Craftsman Scotch Isle Ale

Brewed by Craftsman Brewing Co.
Style: Scotch Ale
Pasadena, California USA

Serve in Thistle

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On tap. Pours with a clear copper hued body with a lasting tan head. Aromas are slightly smokey with peat, light rochefort cheese, mild esters, caramel and dark fruits. Flavors show a nice balance between rich melanoidin caramelization, peat smoked malt (in moderation), and light fruit esters (plums and figs). Heavy carbonation for the style with a medium body. Alcohol is well hidden. Pretty tasty.

Decent brew. Pours reddish brown with an eggshell head. Taste is cramel and medicinal, tastes similar to clorets. Finish is very mediciny....ehhh.

Draft. Rich amber-brown beer with a cream colored head. Caramel and light peat aroma. Peat and caramel flavor with light earthiness. Medium bodied. Peat and caramel lingers with light earthiness.

On tap at Beachwood BBQ in Seal Beach. A very malty beer with a dry character to it. I did not really pick out any particular flavors, but the beer was pleasant and easy to drink. Body was light to medium and the palate was smooth.

A dark amber color with a thin off-white head. Intense smoke and peat aroma to this one. Toasted bread and sweet malt are present underneath. The smoke is quite potent on the flavor, too. There’s a hint of salt along with some bread, toast, and toffee. Semi sweet for the most part, but the finish is lightly dry.

Not my favorite style but this is dark and malty and very rich. A bit of caramel notes as well.

On tap at Beachwood BBQ in Seal Beach, CA, this pours a reddish color with a nice white head. The aroma is of malts. The body and flavor are a bit subdued; this isn’t full bodied in flavor or on the palate. Nice tasting beer, just lighter than I expected.

Tap at Stone World Bistro. Pours copper/amber with off white head. Aroma and taste, smoked malts, plenty of dark fruits, caramel malts, toffee?, with a distinct smoke profile. Nice tasty stuff, not used to tasting smoke in a scotch ale.

Copper red with a fizzy white head. Malt and caramel aroma. Caramel and smokey wood taste with a musty finish

Sampled on tap at Lucky Baldwin’s March 2007
This beer sits with a fairly hazy, murky, amber color in my glass, it is topped by a thin, wisp of a head that just dusts the top of the beer with a tan taint. The aroma is a mix of salt, caramel and a touch of toasted grain. I almost want to say that some peat was used here, but I’ll have to taste this beer to be sure.

The taste is a touch sweet and has a reasonably full body for a lighter beer such as this. There definitely seems to be some peat smoked malt used in this recipe; it adds a salty, hearty hint of peat smoke, which really rounds out this beer. The peat is really at a nice level here. It is not overwhelming, fairly subtle, but definitely contributes to the flavor profile of this brew. Peat and sweet caramel malt notes mix in an interesting way in this beer; they really balance each other quite nicely. Salty peat is noticeable at some points, then fruity, caramel notes become noticeable and then back again to the other; back and forth these flavors mingle and play off each other. The fruit notes underneath the peat and malt are quite interesting; not particularly noticeable, but at times you get notes of prunes, berries and raisins.

This is a really interesting beer, even if not a traditional interpretation (because of the peat smoked malt). This places the smoked peat character at the correct level, especially since peat can be overwhelming even in small amounts. Here it is noticeable but not in any way obtrusive or jarring.