Brewery – Fifty West
Beer – Going Plaid
Style – Scotch Ale
ABV – 8.5%
IBUs – 23

Fermented at a cooler temperature to ensure a smoother brew, this GABF award winning Scotch Ale pours a dark honey color.  Expect a fruity apple and pear aroma followed by a malt-forward flavor of juicy fresh plums.

You aren’t kidding that this is a GABF award winner… it’s damn tasty.

My favorite story that I’ve got about this brew is from an episode of Cincy Brewcast where we were asking Bobby and Blake from Fifty West about beers that never quite get their due. Going Plaid was specifically called out as an example of a beer that they love to make, love to drink, but that just doesn’t get the credit that they think it deserved.  This was of course about 7 months before they took home a bronze medal at the biggest beer festival in the United States.

I think it’s safe to say that this beer has finally started to get it’s due.

The beer’s name has a few fun references to go along with it – Going Plaid, of course references the Scotch part of the Scotch Ale – plaid as in a Scottish kilt, right?  It’s not to tough to get that reference.  But then they carry the joke onto the bottles with another fun reference – this one to the movie Spaceballs.  The Winnebago spaceship is not just a fantastic reference to ‘Going Plaid’ it also plays into the Road Trip theme that runs through so much of Fifty West’s branding.  All the pieces just fit together near perfectly, don’t they?

Going Plaid first hit packaging in 2016, with the debut of 12oz bottles, but the release was short lived, and we didn’t get it released again until September of 2021 – a long wait for someone who loves this beer as much as I do!

My Thoughts On Fifty West’s Going Plaid

In the glass the beer is a medium brown color, almost like a iced down glass of cola.  The head on top is light brown, small but leaves a nice heavy lace on the glass.

Aromas from the glass range from a heavy toastiness to some light fruity aromas and some brown sugar like notes.

The taste is a fantastic example of what this style should be.  It’s smooth, and really drinkable, with a light body but a full mouthfeel.  The flavors are all well rounded, with notes of toast and sweet brown sugar playing with an outdoorsy “fall like” quality that I enjoy a lot.  On top of all that is a light fruit note that provides a nice contrast to it all.  I could drink this every day of my life and be a happy guy.  This is good.