BridgePort Highland Ambush Scotch Ale

Brewed by BridgePort Brewing (Gambrinus Company)
Style: Scotch Ale
Portland, Oregon USA

Serve in Thistle

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Bottled. Amber colour, small beigeish brown head. Aroma is nutty, sweet maltyness, some alcohol, leather, mild yeast and also some toasted toffeeish notes. Flavour is leather, toffee, fudge, mild yeast, leather and some mild berries, wood and mild alcohol.

Date: February 19, 2011
Mode: Bottle
Source: Green’s, Atlanta
Appearance: clear deep ruby red, fine beige head, drippy lace
Aroma: sweet and smokey aroma, sweet caramel and vanilla balanced by lots of earthy peat and a hint of oak
Flavor: dry and earthy flavor, just a touch of caramel sweetness, plenty of smokey peaty earthyness, light oak
Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 13/20
Rating: 3.2/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **+ /4

Bottle. Pours a clear amber color with a small off-white head. Has a fruity malty caramel aroma with some spicy hints. Sweetish malty caramel flavor with some spicy hints. Has a sweetish malty caramel finish with some bitter hints in the aftertaste.

Bottled 660ml
Bottle from brewpub. Nut brown color, beige head. Toffee, oak, grass, diacetyl Medium-bodied. Toffee, grassy hoppyness, some alcohol. Maybe hints of oak. Not so intensive as expected.

Bomber from Malt & Vine. Pours dark amber brown with a low off-white head. Aroma is toffee and perhaps light vanilla. Near full in body with creamy, frothy carbonation. Flavor is sweet dark malt, with definite vanilla and some woody astringency. Finishes more sweet than bitter. But there is bitter in the finish as the sweet washes away. The bourbon barrel imparts the sort of smoothness found in Paradox ales, and enhances a scotch ale into a higher orbit.

22oz bottle acquired in trade (thanks Alex!). Poured a medium amber color with a small sized head. Aromas of wood, light bourbon, and caramel. Tastes of wood, lighter bourbon, caramel, and some earthiness.

draft. dark cola brown. nose lightly starchy (potato cake yeast), medium+ malt (maple, bran, mildly sweet husky grains), minimal aromatic hops. smells dirty and messy (light metallic phenols present it seems). flabby body, little to no proper malt structure, weak carbonation doesn’t hold the body well at all. has a light solvent character, some sour-mashed green/vegetal notes. just absolutely a mess by all measures.

Bomber poured a clear reddish amber with a small lasting amber head. Aromas of toffee, carmel and light fruittiness. Palate was medium bodied and smooth. Flavors of toffee, carmel and light fruittiness with a smooth lingering toffee finish.

Bottle: Pours an amber color with a tan head. The nose is toasty with some caramel and toffee notes, a touch sweet, along with an intense zap of oak and bourbon, they don’t play along very well though. The flavor has some pine and resin notes that contrast the sweet vanilla and bourbon notes, but it doesn’t work well. I don’t know what the attempt was here.

Bottle. Head is initially average sized, frothy, light brown, mostly diminishing. Body is dark amber. Aroma is lightly malty (toasted grain, caramel), lightly hoppy (apricot), with notes of diacetyl, gum, raw wood, vanilla. Flavor is moderately sweet, lightly acidic, lightly to moderately bitter. Finish is lightly sweet, lightly acidic, moderately bitter, slightly unclean. Medium body, watery texture, lively carbonation, lightly alcoholic. Oak chipping pretty much sucks...sure, some vanilla odor comes out, but it mostly yields the smell of a wet 2x4. Why people enjoy that aroma in their beer (or wine), I will never understand. Great Divide is one of the worst offenders for this, but it appears Bridgeport has joined in the fun. The raw wood note is certainly milder here than in GD brews, but it’s still not pleasant. Other than that, it’s quite watery and buttery. Ultimately a drain pour.