Crooked Caber
John Harvard's Brewery & Ale House

Had this beer on tap at the John Harvard’s in Harvard Square

It poured a dark amber/tan body with a small white head.

The nose was a mellow malt slight woody smell.

The taste was along the same lines. Medium bodied, smooth but with a slightly grainy touch. Lots of rich caramel and soft dark malt flavors. A definite woody character is present throughout each sip. A very mild peat moss note also finds it’s way though as well. The wood and peat moss are noticeably different. As for the bitterness and hop touches, they are definitely present but take a serious back seat the malt. Very mildly bitter, but it balances perfectly from start to finish.

Really a very nice and drinkable beer. I’ve had there other scotch ale and enjoyed it but wasn’t blown away. This one puts that to shame. Instead of trying a different beer I ordered a second round of this one. A must try.

This beer was on the cask when I stopped by today, so I thought I would give it a try. The style says Scotch Ale. OK, except for the smoky character, I would have called it a brown ale, but I’ll go with the flow. The color was a deep mahogany with a great dense off-white head, and mild lace retention. The nose was light roasted malt aroma with the smoky character coming in after a while. The flavor was deep roast malt flavor, chocolate maybe walnuts coming in with the smoky character. This was balanced with some mild hops. It had a medium to heavy mouth feel. I couldn’t drink too many of these due to the deep roast character of the beer. Not bad, but could be better.

Tossed a winner with this one on 8/23/2004. 16-oz. pour at John Harvard’s, Cambridge.

Saw this up on the board and asked the bartender what was up. “It’s a Scottish Ale, kind of smoky.” Good enough for me. Initial down, billowy head that subsides to moon cratering and plenty of lacing. Mahogany to dull ruby in hue, crystal clear and somewhat quiet. Crunchy malt noticeable on nose, but had to practically bury my head in it to find it. To taste, some earthy rose hip and chewy red licorice, and there was indeed a slight smokiness that was drawn out in the end and added to a pleasant overall presentation. Compared to their Loch Lanier, this is a much more balanced offering with far less peat moss treatment. Compared to other rauchbiers, the smoke profile is much more gentle. As such, this is a very drinkable offering, and one I enjoyed.