Scotch Abbey Ale
5 Seasons Westside

Pours an opaque chocolaty brown with a thick, fine-bubbled beige head. Rich, malty, fruity aroma has a yeasty and rubbery undertone. Richly malty and yeasty flavor is subtly fruity and sweet with smoky hints. Lively, fizzy texture has a good bite to it. Recommended.

On-tap at the brewpub.

Pours a murky dark brown color with a one-finger tan head. The head recedes into a thin layer on top leaving solid lacing.

Smells of yeasty light fruits - pears mostly but with hints of green apples - and robust and sticky toasted malts.

Tastes good. Light fruit flavors kick things off - again pears and green apples, although the green apple flavors are stronger than the smell intimates. Midway through the sip very light amounts of spices enter into things along with a good amount of charred malts. The malt flavors are missing some toastiness and are instead completely roasted. The ending is solidy bitter.

Mouthfeel is good. It's got a solid thickness with grainy carbonation.

Drinkability is good. I finished my glass without a problem and could have another.

Overall this was another interesting Belgian take on a beer I'm normally not the biggest fan of. I think this could benefit from some tweaking with regard to the malt flavors however it's worth a shot as it is.

Dark chesnut brown body with a mild white head. Some spotty lacing. Nose has a nice scotch character; malty. Taste is quite smooth; it's a fairly standard scotch ale taste with nice notes of malt, along with notes of Belgian yeast. All in all, not quite superb, but very good. A little more complexity would make it superb. Mouthfeel is a bit light but pleasant overall. Generous carbonation but not overwhelming.

This is an interesting blend of a scotch ale and Belgian yeast. I enjoyed it very much.