Watch City Skye High Scotch Ale

~8oz glass @ brewpub, 8.4%. Pours with a black body and a tan head. Absolutely no clarity and looks like a stout. Very roasty aroma, again akin to a stout. However here come the other aspects, a traditional earthy maltiness and some chocolate even below that. Taste is not heavy, peppered with nutty/earthy maltiness, light peat, some cocoa sweetness. No alcohol burn but just a hint of alcohol heft. Slightly under-carbonated body. A great thirst quencher with lots of character, recommended and would have again.

On tap in a snifter at the brewery. This year’s has some chocolate in it and weighs in at 8.6% ABV. Very nice beer, a bit like a scotch ale/porter hybrid. Cocoa and peat in the flavor. Sooo very easy drinking, the high ABV is practically undetectable. Watch City nailed this one.

On draught 4/06/2005 at Redbones. Though the glass was convex and I was in a bar (though not smokey), I could immediately smell a strong treacle/molasses aroma, with brown sugar, thick, dark malts, quite sweet, and a bit of light roast. Very intense aroma. The body is a dark brown, opaque and unfiltered with a small light beige head, that slowly recedes to a ring. There is not so much lacing, as there is coating of the glass. Flavor begins with a sugary (brown sugar, molasses) malt, that is thick, chewy and lasting of flavor. A touch of dryness, ever so light, begins to show on the palate, with light roast, a touch of earthiness and faint warming from the alcohol. Sweet chocolate, caramel and toffee are in full force through the middle of the beer. As it begins to finish, the flavors continue to dry some, with the peat smoke lingering lightly in the background, increasing in apparency as the beer warms, but never adding more than just an enticing hint. On the very finish, dry, earthy notes (light wood, barley, brown bread) are apparent but do not really challenge the caramel and brown sugar. Full body, wonderfully creamy and yet drinkable. Though the beer leans heavily towards the sweet side, I didnt feel the balance was thrown off. If they knew how to bottle beer well at Watch City (based on all of my experiences, they don’t) this could age marvelously.

Big round malty aroma is very sweet and appealing. Clear dark brown with ruby highlights and generous, fine-bubbled, off-white head that recedes to ring with some lacing. Big, sweet, round malty flavours with some doughy yeast notes and caramel and toffee sweetness that lead you through to a lightly roasty finish with just a hint of peat. Smooth creamy texture with moderate carbonation and medium-full body. Truly well-made and enjoyable. Sampled at the brewpub with MartinT, muzzlehatch and Rastacouere.

Roasted malts and the dry crust of pumpernickel bread gain weight with the rich caramel it is fed with...Coffee beans and fruity esters dance freely in the round body, as roasty bitterness serves as a curtain call...The hands-down winner of this afternoon of sampling at Watch City...