Belgian spiciness with on one element dominating.
Some Renaissance Pale and Scotch Ale (which really should be renamed Scottish Ale, because its named after a country and Scotch is a drink) if i fancy them.
Haha. The economist John Kennith Galbraith (Canadian of Scotch extraction) was adamant that Scotch is the correct usage - of the people I mean not the beer, thou I guess would therefor apply to the beer.
As a Scotsman I don't recall ever having heard anyone in Scotland describe themselves as Scotch but I guess non-Scottish people (wait, Scotch people) would know best in that regard.
Gonna play devils advocate here and say that I actually like the 'scotch ale' name, to me it indicates a stronger richer scottish type beer than say a scottish 60/-, 70/- or 80/-
Every bottle of single malt I've ever bought had "single malt scotch whisky" printed on the label. I apologise on behalf of their heathen packaging designers who clearly haven't armed themselves with the nomenclature of you experts.
Had the oak aged Epic and Epic Stout at the Malthouse last night. It had been ages since we had been in but OMG, it was worth it. The oak aged Epic was one of the most interesting and delicious beers I have had in a while. It had a HUGE bitter orange aroma with hints of vanilla from the barrel. Rich, creamy mouthfeel but balanced hop bitterness as well. Not really sure how to describe it. Delicious. The stout was good too but if you get the chance, try the oak aged.