Saranac Single Malt Whiskey Barrel-Aged Scotch Ale
Matt Brewing Company / Saranac Brewery

Saranac Single Malt Whiskey Barrel-Aged Scotch AleSaranac Single Malt Whiskey Barrel-Aged Scotch Ale
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From:
Matt Brewing Company / Saranac Brewery
 
New York, United States
Style:
Scotch Ale / Wee Heavy
ABV:
9%
Score:
85
Avg:
3.77 | pDev: 10.61%
Reviews:
15
Ratings:
50
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Mar 17, 2017
Added:
May 08, 2014
Wants:
  1
Gots:
  5
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Skabiski:
Photo of Skabiski
Rated by Skabiski from Maryland

3.87/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Oct 25, 2015
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.61 by logicalparadox from New York

Mar 17, 2017
 
Rated: 3.26 by cp45 from New Jersey

Dec 18, 2016
 
Rated: 3.27 by nyrblue2 from New York

Nov 07, 2015
 
Rated: 3.45 by PSU_Mike from Pennsylvania

Oct 30, 2015
Photo of utopiajane
Reviewed by utopiajane from New York

4/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Color is mahogany. Clarity is excellent. Ruby tint. Malty nose with caramel. Not a lot of wood just an airy breath from it. Dark fruits, earthy, cocoa and peat . The bourbon is strong on the nose. No alcohol on the nose and nothing that reminds me of diacetyl.

Taste is a deep melding of mellow sweetness and a floral quality form the bourbon. Peaty with secondary smoke qualities. The wood seems dry to the palate and the caramel is very firm. It's like the taste of lightly burnt sugar. Deep and very rich. The bourbon in this is very prominent but well done so that the fullness of it's flavor is evident. The beer seems earthy like a tree trunk. Planted and rooted. The mouthfeel is full and I want to emphasize firm. Raisins , dried dark fruits. Hops add the perfect lightly herbal backnote. No alcohol on the palate at all just a friendly warming int he chest after the swallow. Finish is sweet but not syrupy. Superb! Dries out as it lingers malty.

Bold. Strong.
Oct 25, 2015
Photo of Roguer
Reviewed by Roguer from Connecticut

4.11/5  rDev +9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Brown sugar and caramel notes from the malt provide a strong base, but this brew is really all about the Scotch.

It presents clean and strong on the aroma, really dwarfing the base brew profile, but in a good way.

Translation to the palate is a touch disappointing after the aroma; here is where a stronger, more together malt base would have truly elevated this beer. As it is, the Scotch is enough to carry the day.
Oct 25, 2015
 
Rated: 3.69 by BAsbill from California

Oct 22, 2015
 
Rated: 4.24 by Cooker_stp from New York

Oct 13, 2015
 
Rated: 4 by kell50 from North Carolina

Oct 10, 2015
 
Rated: 4.01 by stevehagy from New York

Oct 09, 2015
 
Rated: 4.57 by StevieJ_80 from Maine

Sep 29, 2015
Photo of Jjski
Reviewed by Jjski from New York

3.53/5  rDev -6.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Bottle, labeled 10% ABV. Must be batch 2
Smells malty w/ hints of whiskey
Taste: Bready malts , very,very faint whiskey. dry oakiness
Mouthfeel: thin, slick, non imposing
Overall: underwhelming but worth $10 a four pack. As a HUGE fan of the style: this is not a replacement for Backwoods Bastard ( good) or Wulver ( very good). I wish another strong brewery like Southern Tier would start making a good BA Scotch Ale that is accessible on the east coast. BA Old Chub would be nice.
Saranac brews are always inexpensive, and taste that way.
Sep 29, 2015
Photo of BeerAdvocate
Reviewed by BeerAdvocate from Finland

3.84/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Sweet, Smooth, Creamy, Warming

Matt Brewing deemed it time again to play around with some barrel aging, a Whiskey barrel aged Scotch Ale to be exact. Right from the first sip the strength this shown though it never runs hot, mellow but thorough wood character from start to finish. Within all of this it tastes like we are drinking a loaf a bread, a true compliment for a malt bomb like this. Clearly they should be delving into this arena of “bigger” beer on a regular basis.

STYLE: Scotch Ale | ABV: 9.0% | AVAILABILITY: Rotating

Review from BeerAdvocate magazine issue #91 (Aug 2014)
Jul 15, 2015
 
Rated: 3.77 by Boone757 from Virginia

Jan 02, 2015
Photo of Pencible
Reviewed by Pencible from Virginia

3.78/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.75
A: This poured a cloudy dark copper with moderate tan head.
S: It smelled like nutty and earthy malt and sweet butterscotch, with some copper hops.
T: It tasted like sweet caramel and butterscotch, with some nutty malt and a hint of earthy heather and salt. It had a clean mostly sweet aftertaste.
M: It was watery with some carbonation. Fairly thin body.
D: This was a decent scotch ale, but the single malt character didn't come through as much as I hoped. The scent and taste were good, but the body was a little weak. The finish was smooth with well hidden alcohol, so it was easy to drink. No need to age, or try more than once.
Dec 28, 2014
Photo of ClavisAurea
Reviewed by ClavisAurea from New York

4.19/5  rDev +11.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
12oz bottle served in a tulip glass at fridge temps. I believe this is from 05/2014.

Appearance: poured a nice dark orange with some yellow peaking through the sides. There was some sort of a head but it dissipated very quickly.

Nose: heavily malty, cherry pie, strawberries and other fresh fruit, no hop nose at all, no barrel age smell either, fruity English Ringwood yeast aroma, maybe some DME from the brewing process to boost the gravity.

Taste/Mouthfeel: very smooth with a fair amount of carbonation, malt forward with some spicy hops in the finish, very drinkable for a 9% Wee Heavy. I do not get any barrel aging in this.

Overall: So, this is a pretty good scotch ale but I really don't get any barrel aging like it is marketed to be. I'm a fan of Scotch in general and I was really excited to see it used in beer. After all, scotch is distilled beer.
Dec 21, 2014
Photo of Beejay
Reviewed by Beejay from Virginia

2.89/5  rDev -23.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 2.75
A: A dirty medium brown in color. A very full tan head.

S: Light caramel and bread. Perhaps a touch of orange peel in there as well. Something slightly earthy in there, but I don't get a lot of the whisky.

T: Bready, earthy and a touch of smoke. There is a little bit of a wood flavor, and a hint of whisky. There is an earthiness to this that doesn't really mesh well. There seems to be a weird mix of flavors that don't necessarily go well together. Seems harsh and a touch bitter.

F: Medium light body, with a fairly dry finish.

O: Overall this seems like an odd amalgamation of flavors. Not enough of the whisky character to single malt in all caps on the label, the bottle says rich, malty, and sweet, and the beer I'm drinking simply does not go with that description.
Nov 29, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by Cfeezy from New Jersey

Nov 25, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by oriolesfan4 from Maryland

Nov 07, 2014
Saranac Single Malt Whiskey Barrel-Aged Scotch Ale from Matt Brewing Company / Saranac Brewery
Beer rating: 85 out of 100 with 50 ratings