Halfway through the 31 Beers of Christmas Project and what have I learned so far? I don't like beers with sexy snakes on the label, but I do like Scotch Ales. And I'm going to have another one tonight. This is Kilt Lifter from Moylan's Brewery in Novato, California. The label is adorned with all the many championship trophies this ale has won, at the World Beer Championship where it won Gold in 1997, 1998, 2003 and 2009. Add to that some Best of the West bling and California Champions at the US Beer Tasting Championships 7 out of the last 8 years. All of a sudden that blue ribbon Pabst won back in 1896 don't look so impressive, does it?
Moylan's also wants me to "drink safely" and apparently that entails getting a good grip on your mug.
I'm ready.

APPEARANCE: A very dark brown, no light gets through it but it's not black like stout. So dark it's hard to see what the bubbles are up to, but they keep coming up and the head is lasting so I assume the bubbles are doing their job.

AROMA: Is dark a smell? No, then let's go with mulch -- mulch with a dash of sweetness.

TASTE: A nice balance of malt and hops. Usually on beers with a higher ABV -- this is 8% -- you taste alcohol first, but here it's actually the last thing you taste. I really like this, but it seems to be lacking something that Backwoods Bastard had. I know BB was a Wee Heavy and this is a Scotch Ale so maybe it's not a fair comparison. But I think what I liked about the Bastard was the bourbon flavors that came through from being aged in bourbon barrels.
Hey, maybe in January I'll review a bourbon every day.

BURP TASTE: Not very gaseous, and the burps are almost tasteless, just a little maltiness.

DRINKABILITY: Very nice. If I hadn't had a Backwoods Bastard first this probably would have made a bigger impression on me.