King Slayer is named after a sporting disaster that led to the death of a monarch, by one of his closest protectors. Talk about drama.
Gabriel de Montgomery was captain of the Scottish Guards in France who were, in 1559, the King’s personal bodyguard. Count Montgomery was facing off against King Henri II of France in a jousting tournament, where he accidentally fatally wounded the King.
As far as the beer’s concerned, this is a bit heavy on the history. Luckily, Loch Leven Brewery have given this tale justice with a Scottish ale that’s only deadly in one way: how morish it is.
As a classic ale, it’s root in bitter with similar use of goldings hops as part of the brewing process. The aromas are malty and rich, with a slight sweetness to both the scent and on the tongue.
It has a lot of depth of flavour, with the slight sweetness combining well with the malt-flavour and a touch of roastiness to finish it off.
It’s incredibly morish and quite light despite the depth, with the subtle flavours making it an ale that you could just keep drinking without thinking too hard about it.
It’s not the most inspiring or unique bottle design, but the black and red label design creates a striking contrast which combined with the bold white font of the beer’s name are classy.
Not sure why the strength is featured the same size as the name, but each to their own.
King Slayer is part of Loch Leven’s ‘Great Scots’ range, which has a unique silver seal with the name of the particular Scot - in this case Montgomery. I can’t decide what the symbol is inside, it doesn’t look like anything. But it adds to the mystery.
You can get it direct from Loch Leven’s brewery shop, which is great for buying more than one.
You can even get it on Amazon, but again you have to buy in bulk.
