Saint-Bock Scotch Ale Fumée

Clear dark brown color with ruby highlights and a thin beige head. Solid aroma of smoked malt and caramel. Good flavor of smoked and earthy, soily malts with caramel. The body is medium with a creamy texture and gentle carbonation. Interesting.

Pint at le St. Bock on 1/27/07
Very dark chocolate brown beer is highlighted by ruby and maroon tints. Clarity is medium-high with plentiful carbonation. Medium-dark beige head is small, shows moderate retention and provides little/no lacing.
A big shot of vinous, dark fruits surge forth upon first sniff, followed by chocolate-covered coffee bean-like roastiness and trailing smoked malts. Fortunately, the smoke is easily found. Light minerals and fresh yeast abound on the finish, with smoky phenolics and piquant fruitiness all wrapped about. What it does seem to be lacking, however, is a solid, supportive maltiness that you would expect from a scotch ale. Not much in the way of sweet caramel or toffe, and rather much more chocolatey and roasty. Still, I’ve had scotch ales very similar to this (think Silver City Fat Bastard) and it’s competent and interesting. No hops noted, no alcohol noted.
Strong vinousness again perks up in the flavor, but seems to get swallowed, briefly by some sweet chocolate. The pale or medium malt sweetness (and resulting palate softness) is short-lived, however, as roasty, somewhat grainy malts arrive to heavily dry the flavor and strip the palate. Ending thoroughly smoked and very fruity (dark berries, prunes, concord grapes) with the smokiness really wrapped in to the fruitiness and roast. Interesting, but some caramelization, more medium malts, less roast and a bit more clarity from the smoke would prove beneficial. Body is much too dry and thin by the finish and with warming some alcohol warmth is evident.

En fût. Verre de 12 oz dégusté au Saint-Bock. Arôme: Odeur de caramel brûlé légèrement fumé. Apparence: La couleur est brune foncée complètement opaque. Présence d’un mince col mousseux et d’une fine dentelle sur le verre. Saveur: Goût de noix fumés, de caramel et de fruits. Durée moyenne de l’arrière goût. Palette: Le corps est moyen avec une texture légèrement astringente. Moyenne effervescence en bouche. Présence de fumée en arrière goût. (Rating #860)

Eye: black with burgundy reflections, not much of that beige head; nose: smoke, roasted malt, caramel, "fresh"; mouth: smoke, caramel, roasted malt, finale in caramel with a hint of smoked salmon, relatively thin, mildly sweet, medium body, oily texture, good carbonation, lightly bitter FRANÇAIS Oeil : noire avec des reflets bourgogne, peu de mousse beige; nez : fumée, torréfaction, caramel, « fraîche »; bouche : fumée, caramel, torréfaction, finale en caramel avec une pointe de saumon fumé, relativement mince, moyennement sucrée, corps moyen, texture huileuse, bonne carbonatation, légèrement amère

(tap at Saint-Bock) Almost opaque dark brown body with a small beige head. Almost none of its advertised smoked character on the nose and just a little in the taste. Rather syrupy beer that didn’t feel very sweet. I had my first pint of it with the brewer next to me and despite him trying to convince me how sweet the beer was, sorry, it may be sweet but it doesn’t taste it to me. The taste was a syrupy mixture of molasses, raisins, figs and very earthy malts (peat-like earthy). Caramel/sweetness level was below normal for the style. Pleasant. Because of its name I expected something more smoky but I suppose even beers have to comply with the newly adopted no-smoke in public places Quebec law.