2 AROMA 5/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 4/10 PALATE 2/5 OVERALL 6/20I keep wanting to give this local brewery a second chance but keep walking away disappointed. Got this bomber from the Hampton Falls Village Market anxious to try their Wee Heavy since most everything else is of Belgian character. Unfortunately I had a failure to launch. Completely flat, not even a glimmer of carbonation. At $7.25 a bottle this is just unacceptable. I’m finished with this brewery, plenty of other local brewers that can deliver the goods.
2.7 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 1/5 OVERALL 11/20
Bottled July 2011 Batch 1
Opens with barely a hiss, oh no. Pours a deep slightly cloudy orange/brown color with a minimal amount of bubbles that barely form a ring on top of the glass. Smell is sugary sweet; brown sugar, caramel, hints of smoke, apple cider, and no hops to be found. Taste is sweet but not overly so as suggested from the nose. Brown sugar, caramel, hints of smokey phenolic, hints of cider. Medium body, almost non existent carbonation, sweet sticky syrupy mouthfeel. Well, this doesn’t taste half bad, but really needs some bubbles. I think the lack of carbonation ruins the mouthfeel and makes this taste and smell overly sweet.
2.9 AROMA 3/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 2/5 OVERALL 13/20
Oh no - something is Wrong with this Beer!! The one that I tried tonight is from Batch One, bottled in July 2011, and I suspect that something was missing during the bottling process that resulted in an unintentional carbonation deficit (=not enough bubbles). This is why I gave it low scores for aroma and palate. Since I can taste the potential for a good Scottish Ale, I still give this a slightly above average rating even though the potential was unfortunately not translated into the finished product.
3.4 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 13/20
From Batch One, Bottle no. 1250. Everything about this reminds me of a mild Barleywine rather than a Scottish Wee Heavy. It pours apple cider brown with little to no head. The aroma is malts and more malts with a sugary sweetness thrown in. The body is full and creamy. Malts ram their way through on first sip with this subtle but also sour hopped ending. I would call it a cousin to a Scottish Wee Heavy but closer in character to a Barleywine that has been sitting for a few months.
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