Scotch Strong Ale
Shamrock Brewing Co.

 

 

another cool beer from shamrock. the edition i had was done on oak, not sure if they all are, but this was im pretty certain was. it has a whiskey aroma to it, more of that than of the peaty malt i expect in the style, although thats there too, along with a fruity sweetness like fortified wine. the flavor is a bit more straight forward, a barely smoked character to the grain base and then a molasses sugary middle, mellowed by oaky richness and stinging alcohol. its what the style asks for, but its also unique in its own way, showing somewhat of a bourbon flavor to it, vanilla and corn and everything. personally i would like a little more carbonation in it, it seems a little flat to me, like some old barleywines get, but the flavors arent right for such a relaxed carbonation, and its missing to me. other than that, this is excellent beer.

A 10 oz. pour at Shamrock Brewing in Pueblo, CO on 8/15/11

Red with no signs of carbonation, head, or lace. Despite the lack of visible carbonation, there was an ample amount present giving it a not quite soft mouthfeel. Medium body, leaning toward the heavy side. The aroma is very understated, with caramel being the predominant characteristic. Clean caramel taste front and middle with a bit of the alcohol showing in the finish. A very subtle bitterness in the end. I am not one for the style, but found this beer to be just sweet enough for my taste.

Not aggressively carbonated as a pretty steady pour from the growler only produces a finger of amber tinged, tan colored head. The beer is concentrated amber color that shows a lightly hazed, deeply rose tinted, dark gold color when held up to the light. The aroma smells of caramelized raisins, concentrated caramel malts, perhaps a touch of berry character (that seems to get brighter the more I focus on it), a definite candied fruit aromatic (though this is not overly sweet), a caramelized cotton candy like note, perhaps a touch of lightly herbal hop character and when you really dig a touch of toasted malt nutty notes that come in at the very end. Definitely focuses on the sweet side of the malt and it doesn't quite have the rich, almost umami like concentrated malt character and deeply brown grain toasted notes of the best examples of the style. As the beer warms touches of higher alcohols and perhaps a touch of phenols / medicinal character becomes noticeable. Still this is nice smelling beer.

Sweet tasting as the nose foretold, and the sweetness is a little on the thin / clean side as I usually expect a richer, denser fully complex malt sweetness from this type of beer. The finish has a hint of bitterness as well as a faint medicinal note that seems to be contributed by some higher alcohols. This tastes of cotton candy, berry like candies, notes of sweet hibiscus, something a bit like sweet, pickled ginger and some heat from alcohol in the finish. The beer is not overly thick, and while it is definitely a sipping brew, the simple sugars here don't make this too heavy. Underneath the sweetness is a touch of nutty toasted malt, though only just a hint.

If I had to guess I would speculate that this beer was fermented at a warmer than usual temperature for a beer of this style (typically high 50s to low 60s in degrees Fahrenheit is the norm); with all the fruit esters and touches of higher alcohols it seems this was fermented closer to 70°F (if not even a bit higher). The speculated higher temperatures definitely make for an interesting experience. Not bad, certainly interesting, but in the end the fermentation flaws make it miss the mark of the style by a wide margin; it tastes something like a strong Belgian yeast though with its ample fruitiness and fermentation derived spiciness & alcohol warming.

Served with a 10 oz pour into an undersized pint glass.

Arrived in front of me with a tiny layer of light brown head over a caramel-colored body that was slightly cloudy (chill haze?). Within a minute the head was totally gone without even small traces of foam. There was no lacing on the glass at all. I don't know if I have ever seen a beer that was this devoid of head, foam, or lacing. Higher ABV does kill head but I have had beers that weighed in at over 11% ABV that had excellent lacing and head retention.

The nose smelled muted, but what was present was spot on for this style. Caramel, burnt brown sugar, roasted malts drizzled in brown sugar sauce.

Boozy chewy malts make up the bulk of this flavor profile, and were the first flavor to hit my tongue as I took my first sip. Reminded me of a dopplbock more than a wee heavy because of the singular taste; more like a strong lager than a strong ale. Something citrusy but not hoppy was in this flavor, and reminded me of liquid medicine. As it warmed I got a little tootsie roll and pear on the back end of the flavor.

The mouthfeel was full with prickly alcohol and assertive carbonation. An interesting take on the style in this department, good body but I think the carbonation is a bit overdone. Drinkability isn't high because of the noticeable alcohol.

Conclusion: I enjoyed this beer and would drink it again. However, it doesn't compare to the best of this style. My main complaints are the prominent boozy alcohol in the flavor and mouthfeel, and slight over-carbonation. I have found the best in this style to be silky smooth full bodied ales that rival almost any other style for complexity and disconcertingly well hidden alcohol. This beer didn't measure up to that standard, but it was good in its own right.