AleSmith Wee Heavy Scotch Ale

Brewed by AleSmith Brewing Company
Style: Scotch Ale
San Diego, California USA

Serve in Thistle

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Insane scotch ale! I haven’t had too many beers in this style, because I thought I wasn’t all that big of a fan of them. But this offering in the style from AleSmith blew me away! This is one fantastic beer! It pours a very dark brown color, actually almost black. I noticed a bit of a purplish hue, too. The head is small and doesn’t offer much lacing, but then again, beers of this magnitude really don’t. So I won’t hold too much about the head against this beer. After a while though, if I let the beer sit for a few mintues, I did get some light cascading and lacing around the glass (although you cant’ really see most of it once the glass is set back down on the table). The aromas are very inviting and complex. The first characteristic I notice is a dark chocolate scent. That evolved into some vanilla, bourbon, toasted bread, yeast alcohol and dark fruits. The body is fairly heavy, but well-balanced and enjoyable. The flavors are absoutely delicious, with notes of dark chocolate, toasted malts, alcohol, dark fruits, light hops and rye bread. The finish is sweet, with a slight tang of alcohol and more chocolate. This is definitely one incredible beer!

Shared 750 ml bottle @ Cosmic Comic Cafe. Pours a deep, dark red with a small, thick, yellowish-brown head. Aroma is sweet with malt flavors up front: Toffee and caramel, some pith there as well. Ethanol is detectable too though not disturbingly so. Taste is sweet with toffee, caramel, toffee and chocolatey caramel. Some pine an pith there as well, but they play a rather small part. Palate is sticky and full.

Bottle from bu11zeye, thanks! Murky mahogany with a medium brownish head. Aroma of licorice, toffee, malt and a hint of smoke. Taste of toffee, liquid sugar, malt, brown sugar and alcohol. Sweet with a semi-dry finish. This one was just too sweet for me.

Location/Date:Bottle onMay 24th, 2012.

Appearance: Pours a dark brown cloud with faint brown "sand"
Aroma: Aroma of malty caramel.
Taste: Light bitterness, a lot of caramel..
Palate:Medium body, slightly slick.

Summary: Tasty, even at 1 year old.

Best Scotch Ale I have had. Bottle aged about 18 months. Pours dark brown but still translucent with slight cream head and minimal carbonation. Mouthfeel is the first thing I noticed; this is thick for a scotch ale, creamy in texture. Flavor is slightly boozy, lots of caramel, some nuttyness and a sugary finish. Great sipper, improves as it gets warmer.

Bottle from Healthy Spirits in San Francisco. Thick dark brown pour with a huge creamy head. Sweet malt and molasses aroma. Full creamy palate. Taste is rich caramel malt, some smoke, sweet molasses - absolutely delicious.

Pours a nice clean brown with off white head. Once of the better Scotch Ales I’ve had, but short of legendary due to a lack of complexity. Nose and taste are smoky, malty, a touch of bread, not a sweet as expected. Well balanced and certainly worth drinking again.

About as perfect as beers get. Toasty, warming, nice bourbon taste. Little bite of smoke at the end is a nice finish. So malty that it could be confused with a barley wine. Fantastic!

Aroma is roasts sweet dark fruits. Very tasty malty with good mouthfeel.

Bottle purchased in Dec 2009. Pours a very deep brown with amber edges and a creamy light tan head, nice lacing. Aroma is rich molasses, caramel, cocoa, a bit woody, brown sugar, nutty. Flavor has much the same, some malt oxidation though which is sitting nicely in this beer. more of the cocoa coming out with notes of smoke, lots of nuttiness, a hint of alcohol which fits nicely with the woody notes. Finishes smooth and creamy, barely any bitterness. Medium full to full slightly sticky body and a soft carbonation. Great beer

Very deep brown in color with a hint of red. A somewhat small light brown head. Strong. A bit of chocolate, cherry, whiskey, smoke, caramel, and malt. A bit creamy, but not too thick. Overall, I am usually not a fan of the style but this one is a standout for sure.