Scotch Ale Oak Aged
Brasserie Dunham

Thanks to Patrick (papat444) for this oddity. Served in a tulip.

A - White foam settles to a thin collar, leaving tiny specks of lace. Hazy ruby-amber body.

S - Is this wine barrel aged? Super vinous barrel characters dominates, with only a touch of scotch ale presence - pretty much all wine, oak, and perhaps a kiss of sweet malts. May be a mild lactobacillus character developing too?

T - Taste has a bit more balance, with a nice mix of red wine and smokey scotch ale. I think combination of flavors is actually pretty effective, as the spice and smoke flavors are common to both elements. Alcohol is extremely well-hidden.

M - Smooth medium body, with pleasant moderate carbonation. Lightly tannic texture, with no perceptible alcohol.

D - Not at all what I was expecting from an Oak Aged Scotch Ale, but a pleasant surprise. I'll have to check out other offerings from this brewery next time I'm in Quebec. Had no problem sharing the 500ml with Jason.

According to the bottle, limited edition of 288 bottles though there is no number marked. Weird.

Poured from a 500ml. bottle.

Appearance: A hard pour nets me barely a finger's worth of head before it disappears. Cloudy, almost opaque dirty brown body with a sheathing of lace that more or less lasts.

Smell: Red wine, oak, vinegar without the sour.

Taste: Red wine, cork, mellow with some peat in the shadows. Am i drinking wine? It certainly feels like it. Not a fan at first but as it warms, SOME malt shows and the lingering wine soaked oak is interesting.

Mouthfeel: Next to no carbonation, very smooth, not as dry as wine. Weird hybrid makes it feel like a smooth red wine. Limpid with some mild thinness.

Overall: I must admit to not really liking this at first but it has won me over to a certain degree. Not the oak aging i was expecting which might explain my initial response. Ended up being ok with it and i think a wine buff might appreciate it more.