Skye High Scotch Ale
Watch City Brewing Co.

Poured from a 22oz bomber into multiple glasses. Thanks to jayli for this from our recent trade! Special thanks to Justin, Wil, Joe, Chris, Chris, Margaret, Matt, Aaron, Alex, and Jay for the assist!

Abv. 8.3%
Bottled 3/10/10

A: Popped the cap and got the slow gush. Uh oh! Thankfully there were no traces of infection. Poured a ruddy, reddish brown. Hazy clarity. Light khaki colored head fed by some rather light carbonation.

S: Big sweet malty nose. Got a bunch of toffee, pan roasted nuts, and some raisin.

T: Very close to the smell with a touch more dark fruit thrown into the mix. Suprisingly free of much "smoke", but that's ok.

M: Slick and full with just a suggestion of spicy alcohol heat. Sweetness is restrained. Some bitter notes from the malt.

O: Another impressive Watch City beer. They should bottle more of their stuff and more often!

Had on tap 5/5
Served in a tulip

A: This beer pours a nice dark hazy brown wih a one finger of light brown head. Head recedes at a moderate pace and leaves ample wispy lacing along the glass.

S: Nose is of sweet toffee and dark fruits - mainly raisin and plum.

T: Taste starts off with tons of sweetness - caramel and toffee really dominate the forefront of this beer. The middle has a touch of roastiness and grain and some alcohol is apparent. Finish is sweet plum flavoring.

M: Medium body, medium carbonation, rather creamy bodied.

D: Goes down relatively easily, has a bit of a kick to it as this most recent release is somewhere around 9%. This is a one and done type beer for me, but a nice offering.

This has become one of my favorite cask beers. It pours a dark hazy brown, very hazy with a generous dark tan head. The retention is decent (given the high alcohol content), and when it recedes, it leaves a thick sheen of lace on the side of the glass. The aroma has malt up front with layers of dates and fig. The oak comes next as it lends both a bourbon and vanilla character to the beer. The flavor is dominated by the malt. It has more of the fig and date character, a lot of vanilla, and a nice bourbon backing to go with the alcohol heat present in the beer. The oak lends a nice smooth mouth feel to the beer, I mean really silky smooth. This is one of those beers that likes the oak. I mellows it and lends some nice flavors too, this generally lends to the drinkability

I'd like to be clear that this beer is quite different from the regular Skye High, as this one is not only cask, but is cask conditioned with Heather and on French oak chips. It may well deserve it's own slot in the line up of beer reviews.
Presented murky dark brown with a thick tan head that stayed.
Pungent nose, filled with floral Heather and a mildly sour wine-like quality.
Caramel and toffee in between with a light spiceyness,finishing a bit hot and vineous.
Big Heather in the flavor. Too much. Off-dry malt with light chocolate overpowered by the spice. The oak is there, but very hard to find. Way in the background theres that dry oakey character.
Finishes sour,spicey, and hot.
I really wanted to like this beer. I love beers that push the bounderies and brewers who try new things.
I was told that this had been tapped almost a week ago and has been sitting on the Heather and Oak for about a month before that.
Maybe too long on the Heather, or just too much Heather.

Very dark brown body. Head is initially quite big, light brown, foamy and displaying excellent lacing. Aroma initially scares with its sour hints, but that’s more from the breadiness than anything else. It smells very toasty, biscuity with strong dried caramel, molasses and pudding notes. I wish this were more intense because this is truly enjoyable to whiff. The palate answers the expectations. A strong peatiness ensures a lengthy finish, earthy, rich and generous. Ample sweet malt profile procures a generous body, creamy, comfortable through its light carbonation. More malt development leads into toasty chocolate and leather goodness. This may actually be one of the top 5 scotch ales I’ve had.

So nice to get a full mug of this on my last visit to Watch City. Mug #70 has missed me so much. I have not been to Watch city in several months and was told my mug had expired when our bill came. This is a nice big scotch which is just a wee bit heavy. I emjoy the nice mysterious blend of flavors. The mouthfeel is so smooth. Alcohol flavor is around, but not fully. This is a great beer made even better when hand pumped from a cask.

I had this last night on tap at Watch City. Very dark brown in color with a half inch head that lasted for awhile. The smell is malty with hints of some smoke. The taste is smooth and very warming. I picked up hints of coffee, toffee, chocolate, smoke, earth and a whole bag full of malt. I'll go back in a week or so and I will bet that it's even better.

The menu at the brewpub lists this ale as 7.2% abv. It poured a very dark amber color, with hints of red when held to the light, and it had light tan foam that left some lace on the glass. The faint smell was smokey and malty. The taste was smokey, with moderate hop bitterness. There was a hint of carmel and chocolate and a slight sweetness. The taste of alcohol was also detectable. The mouthfeel was tart and crisp. The body was moderate, and the carbonation was low. The drinkability was OK, but lost a little for me due to the smokey flavor. 4.0/3.5/4.0/4.0/3.5

Sampled again on tap at the brewpub on 5/20/03
This sample tasted better.

This sample poured a dark red-brown color with creamy tan foam that left a bit of lace on the glass. The smell was mildly smokey, but sweet dark malt and piney hops came through, as well as a hint of figs. The taste was sweet and smokey with caramel malt and fig also. The mouthfeel was smooth and creamy. The body was medium-full. Very nicely drinkable. Perhaps it was the extra months aging?

Pours very dark brown, with a small hot chocolate looking head. Aroma is fairly vinous, sweet, and malty, with a very light alcohol in the back. Flavor has dark fruits, sweet and syrupy malts. Very thick in the mouth, coating the tongue with a lingering flavor.

Dark brown color...small creamy head... has a malty nose with whiffs of alcohol... medium body...med-smooth on the tongue.. taste is of alcohol, sweet maltiness and dark fruit... nice bier! 7.4%abv... Skol!

overall: 4.55
appearance: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | mouthfeel: 4.5 | drinkability: 5

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