Strange Brews: Kelpie Seaweed Ale

Kelpie is an aptly named stout-ish ale brought to us by the Williams Bros. Brewing Company out of Scotland. It was brewed by the Brothers in homage to traditional 19th century beer brewed in the coastal alehouses of Scotland. Have you figured out what it is yet? Kelpie...aptly named...coastal alehouses...could this beer be brewed with fish? If that was your guess, then you are weird. If you guessed seaweed, then you probably read the title of this post. Congratulations, you can read.

Before this post gets into full swing, I must confess: this beer is not as strange as it sounds. Yes, it is brewed with seaweed. I'm sure that sounds odd to many of my readers (i.e. my mom), but one type of seaweed (called Irish moss) is commonly used as a clarifiying agent in the brewing process. Bigger breweries may not use seaweed, but you will often find a little viles of dried Irish moss included in most starting homebrew kits.

Given seaweed's proclivity to clarify a beer, one wonders what if any flavors fresh bladderwrack would add to your run of the mill batch of brew. I admit I am probably the only one wondering this, but a segue was needed to get to the meat of this post. So, what the hell does a Seaweed Ale taste like?

Wherein I Describe The Beer

Kelpie is very dark brown in color and opaque. It has a luxurious head that laces the glass as I drank it. It smells of roasted malts and chocolate, but (and I imagine this was the biggest contribution from the seaweed), it has a surprising freshness to the aroma that is atypical of most malty beers. The label brags that this aroma is "fresh seabreeze," and I'll concede on the fresh part. There isn't any of that briny, salty quality that often attributable to seabreeze.

Concerning its "flavoricity" (sometimes I enjoy construgating my own lexiconism), Kelpie is chocolatey and has a nice roasted malt aftertase, but also very clean and with a lighter mouthfeel than anticipated. Although this may be unfairly pejorative, I can't help but describe the taste as a watery stout. The roasted barley and dark crystal malt flavors are there, but I suppose the seaweed addition has lessened there impact on the palate by a significant degree.

Despite the obvious reference to kelp, Kelpie is actually named after a mythical, malevolent, shapeshifting water horse that is said to haunt rivers and lochs in Scotland. I've also heard that Kelpie get +1 to their saving throws vs. drunkards (hello to all our nerdy readers).

The Verdict

• Kelpie has a very pleasing and fresh aroma. Its a very clean stout, which can be both a good thing and a bad thing. Those anticipating a beer that's heavy on malt flavor and mouthfeel will be dissapointed, as will those who were hoping to drink a beer that tasted like fish (you sick f***s).
  
• I can't decide if Scotland is Off The Beaten Path material, so I'll stall until my next Scottish beer.
  
• Maybe it's a Scottish thing, but the beer label says they used "Bladder Rack," but I thought it was spelled "bladderwrack." Bonus points for finding a typo? No, I didn't think so...
  
• There were other clearer drawings of Kelpie, but the one I have above is so freaky I couldn't resist posting it.