Wood Aged Scotch Ale
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

 

This beer was served from the cask at One-Eyed Betty’s in Ferndale, MI. It arrived in a nonic glass, showing rusty maroon-brown. It held a one and a half finger head of cappuccino colored bubbles. This left wet and drippy sheets of lacing following a quick retention. A chill haze was noted, with an absence of sediment. Carbonation appeared active. The aroma gave sweeter brown and caramel malts with the mildest roasty dryness. Adding to that side of the balance was bright and syrupy cranberry, and red cherry sugars. Coiny metallics, raw cinnamon, and clovey spice came to contrast, with crisp grassy hoppiness, and far off booziness with warmth. Our first impression was that there was massive woodiness to the flavoring, and despite an even bigger contribution by vinyls and plastics, there was a wildly smooth finish. As we sipped, soured wood agedness, bittered plastic and clovey phenols, maple sugars, caramel sugars, tannic red wine dryness, and the quickest flash of booze started things off. The middle came to a peak with enhanced bitterness and puckered tartness of wood, bubblegum ester sweetness to cut, molasses breadiness, and savory soy sauciness. The end came with more drying woodiness, uncooked brown malts, light whole wheat breadiness, caramel sugars without cloy, heat, or roast, basement mustiness, light metallics, and vegetable sugariness. Here the plastics thinned a bit, allowing for a more complete, smoother finish to the sip. The aftertaste breathed of red grapes, cranberry sugars, brown malts, sugar caramel maltiness, light booze, and a brush of chocolatey malts. The body was medium, and the carbonation was light. Each sip gave hearty slurp, smack, cream, and froth. A soft coating was left around the mouth, with eventual warmth to the palate, and light, but palpable, astringency. The abv was appropriate, and the beer sipped easily.

Overall, what we enjoyed most about this brew was the woodiness of flavoring, and how stark that was from the very first sip. This blends with, and hides, the alcohol, with the end of the sip showing a wonderfully smooth solidarity of flavor, despite the strength of phenols and tart woodiness at the front. This, too, is helped by the enhancing malty body at the back, further blending that initial pucker with sweetness. The cask preparation also helps to this fact. This unexpected gem from Sierra Nevada truly gets better and smoother with each sip.

 

 

A - pours a murky caramel color. Not a whole lot of head, but does leave some lacing. The color and murkiness make this one of the least appealing looking beers I've ever seen.

S - Prominent caramel malt but also a surprising hop presence.

T - Lots of caramel malt, some faint hops. Faint chocolate presence. Wood notes really come through on the finish, which is dry, oaky and somewhat tannic. Doesn't really taste like a Scotch ale, but taste is decent.

M - Medium mouthfeel with dry finish.

O - Luckily, the appearance is the worst part of this beer. However, I'm not really sure what this beer is trying to be. It's decent, but I didn't enjoy it enough to want another.

Had on tap at Crunchy's in East Lansing.

A: Pours dark amber with a finger of tan head.

S: Smells like a strong IPA not a scotch ale. Big citrus hops and not much malt.

T: Taste is less hoppy than the aroma with lighter citrus hops and very mild roasted malt. Only a hint of oakiness.

M: Medium body with good carbonaton.

O: If tasted blind I would never say this was a barrel aged scotch ale.