Monday Night Drafty Kilt — A Scotch Ale From a Bible Study That Won Gold at GABF

The Review

Monday Night Brewing’s origin story is one of the better ones in American craft beer: three Atlanta guys met in a Bible study in 2006, started brewing together on Monday nights, and eventually quit their white-collar jobs to do it full time. Their motto — “Weekends Are Overrated” — is stitched into a loosened necktie on every label. The whole thing is very on-brand for the kind of people who find community in fermentation.

Drafty Kilt launched as one of their first two beers in 2011, and its Bourbon Barrel version won gold at the 2014 Great American Beer Festival. The standard Drafty Kilt is the one you find most places, including the Birmingham Social Club that opened in Parkside in November 2020, and it is excellent.

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It pours a deep amber-red with a tan head and a nose of caramel, toffee, and a subtle smokiness that says “Scotch ale” before you’ve read the label. The palate is rich and malt-forward — caramel, dried fruit, a warmth that builds through the finish without burning. The body is full, the bitterness is minimal, and the whole thing comes together with the kind of coherence that wins medals.

Birmingham’s got Monday Night now, and the Parkside location is excellent. Start with the Drafty Kilt. You’ll understand why they moved here.

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