Smuttynose Scotch Style Ale

Brewed by Smuttynose Brewing Company
Style: Scotch Ale
Portsmouth, New Hampshire USA

Draft. Very little going on here in the way of aroma, but the flavor is solid. However, the beer is not that substantial overall - it’s a little thin for a scotch ale, I thought.

Bomber from a trade long ago, thanks to you mystery trader. Shared with Bartzilla. Overall a kind of light scotch ale and for that reason it worked being around friends, though in general I like my scotch ales to be thicker and heavier.

pretty damned good beer! pours with a nice frothy textured head. dark mahagoney reddish brown. really good traditional smokey peaty malty flavor. bit thin in body, but not bad. drinkable, maybe a session beer. Decent finish. Had this on draft at Bodega Brew Pub downtown La Crosse, Wis, USA

2007 bottle poured a nut brown in color with a two finger frothy head that quickly subsided and light carbination. aroma is sweet malt, molasses, raisins, peat and smoke. taste is medium mouth feel, has some sweetness, definite smoked peat flavor that is not something i personally am a fan of but at least it is not too overdone, alcohol is on the strong side but it is a 7.8+%, and finishes with some bitterness that lingers for a few. not as sweet overall as i would expect from a scotch style, needs perhaps some caramel sweetness to help balance it a bit more, but the dark fruit portion of the taste is done well. just not my personal cup of tea on this one.

22oz bottle. 2007 vintage. pours ruby with creamy off white head. aroma of brown sugar and dark fruits. flavor notes of beets, raisins, and brown sugar, along with some smoke to it. med body, smooth carbonation. i prefer this style to be a bit stronger. why make a style that isn’t that drinkable to begin with only 6.2%. not the most complex scotch ale but drinkable nonetheless.

Bottle; poured a reddish brown with a nice light brown head; lacing. Aroma of sweet caramel malt, smoked malt, peat, with some fruit, toffee and oak. Smoke flavor was very pronounced compared to others in the style. However, it was not too overpowering. Other flavors included caramel, toffee, peat and a general meatiness. A lof of wood in the finish too. Not an amazing beer, but for 3.99 this is a great value.

Pour is a very deep, ruby red with a small white head. Aroma is sweet, smokey and spicy...interesting. Flavor follows suit with smokiness being upfront. Sweetness is in the backround, but easily identified. Medium bodied quite carbonated.

THOUGHTS: A really nice beer. Nothing really stood out to make it exceptional, but ther was also no glaring defects wither. While I dont lie that they added smoke which traditional Scotch ales don’t, the smokiness fits perfectly in ther aroma and flavor. Most smokey beers I’ve tried either had too much smoke, barely noticable smoke or tasted like meat. This one has the best integrated smoke I’ve tried so far. Not great scotch ale, but surprisingly subtle and great overall. TECHNICAL: Bottle. Poured a dark redish amber with nice carbonation and an average-sized, creamy, off-white head that lasts a while and left good lacing. The aroma was moderate malt and smoke. The initial flavor was light to moderate sweetness, while the finishwas moderate to heavy sweetness and light acidity with a rather short finish. The flavor had a nearly perfect balance of malt and smoke with a hint of chocolate. The flavor drops out a little in the finish. The surprisingly light to medium body was slightly dry and both watery and syrupy. Kind of like watered down syrup. It was fizzy with a smokey finish.