Ebulum - Elderberry Black Ale

One of a number of interesting looking ales I picked up from my local Dobbie's which, for those who don't know what that is, is a garden centre with amusingly shaped toilets and a penchant for selling delicious but awfully out of place food and drink. The beer seemed to be predominantly Scottish so I decided to just run with it and buy a basket full.

Now, when the Scottish say something is black, they mean it's black, so when they say this is a black ale, they mean that it is a glass full of liquid shadow. Light may hit it but no light ever escapes, it is complete darkness, dim the lights and you'd only be able to work out it was there by it's, latte foam, head. The smell is heavily of coffee with little hints to the elderberries that it advertises which leads you to think that this is going to be a thick chocolatey stout but what you actually get is a hint of bitter, sticky, stout but a beer that is a lot like a fruity glass of spring water... How very odd. It tastes very subtly of berries and goes down a lot easier than it looks like it should. There are little hints of caramel and bread but something about this beer just seems a little off. Maybe I can't hack the idea of not drinking with my eyes, I would hope that's all, but now that I sit and analyse, I do rather feel a bit of hairiness in the mouth, a light version of that sensation you get when you wake in the middle of the night directly after you've had a heavy night of drinking.

It's not unpleasant and there are several things to like about it, especially that it's a very refreshing drink... It's just not refreshing enough to be had in Summer and not thick and chewy enough to be had in winter. It's such an odd mix because it has the look of a winter beer but the taste of a summer one and, unfortunately, that means that it fits into neither. I like it enough to say that it's worth a try, but only if it's on offer... Or someone decides to give you one.

Food suggestion: Light enough to go with a salad, if you can believe that.

Drink this if you like: Drinking odd grog from the Scotch land.