Renaissance Cowboy
Texas Big Beer

Renaissance CowboyRenaissance Cowboy
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From:
Texas Big Beer
 
Texas, United States
Style:
Scotch Ale / Wee Heavy
ABV:
8.2%
Score:
78
Avg:
3.32 | pDev: 16.27%
Reviews:
8
Ratings:
36
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Apr 28, 2016
Added:
Apr 13, 2013
Wants:
  2
Gots:
  10
No description / notes.
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Rated: 3.5 by archero from Texas

Apr 28, 2016
 
Rated: 3.5 by Birdlegs from Washington

Mar 16, 2016
 
Rated: 1.44 by Tsuacad from Texas

Jul 26, 2015
Photo of Beer-Revelry
Reviewed by Beer-Revelry from Texas

3.45/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 4 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
A decent scotch ale, reminds me a bit of Belhaven's standard scotch ale. Could be stronger and use more malt and peat smokiness. Wouldn't purchase in a bottle again but would have if on draught in a bar.
Jul 03, 2015
 
Rated: 3.24 by Texasfan549 from Texas

Jun 10, 2015
 
Rated: 3.14 by dhfreak from Texas

Apr 04, 2015
Photo of DucksFan16
Rated by DucksFan16 from Tennessee

2.29/5  rDev -31%
look: 3.25 | smell: 1.75 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 2.5
Nose of soap, plastic, and burnt rubber. Taste not much better.
Apr 04, 2015
Photo of vickersspitfire
Reviewed by vickersspitfire from Texas

2.84/5  rDev -14.5%
look: 1.75 | smell: 2 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
Appearance:
A bit off for a wee heavy, the body is a deep reddish/brown color (more in line with a amber ale in a darkly lit place) and is with only a few hints of copper, almost no head was produced even with a heavy pour and there’s no lacing either.
Smell:
There’s a mild alcohol aroma mixed in with a fruity background and nothing else.
Taste:
Caramel, roasted malts very little hops and a slight bitterness towards the edges of your mouth as you swallow. A little banana bread come up and it is sweet over all. Not bad tasting, but a little tame for the style.
Mouthfeel:
Medium to light bodied, it does coat your mouth well and it is smooth.
Overall:
Not a bad ale, not a good representation for the style but very drinkable.
Mar 09, 2015
 
Rated: 3.75 by Matt141 from Texas

Mar 09, 2015
Photo of Jugs_McGhee
Reviewed by Jugs_McGhee from Colorado

2.52/5  rDev -24.1%
look: 2.75 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5
Expectations are low given the brewery, so this review will be truncated (unless it turns out to blow me away).

BOTTLE: Brown glass. Label art isn't really for me. Unbranded black pry-off cap. 1 pint 6 fl oz.

8.2% ABV. Reviewed live as a wee heavy per the description on the label. Served cold into a pilsner glass and allowed to warm over the course of consumption.

No bubble show forms as it's poured.

HEAD: 1 finger in width. Off-white with pale khaki hues. Creamy and thick enough, but not particularly luscious or soft. Leaves an uneven coating of lacing as it recedes.

BODY: Dark amber-brown. Dull but translucent. Has no visible yeast. A deeper richer hue would be better. It's also not as dark as the best beers I've come across in the style.

Decent looking for the style. Has no stand-out characteristics, and it isn't special.

AROMA: Pecan, caramel, cream. It's malty and bready, but doesn't seem cloyingly sweet by any means. It hints at marshmallow but never commits, to its detriment.

I'm not getting any roast or toastiness here, nor are there graham cracker or toffee notes.

It doesn't seem like much of a wee heavy, but there's nothing egregious; at least it's not hoppy or yeasty. As much as they market this is as a "big beer" it's rather tame for a wee heavy, lacking the robust malt aromatics of stronger beers in the style. Aromatic intensity is merely average.

TASTE: Hm. Brown malts, caramel, fleeting hints of caramelized nut (some pecan, maybe cashew), and...that's about it. It's a bit bready and some malty sweetness, but if you're hoping for marshmallow, roast, toastiness, toffee, graham cracker, or frankly any other notes that would be of interest, you've come to the wrong wee heavy. This is a generic build for a wee heavy, lacking anything that would set it apart.

I do like the caramelized nut hints, but they're too reticent and closed-off to be of interest. If they committed to that, brought in some roast, marshmallow, and toffee, and refined the balance (mainly by checking the sweetness with roasty bitterness), this might be a decent brew. As-is, it's dull and tough to like, and barely ticks the boxes needed to qualify it as the intended style. Shallow, with a brief flavour duration and (luckily) mild flavour intensity.

This might seem "big" to those who drink only macrobrew pale lagers and malt liquors, but to the discerning drinker, it's just imbalanced and painfully simple.

TEXTURE: As meh as the taste. Kinda smooth, kinda wet, medium-bodied, kinda dragging, a biteen scratchy...it's rough around the edges, and has a poor overall presence on the palate. Luckily, it's not boozy or syrupy, but it is a bit sticky and has some unnecessary alcohol warmth. Other beers in the style push the ABV higher and have less warmth than this.

Doesn't elevate the beer, nor does it accentuate any notes in the flavour profile. Overcarbonated.

OVERALL: This is on par with Texas Big Beer's other beers, which is to say it's underwhelming and generic. It doesn't hide its ABV all that well at all, and isn't all that pleasant to drink, nor is it refreshing (not that it should be). I try to give every beer a chance, but this brewery's other offerings will be at the bottom of my to-buy list going forward. I've had better offerings in the style from novice extract homebrewers.

Low C-
Feb 18, 2015
 
Rated: 3.28 by Lukebell15 from Texas

Aug 23, 2014
 
Rated: 3.25 by Big_Dave from Texas

Aug 22, 2014
 
Rated: 3.24 by Brewpedals

Aug 20, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by BDeibs from Colorado

Aug 02, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by GRG1313 from California

Aug 02, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by Nick4444 from Texas

Jul 09, 2014
 
Rated: 3.25 by kew from Texas

Jun 22, 2014
 
Rated: 3.25 by cdwil from Texas

Jun 20, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by Shafaegalo from Texas

May 27, 2014
 
Rated: 3.25 by showmeyourface from Texas

Mar 11, 2014
Renaissance Cowboy from Texas Big Beer
Beer rating: 78 out of 100 with 36 ratings