Beer of the Week – Black Isle Red Kite

The weekend is here again so for the twenty-second time this year I’m about to shine a spotlight on a single Scottish beer that I think has to date flown under the radar. I’ll be doing this at the end of every working week throughout 2017 in order to spread more of the love to beers that are, perhaps, not getting the attention they deserve. For this unsung hero of Scottish Beer, it’s time to head to the Black Isle.

I’ve featured a few red ales so far in this series (for the full list of unsung beers as it stands, scroll to the bottom of the post). There’s just something about the way this style bridges the past, with its faint nod to the Shilling beers of old, and also juts into the present with the use of US hops or elevated IBU, ABV or other variations. And for a case in point as to what I mean, it’s time to check out Black Isle Red Kite.

22. Red Kite (4.2%)
Black Isle, Munlochy
Style: Amber/Red Ale
330 ml bottle

Pick it up here:
At Black Isle’s online shop (as individual 330ml bottles)
At Black Isle’s online shop (as a case of 12x500ml bottles)

The first thing you get from Red Kite is how extremely fruity the initial flavour is, the crystal malt and the Pacific Gem hops give a jam-like richness to the beer right from the off. The sweeter elements then come into play with the roasty, toffee-like flavours arriving and rounding everything out. Red/Amber Ales have so much leeway in their depiction that nearly everything can get into the picture at one time or another, and yet the one things they all need to stand out is balance (something that every great beer needs). Red Kite is perfectly balanced and a real joy to drink.

Beer of the Week Series:
1. Fyne Ales Highlander
2. Swannay Old Norway
3. Broughton Old Jock
4. Traquair House Ale
5. Tempest Easy Livin Pils
6. Cromarty Brewed Awakening
7. Fallen Chew Chew
8. Black Isle Hibernator
9. Isle of Skye Red
10. Harviestoun Old Engine Oil Engineer’s Reserve
11. Orkney Skull Splitter
12. Windswept Wolf
13. Kelburn Dark Moor
14. Alechemy 5ive Sisters
15. Loch Ness Light Ness
16. St Andrews Eighty Bob
17. Harviestoun The Ridge
18. Orkney Dark Island
19. Williams Bros Seven Giraffes
20. Cairngorm Black Gold
21. Strathaven Craigmill Mild