Bluegrass Bourbon Barrel Scotch Ale

Brewed by Bluegrass Brewing Company
Style: Scotch Ale
Louisville, Kentucky USA

Serve in Thistle

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Spectacular beer. Pours very dark with a soft off white froth-head. Tastes slightly of molasses. Strong and filling beer. I’m not a huge fan of the smell, but the taste is warm and wonderful, the two W’s of bourbon. Pick it up if you see it because it can be hard to find.

Poured into a snifter. 3.0 A: Clear (I think) deep amber brown color. Just one finger of frothy off-white head that falls quickly and leaves no lacing. 4.5 S: The bourbon is just touch stronger than the base beer. Leathery bourbon with melon and peat notes. Good amounts of oak and vanilla as well. The underlying beer is malty sweet with caramel and toffee being apparent. Dark fruits with focus on sugar plums, figs, and sweetened raisins. Very nice nose on this. 4.0 T: The taste is good, but it’s missing the thick, aggressive sweetness that defines the style. In a sentence, the taste is like the nose watered down. Even the bourbon isn’t as prominent, but it still offers the flavors listed above. There is much less caramel and toffee than in the nose and the candied fruits take a substantial (those not quite as large) hit. 3.0 M: Here is the worst aspect of the brew and this aspect caused a lower taste score. The lighter medium body is just too damn light for the style and bourbon treatment. The carbonation is fine, but the creaminess is missing. Smooth though. 3.5 D: If this was mashed a bit higher, this would have been a helluva lot better. Still, as it is it’s not bad, but the nose indicated that this was a missed opportunity to make something great. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 10-13-2011 02:00:57

Pours reddish brown with a nice medium colored tan head. Aroma is caramel, hints of smoke, vanilla, charred oak, and boozy bourbon. Flavor is a nice, sweet caramel malt, with a big lasting woody bourbon flavor with a little bit of warming. Not bad.

Beer #21 at GTMW ’09. I’m happy to patronize some of these brewers who’ve come such a long way. Nice reddish brown, thick head kicked by the narrow glass. Just a nice beer smell, shielded by the head. Not too much scotch or alcohol, despite being, I believe, 8.3% abv. Not a lot of peat to it either, until the end of the glass. A very decent beer taste adds up to a very understated but good ale.

Sampled @ GTMW ’09 - Pours ruby with a small brown head. Not a ton of bourbon on the nose, but enough to know it’s there. Taste is caramel, a little booze burn, and a tinge of hops. It’s a little watery, but still creamy in the mouth, if that makes sense. It was decent, but didn’t stand out against some of the better BA beers I had this day.

On tap at St. Matthews brewpub. Nice rich nutty brown color with some dark red hue to it. Small khaki head. Aroma is great - typical scotch ale with a great (but not overpowering) bourbon character. All sorts of wood and vanilla in there. The flavor is tastey as well, but a bit heavy on the bourbon. I love bourbon, so I am fine with it, but I feel most might be a bit skiddish about the heavy bourbon character. Great vanilla profile as a result. It just seemed like the scotch ale backbone wasn;t showing through enough. Medium bodied (bit thin, almost watery) with minimal carbonation. I like the feel in geenral, it just lacked some texture. Overall: nice offering by BBC.

UPDATED: JUL 6, 2009
7/03/2009: Bluegrass Bourbon Barrel Scotch Ale has a great aroma containing the fruity, rich maltiness typical in a Scotch Ale along with sweet bourbon, dark caramelized sugars, and hints of barrel char. It is brown in color with a smooth, but dense beige-colored head. There is substantial yet balanaced amount of bourbon in the flavor, peat-like smoke in the mid-palate, and plenty of caramelized sugars and malt throughout. This beer is warming with a bit of woozy alcohol in the finish, but it fits well with the style and other characteristics of this beer. It has a smooth and mellow texture. Overall this is a really good beer and BBC did a fine job pairing a Scotch Ale with bourbon barrel aging. However, it does seem to be lacking a bit of depth, richness, and complexity.

Draught (sample + partial growler fill) at Party Town in Florence, Kentucky. Rating #16 for this beer.

Draft. Clear ruby brown body with a tan head. The aroma is full of bourbon and oak with notes of sweet caramel and vanilla. The flavor is moderately sweet and lightly bitter. It finishes lightly to moderately sweet and lightly bitter. Tastes of sweet bourbon with a slight smokiness in the finish. The bourbon and wood overshadow whatever character the scotch ale brings to the beer, but not overwhelmingly. Light to medium body, watery texture and lively carbonation. Very nice.

Had on draft at BBC in downtown Louisville. Pours a rich amber brown with thin tan head. Aroma is bourbon and malt. Notes of caramel, vanilla, and oak come out. On the palat, it feels a little dry, but smooth. The malts really come out in the flavor, which surprised me a bit, considering the aroma was so strong with bourbon. The finish is dry leaving an after taste of caramelized malts and bourbon in the back of the throat. Truely a good Scotch ale.

Name: BB Scotch Ale
Date: 04/21/2008
Mode: Growler
Source: Tasting, Cellar Party

Appearance: clear dark ruby red, wispy beige head,
Aroma: sweet dark caramel and vanilla aroma with a nice bourbon sweetness,
Flavor: sweet dark caramel flavor, lots of vanilla sweetness, light bourbon melds well with the malt character, light smokey character still comes through from the base scotch ale,

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 15/20
Rating: 3.7/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **4

Pours a deep amber brown color with a tan head. Aroma is malt, bourbon, oak, vanilla, some peated malt, caramel, and some somky earthiness. Flavor is malty, bourbon, vanilla, oak, caramel, cream, and a earthy alcohol finish.