Backpocket Wooden Nickel

Brewed by Old Man River Restaurant and Brewery - Backpocket Brewing
Style: Scottish Ale
McGregor, Iowa USA

Serve in English pint, Thistle

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On tap at Hearth in Iowa City. I’m not usually a fan of scottish ales to begin with, but this isn’t even a very good version of one. I drank it, but only because there wasn’t anything else interesting to switch to or I would have.

The beer pours a deep reddish brown with a small head leaving some lace. The aroma is very malty with some chocolate and peaty/smoky notes. The beer smells very crisp and clean. The flavor is like wise very clean and malty with only a mild sweetness the chocolate and rich malt come through stronger than the peaty and smoky flavors but those add something very nice to the entire flavor of this beer. Some of the ratings here mention diacytel & lack of focus. Thankfully the keg(s) I tried this out of over the last week were in fine condition and all samples I tasted were perfectly clean without a hint of butteriness. I will add that this beer seems to balance the clean flavors of a lager fermentation & the smokiness and richness of the malt particularly well. I simply think that this is well focused if only a little conceptually strange. I’m guessing that this recipe has been finely tweaked, or maybe ya’ll are just haters.

Really smoky. I don’t really see anything German about this, a typical scotch ale.

On tap at local restaurant. Medium dark brown, a bit cloudy with no head by the time it reached my table. Aroma smoky and a but sour. Taste roasted malts with prominent smoke and peat. Brief finish of smoky peat. Palate thin and moderately carbonated. Alcohol not apparent. It was nice to have a Scottish Ale available but it just wasn’t that great. A little too much smoked peat and not enough sweetness/malts for my taste.

Tap at the brewpub. The body was medium copper with a yellowish khaki head. The aroma was strongly peaty with some smoke and wood. There was also a caramel hint. The taste was sweet caramel up front with some peat and iodine. That peat and iodine competed int eh finish. Definitely for those that like scotch.

A strange beer. Not true to any existing style and unbalanced. Light brown color, little foam, and again return to the harsh flavor. Some undesireable diacytel butter notes. I found this of all to be the most unpleasant.

On draught at the brewpub in McGregor, Iowa. Pours a clear light copper amber brew with a creamy white head that has some nice retention and excellent lacing. Aroma of caramel malt, some light smoked peat, a hint of wood and some toffee. Taste is medium bodied, light carbonated with flavors of caramel malt, some floral hops, toffee and a hint of smoked peat. Finish is light, crisp, with a hint of smoked peat in the aftertaste that is short lived.