4.2 AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20Poured out an orangy gold brew with an ok sized white cap, some sticky ropy lacing and skim retention. The aroma - well, I am very glad to smell tons of peat but I’m not sure if I want to drank what I think will turn out to be watery Islay Scotch. Peat, peat... sea salt, burning grass, ash tray, very pungent orange, licorice, sweet red apple skin. Very nice - very nice indeed. And... drum roll please.... yup watery Islay scotch... but there is more to it so I am not disappointed. Log smoke.. lots of it, just tons. Ash trays again, and hey, there’s the hops - grapefruit, candy, stiff spice (in a small dose) and ample bitterness is an interesting partner for the unrelenting peat machine. A touch of salt is tied in with the peat as it should be and that is one quality that I’m really digging here. The flavour mix is a tad bizarre but I’m down with that. The mouth feel is also bizarre in comparison to other brews - Very drying, permanent wood smoke residue, sometimes there is a sharp tartness on the back left side in my mouth. I can breathe in the hop bitterness right now. The fruity, dark citrus character has really come out a lot more at the bottom of my glass. Endless after taste. I really dig this brew. I love Islay peat monsters as well, so that not only helps me enjoy this more but also be able to see beyond the crushing impression of the peat imparted on untrained taste buds. You gotta love the Islays to love this beer I think. This really doesn’t seem much like a typical IPA but that’s all due to the smoke and I don’t care one bit. Those vanilla tasting oak aged beers are just plain terrible. This is the ruler of their lands.
3.5 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 2/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20
Bottle. Best by 2/2/10. Consumed 5/10/13. 3 years late. Pours a clear orange with a thin, bubbly white head. Aroma is sensory overload; sweet, sour, smokey, vinous, citrus, peat, whiskey, apples, grapes. Odd and interesting. Taste is lots of smoke (real smoke; like camp fire smoke), fruity white wine notes, apples, whiskey; bitter citrus finish that turns all smoke. This is charcoal. Highly aggressive flavor profile. Some nice lacing. Mouth feel is slick, wet. Low carbonation. Really interesting. The smoke dominates. It is the only star here with a few subtle hints of fruit to support. The alcohol is surprisingly well-hidden. There’s a lot of smoke flavor; not a lot of alcohol burn though. I actually really like this. Though I am getting it very late in it’s life.
2.1 AROMA 5/10 APPEARANCE 2/5 TASTE 5/10 PALATE 1/5 OVERALL 8/20
A still beverage. Orangey brown opaque hue similar to cider. Smells of leather, sausage, and smoke. Tastes of astringent char and is remeniscent of smoked gouda perhaps due to yeast . Palate is too bit to drying/bitter. Would drink again with cheese or meat.
2.8 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 5/10 PALATE 2/5 OVERALL 12/20
Cider-colored pour. Aroma is smokey-applish. Odd. Flavor is burnt smoky, ciderish. Strong whiskey, and bitter fruit. Kinda bad tasting. Really thin.
2.4 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 2/5 TASTE 5/10 PALATE 1/5 OVERALL 9/20
Bottle. They most have lost a bet when they bottleted this one. Pours the color and visage of Metamucil. Big malt and especially Pete on this one. It’s like someone defecated and then wrapped the shit in bacon. Flat, no head. Tastes lime skunky scotch. Lingers. What the fuck?!?
3.2 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 13/20
Bottle thanks to the ever generous madmitch76. Best before 18/12/09....... It pours hazy golden orange, with a thin bubbly white head. The nose is dominated by islay whisky character, deeply smokey, hay, TCP , permanent marker and peat. The taste is initially sweet orange, peach and marmalade, then the whisky sets in: smoke, peat, hay and floral notes, with a bitter finish. Medium body and low carbonation. This tastes a lot smoother than it did when I had it fresh. Considering how old this is it’s actually pretty alright.
2.7 AROMA 3/10 APPEARANCE 2/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 2/5 OVERALL 13/20
The time spent in the scotch casks can clearly be tasted and while I find it great in concept, I found it lacking in the final product. -still worth trying but not necessarily worth repeating.
3.1 AROMA 5/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 11/20
Pale golden color, no head as this is a still beverage. Definitely taste the scotch but perhaps almost too much. It tastes like a watered down islay scotch.
2.4 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 5/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 4/20
Wasn’t exactly what I expected. Don’t care for the flavor of this one but to each their own. Do not like the smokiness background of it. Had much better from brew dog.
3.7 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 2/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 2/5 OVERALL 17/20
11.2oz bottle poured into a tulip. Best before 2/2/10 Pours a lightly cloudy weird brownish color. Aroma is watered down whisky. Taste is whisky. Like watered down Johnnie Walker Green. Light bodied with a thin watery texture. Zero carbonation and a long finish. Overall, wow. This is not beer at all, but watery whisky. Not sure what to think about it other than I’m pretty sure I like it.
2.9 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 10/20
Pours a light cloudy yellow. Aroma is strong with single malt scotch overtones. Taste is minutely sweet in the front quickly overpowered by the smokey and stinging scotch flavors. The finish shows the ABV through some subtle burn.
---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone
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