We got together with some friends on Saturday night for a nice dinner and a few beers. I made an impromptu decision to break out two very different scotch ales to have a nice little tasting.
First up was AleSmith's Wee Heavy (picked this up on a recent trip to Ohio). This beer is a drinker..late 2011 vintage, but I have to wonder what it would be like after a year, since it is so mellow right now. At any rate this is the "lightest" scotch ale that I have had...carbonation was decent, hints of vanilla and caramel...not boozy at all (considering 10.5% ABV), nice malty finish...over all a nice smooth example of the style. 4.0 out of 5.0
After a segue, Cigar City's Big Sound (bourbon barrel-aged) was up next. I have to get a big thanks to my father-in-law in here for this one. He picked this up while at CCB over Thanksgiving, and during his conversations with the CCB guys, he happened to score this bottle that the brewmaster had waxed and stashed away. Thanks, Peter!
Anyway, there was some concern about the late 2011 bottles of this beer being infected and gushing, so we took the proper precautionary measure and opened this up outside...carefully...on video. It didn't pop.
First thing that hits you is bourbon...lots of it...didn't even have to pour it before the aroma hit...its big. Pours nearly pitch black (kind of strange for a scotch ale) and drinks like syrup. Flavors range from dark fruit to caramel, but consistently tastes like bourbon. It is an okay drinker, but the huge hit of bourbon really kills it for me. Should have let this cellar for a while...probably should have been opened this time next year. Oh well, it was still delicious. 40 out of 5.0.
No comments:
Post a Comment