Sprecher Pipers Scotch Ale

Brewed by Sprecher Brewing Company
Style: Scotch Ale
Glendale, Wisconsin USA

Bottle number 39319 FL, 063471541, Sampled October 2007
Hmm, a salty smoke character wafts from the beer as I pour this; I bet some peat smoked malt was used here. The beer pours with a frothy, initially two-finger thick, amber tinged, tan colored head. The beer sits in my glass a drab, concentrated, very dark, amber color, but shows a striking, brilliantly clear, garnet color when held up to the light. Wow, this has a lot of peat character here; I was expecting something on the subtle side based on the bottle description, but this is full on salty, smoky, pungently sweet, peat smoke character. The peat character is not huge though and I can get other aromatic notes from the nose; aromas of raisins, toasty grain, caramelized sugars and bright-sweet plum are all noticeable up front, but quickly disappear under the peat if you spend an extended time smelling this brew.

Sweetish and malt up front, this beer tastes of malt derived raisins and prunes up front. This quickly moves towards the phenolic peat notes that more or less dominate the finish of this brew. The peat-smoke character is not quite as dominant in the flavor as it was in the aroma, but it still plays a major role in the finish of this beer. Salty and earthy, with a smoky phenolic note that at times can approach burnt plastic. Despite the malt sweetness, this beer only has a medium heft to it; this helps to keep this drinkable, though a bit more body and malt might stand up to the peat character a bit more. The sweet notes lean towards complexly caramelized / maillard malt sugar notes, but don’t quite get fully there. What should be rich & malty, somehow has a little bit too much of a simplistic, simple, sweet malt character to be great (this again going back to the body of the brew).

For those who like lots of peat smoked malt in a beer, this should be right up your alley. Despite a love for smoky, single malt Islay’s, I prefer a very subtle backdrop of peat, that just perks up the complexity of a brew. While I would not categorize this as a heavy handed use of peat, I think this would be a much better for me if it had a bit less. Half this amount would still be quite noticeable, and even an 1/8 the amount that was used would add to the complexity of the base beer. While I don’t quite think that this beer works, it is quite engaging, and quite contemplative; if the malt character were kicked up a notch (meaning bumping up the final & original gravities a corresponding amount through more malt used and a higher mash temperature) this beer would be quite a bit more enjoyable and even down right great. Still, I am enjoying this brew, so I certainly can’t complain too much.

burnt amber color and small off white head. strong aroma of smoked toffee malt and earth. medium thin bodied. complex taste of dusty earth, candied caramel, and a fruitiness that seems to be chocolate raisins and oranges. this beer is good but almost a little confused. the flavors dont really seem to meld.

Pint bottle pours a hazy dirty brownish amber with weak tan head. The aroma is full with a big dose of peaty malts along with dark biscuit malts, caramel and easily noticeable smokiness. Mmmm. The taste is much like the aroma with peat, smoke and caramel all hitting at once up front. That combination holds for some time until hints of lightly roasted to biscuit malts briefly surface along with caramel hard candy. My only complaints are that the body is a tad on the watery side along with the flavor notes being a bit too bright and not quit as smooth and blended as they could be. Still, tasty offering.

Bottle. Sweet red berry and caramel malt aroma with a touch of toffee and hints of toast. Bit of orange peel. Ruddy, near-opaque dark brown with a lacing tanned head. Malt heavy taste, crisp and full-bodied with outstanding notes of peat and smoke that linger long into the aftertaste, with lesser notes of whiskey. Caramel and toast with a splash of red berry, but still dominated by the Scotch elements. Slightly plummy, and woody, ends saccharine and slightly tart. Heft and a bit of seepage from the alcohol. Much better than the overall score here would indicate.

Bottle from Windy City Liquor. Pours a deep dark amber/brownish color. THick malty aroma. Some sweetness as well as some whiskey. Almost like a smoked right up front. Very malty and roasty. Some coffee. Finish is a little lacking. Alcohol is very well hidden. Pretty enjoyable.

Scotch Ales and 95 degree heat don’t really mix that well, but I was in the mood and the heat didn’t seem to show any signs of abating, What’re ya gonna do? At any rate, another soild beer from Sprecher. This seems to a brewery that is perpetually under the radar, but I can’t recall ever getting a bad beer from them. This one is very sweet with nice whisky and caramel note, and an almost decadently rich palate.

Bottle wife bought on her Wi. trip. Sweet tobacco aroma. Brown body with nice mahagany red if held to light. Good creamy beigr head with retention. Flavor is sweet malt creamy milk with some spice in there. Sweetness subsides on the finish with some dry hop spice that lingers on the palate. Smooth easy drinkable beer.

Too much peat and smoke. Cloying with almost no hop profile. Over the top, weak example of the style.