Dark Horse Scotty Karate Scotch Ale

Brewed by Dark Horse Brewing Company
Style: Scotch Ale
Marshall, Michigan USA

Serve in Thistle

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UPDATED: DEC 19, 2006 Batch One, June 2006.
Beautiful, opulent cherry-lacquered walnut in color with a thin, grey and bubblish sheaf & wrung to serve as the head. Aroma weaves a wistfully delicious precursor to the party, leaning on peat, single malt scotch, butterscotch, melted toffee on burlap, waldorf salad with singed walnuts, toasted hazelnuts and caramelized dates. Big flavor entourage. Seductive English toffee and spicy peat. Chocolate and caramel combination serves as a creamy harmonized ribbon coursing through butter pecan, pralines and brown sugared dates. Spicy, creamy custard scooped into a glass of single malt scotch. Thick sluice of butterscotch and werthers original chocolate chews. Heavy, syrupy and a down right absolute pleasure for the palate. Articulated and artfully orchestrated. Oily, boozy and bountiful. Warming throat registration signals the higher alcohol presence, with dynamic flavors bringing attention back around to peat and smoky, sugary barnyard feed bags. HUGE thanks to Clark for the bottle!

Batch Two, tap, November 2006. Still a beautiful beer but it’s lost some steam. English toffee and caramel coated peat still emit pleasantries, but it’s on a touch lighter level this time around. The alcohol warmth jives well with the toasted hazelnuts captured in caramel, but it’s not sitting as pretty as it once was on my pedestal.

12 oz bottle. Big head with a sweet, malty aroma. Roasty and malty this beer is very good for the style. Not too sweet which adds bonus points. One of those rare beers I’d love to try on tap.

12 oz. bottle from Merchants. I’ve always liked the beers from DH. this one poured a very dark, almost opaque brown with some lace. caramel malt aroma, a malty sweet flavor with some molasses and hop bitterness. a good scotch ale, just didn’t seem to have the complexity I’ve come to expect from DH.

UPDATED: NOV 27, 2006 Bottle. Hazy brown body, thin whtie head. Prune, Special B, and thick worty caramel in the aroma. Big malt flavor, dark brown sugar, deep and thick base malt wrapping up with some green leafy hops and a peppery alcohol kick. The alcohol finish does a good job of balancing out the primarily sweet flavor. Syrupy mouthfeel, fits the beer well.

Thanks to whomever traded this to me. The beer pours to a nice mahogany body with noticeable small particulate. Thin, creamy, off-white head. The aroma is like herbal chocolate and deeply toasted thick caramel. The flavor is nicely sweet, roasty/toasty peat, deep caramelly brown sugar, light smoke, light powdered sugar, light chocolate. The palate is sweet, warming, rich feeling. Smooth and very good.

(12oz hand bottled, thanks artusory) Crystal clear nut brown body topped by small off-white body. Aroma is moderately sweet, caramel, herbal, plum/raisin, alcohol. Taste is moderately sweet, plum, caramel, molasses, some alcohol, light smoke. Low carbonation, sticky full body.

Bottle thanks to artusary: Pours to a deep ruby/caramel brown with a small light tan head that quickly fades. Aroma is very earthy caramel, cardboard, light caramelized pears when swirled, peat, light hops. The taste is smoke, peat, earth, caramel malts, plums, apple, red clover, honey, biscuit, and light alcohol burn when held in the mouth. Medium bodied, moderately carbonated, finishes with some sweet peat/earth, caramel malt, and burnt wood.

Bottle: Deep caramel, moderate beige head, fairly nice lacing.   Hot nose, fairly biscuity and malty, slight dark pitted fruit skin and sweaty sock.   Alcohol seems fairly strong with this one.   Plums and figs are fairly strong, biscuity malts, with a fairly strong alcoholic finish.   Only a smidgen of peat, but otherwise malty and alcoholic.   Fairly full bodied, moderate mouthfeel.   Finishes clean, with lots of heat lingering.   Yeah, very warming.   Enjoyable, if even a bit hot.   Thanks Larry and Mike for a bottle!

Pours muddy copper with little to no tan thin head. Nose is sweet and biscuity. Brown sugar and malt. Slightly vinous which lets you sense the alcohol content. Flavor is deep caramel and toffee. Thick mouthfeel with a lip smacking stickiness. Sweet finish.

Copper body with tan ringing head. Aroma is toffee and earthy. Flavor is sugary, caramel and toffee. Palate is smooth with an OH finish.