Court Avenue Winter Ale - 80 Shilling Scotch Ale

Brewed by Court Avenue Brewing Company
Style: Scotch Ale
Des Moines, Iowa USA

Serve in Thistle

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On tap at the brewpub. Was told this version is at 6%. Pours a clear, deep red-brown colored body with a thin, creamy, tan head that dissipates slowly and leaves a moderate lacing. Aroma is malt forward with slightly sweet caramels, deeper toffees, a touch of toasted bread, a few dark fruit notes, and a light earthiness. Flavor is similar. Malt forward with some deep toffees, medium sweet caramels, dark fruits, earth, and a touch of toasted bread. Finishes clean and malty with a light sweetness and a light bitterness that dries a bit before leaving a fairly lengthy aftertaste. Smooth, medium body and a soft, medium-light carbonation. Overall, a pretty solid scotch ale. Very smooth and malt forward, but well balanced and easy drinking. Nice one.

Tap. Brownish red pour with a light tan head. Aroma and taste of toffee, caramel, and biscuit. Mild. Very drinkable.

Pours with a deep red color with a small head. The aroma is woody and sweet but it’s pretty faint. The The flavor is pretty good with cherry and earthy notes with a mild hop bitterness and a light biscuit character.

I had this as the Winter Ale in December of 2008, and was told it was a tweaked Scotch Ale, so i am rating under this listing. A khaki head topped a deep brown and rust red body. The aroma was malty with some walnuts, leather and toffee. The taste was malty toffee and cola. There was also some light milk chocolate. A pleasurable nutty finish. A pleasant surprise.

Growler. Poured a hazy orange brown color. Head was two fingers high, light tan, and reduced over 1-2 minutes to a thin film. There were whiffs of toffee and dark caramel in the nose, but no smoke. Slightly sweet on the tongue with flavors similar to the aroma. A nice nutty/earthy note came out as the beer warmed. No peated malt flavor or aroma, but overall this wasn’t bad.