FireHouse Scotch Ale

Many thanks to Steve for bottling a bomber of this for me! Poured a lovely shade of deep, drawn caramel with coppery shimmers.. short, yet creamy cap of beige head. The aroma picked up a delightful blend of sweeter and smokier caramels with a light toastiness to it.. brown sugar and a touch of molasses show as it warms up.. great presentation! The flavor has very sweet beginnings with caramel, toffee, and brown sugar washing over the tip of the tongue.. grainy toffee bits and an enjoyable smoked peat accent show on the middle, with dry semi-sweet chocolate joining caramel, toffee, and brown sugar on the warm finish.. great flow to it. Creamy, warm feel on the palate with a heavier body.. dry overall, and the alcohol manages to amplify from the background with only a few pricky points. Very well-balanced and drinkable, with the booze catching up after the fact. This is one of the best, well-rounded examples of a Scotch Ale that I’ve tried!

Had this beer on New Year’s. Very potent beer; potent flavor, potent alcohol, you name it. The alcohol comes through a bit harsh in the flavor, especially when you get towards the end of the pitcher. Not bad. 11/16/2007 Rerate: I drop by this restaurant about once every month or two and everytime I go I see improvements. Improvements to the menu, the quality of the food, the atmosphere, etc. This time it was the beer. They really dialed in on this scotch and now it is just right. Bold malt and caramel aroma, tiny bit of molasses as well. I actually took a swallow and... "WHOA!" Flavor is surprisingly powerful and GOOD! I didn’t remember this beer being this good... but its been almost a year since I’ve tried it. They must be tweaking their recipes. HUGE and complex malty beer. Layer upon layer of various roasted malts are showcased across my tongue. I do detect a small dose of hops which complement the malt profile very nicely. The beer finishes with smooooooth bitterness. Even at 8.2%, alcohol flavors are not at all apparent. This beer is balanced perfectly. My new favorite FireHouse brew!

This is a seasonal beer at Firehouse, and it is the best beer that I have had there. Beautiful reddish hue, nice aroma, full taste, their most quality offering.