French Broad Wee-Heavy-est Belgian Scotch Ale

Brewed by French Broad Brewing Co.
Style: Scotch Ale
Asheville, North Carolina USA

Serve in Thistle

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Light malty aroma, toasty roasted flavors, light Belgian influence. Malty finish. Alcohol well hidden. Very unique.

Poured into a snifter. 2011 vintage. This explicitly says 10.10% ABV on it and is named "Wee Heavy-est Belgian Style Scotch Ale." 4.0 A: Pours a dark brown color. Just about two fingers of frothy beige head that retains about as well as can be expected from a brew of this nature. A small ring of lacing is left. 3.5 S: Not nearly as sweet as I was expecting. Rather, the main contributing aroma is a dry, dusty nuttiness. The Belgian yeast comes through well, lending a clove and pepper spiciness. A good bit of toastiness and a vinous fruitiness with white grapes and plum. A little odd overall and certainly out of place for the supposed style, but not bad. 3.5 T: For the most part, this follows the nose, but adds hints of caramel. Toasty, nutty, and perhaps a bit musky funkiness. Clove and pepper again from the yeast. Again, plenty of nuttiness. Not nearly as vinous as the nose. Instead, the fruitiness comes in the form of fig, raisin, and plum. The finish leaves an almost charred roastiness. 3.5 M: Medium body and fairly light for the style (I guess the Belgian yeast influenced this to a degree). Good moderate carbonation. Slanted more toward dry and dusty than creamy. Still, it goes down easy. 3.0 D: Not too bad, but this isn’t a beer to reach for if you want an actual wee heavy. I’d call this a Belgian brown ale if anything. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 08-10-2011 21:43:35

Poured from 22oz bottle. Pours carmel brown. Nose is Belgian yeast, some smoke and dried fruits. Taste was not what I expected. This beer lacked the sweetness that I typically enjoy in this style. I did not feel that the addition of the Belgian yeast did must to help this beer.

Bomber from Charleston Beer Exchange. Pours really dark brown with a creamy light tan head. A floral and chocolate aroma combo? Med+ body. Flavor seems quite floral, I do get chocolate, along with some heavy malt, but it’s a bit spicey and finishes not all that sweet. Quite surprising. I’m liking it.

This is a weird beer. Has this gone bad, oh no it is a Belgian scotch ale. The yeast added a whole lot to this Scotch ale, but that does not mean it tastes very good.

Wow. What the hell is going on here? This...borders on brilliant? Terrible? The nose is extremely fresh, floral, downright delightfully odd. A little bit of caramel malt peeks through. Taste follows closely but is slightly less pleasant. Ummm, what the hell did I just open? Even with the explanation of "Belgian yeast" I don’t follow how you get such a curious nose out of.a boring scotch ale.

The pours a dark brown that is very clear with not much of a light tan head. The aroma is malty with bread, yeast and alcohol. The taste is light but lots of alcohol and scotch, not very appealing. The feel is light and drinkability very limited.

22oz bottle. 10.1% on label. clear cola brown under a medium tan head. toasted malt and burnt caramel aroma. flavor of burnt caramel and toasted again with a bit of astringency. lightish body doesn’t do it justice. warm finish. it smelled good, but other than that, i didn’t really like this one.

22oz bomber. The label doesn’t look like the one on BA or RB and it’s listed as 10.1% ABV on this particular one. Pours a deep mahogany that shows through as a crystal clear amber underneath a small beige head that recedes to a bubbly collar and leaves only spotty lacing. Aroma is odd and very nondescript for a wee heavy. it’s got a heavily roasted nose with a cardboard character honestly. Not much in the way of the typical scotch ale aromas one would expect. The taste is not much better and is very musty and stale overall. There is a hint of caramel malts and smoke but the finish is metallic, bitter and stale. The mouthfeel is light to medium bodied and fairly watery for a 10% scotch ale. Dry and bitter. This is not one of the better efforts I’ve tasted from French Broad. It’s a sub-par scotch ale, just tastes very stale overall with little flavor or complexity. Not so good.

Thanks to bmanning for bringing his to a recent tasting. Pours dark brown with an off white head. Something in the nose is immediately suspect and I’m uessing this is infected. Nose also brings a bit of roasted.malts along with some dark fruits. Tastes like maybe some Brett got into it, but it isn’t terrible. Layers some musk with dark fruits and a roasted edge. Feel is medium and a bit funky. Actually drinks pretty well, all things considered. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 10-06-2010