Beer Man is a weekly profile of beers from across the country and around the world.
This week: Yee-Haw Eighty
Yee-Haw Brewing Co., Johnson City, Tenn.
It wouldn’t be another year without another feeble attempt by an American brewer to replicate a Scottish ale.
This time it’s Yee-Haw Eighty, pretending to be an 80-shilling Scottish ale.
It was one of four samplings from the brewery I tried recently. Sad to say, every single beer — a pilsner, dunkel, pale ale and the Scottish ale — were all marked by non-existent heads, no lacing, dryness and lemon hop backgrounds.
It’s almost like the same hops and brewing methods were used for each beer, with the only variation being the amount and types of malt used.
Once again I have to write that true Scottish ales have a special malt flavor that, in more than 20 years, I’ve never come across in an American attempt to replicate it. To me, it doesn’t matter if the types or amounts of malt fit the style — if it doesn’t have that special flavor, it is not a Scottish ale.
The proof is in the tasting of such beers as Belhaven (all types), McEwan’s, Traquair House Ale and others.
However, none of this means that Yee-Haw Eighty, at 5% ABV, is a terrible beer. It is a passable brown ale.
There are aromas and flavors of fresh grain, plus slight chocolate and caramel. There was a creamy head that appeared for a few seconds before completely disappearing without leaving lacing. What was not Scottish at all was the dry background and lemon background from the hops.
Many of the problems with Eighty appeared with the Dunkel. It had a little less malt background of chocolate and caramel, but had the dry and lemon characteristics, neither representative of the style. The pilsner was very sharp and bitter, more than the norm for its style.
The pale ale was actually the best of the bunch, with a decent background of malt, and the dry and lemon aspects fitting the style. The harshness and bitterness were the same as about 95% of similar ales on the market.
So, sad to say, nothing spectacular to report on this brewery’s offerings.
Yee-Haw beers are only available in Tennessee and Virginia at this time. The brewery has a Find Our Beer link on its site.
Many beers are available only regionally. Check the brewer's website, which often contains information on product availability by mail. Contact Todd Haefer at beerman@postcrescent.com. To read previous Beer Man columns, click here.
