Wee Smokey Scottish Ale - Dry-Hopped
Papago Brewing

Very dark brown in color, with a nice even, light-tan head. The aroma is fairly rich and dominated by a mesquite-tinged malt. So far, so good. The flavor struck me as unexpectedy light up front. Medium-full in body and slightly sweet, but not at all in the way that I expected -- rather than a malty sweetness, this beer has more of a grape-skin, fruity sweetness to it. This eventually gives way to a nice, lingering, oily roasty flavor. Still, the grape flavor was off-putting, and seems out of place for the style. This is the only pint of Papago-brewed beer I've had that I didn't finish. I suspect the flavor stems from the dry-hopping, because when I followed this pint with a taster of the draught, non-dry-hopped version of the beer, in which the grape flavor was absent. It was much better that way.

A cloudy, deep mahogany brew with a head that seems to last forever, and is very sticky. Citrusy and slightly piney hops in the aroma, along with a hint of smoked malt. Totally different from the non-dry-hopped version. The taste is very unique and interesting. Again, totally different from the normal version. I'm getting huge doses of flavors that are exactly like taking the last bites of a watermelon before the rind, and also a bit like bubble gum. I suppose you could say watermelon-flavored bubble gum. I'm also getting a good amount of hop bitterness. Maltiness is almost completely driven out by the hops. It's like this has been turned into an (odd) ESB by the dry hopping. Smokiness is still lightly present. This has become very light-bodied, and almost watery. But all of this aside, the strangest thing about this beer... There are bits of hop leaves floating around in it. I thought I might be mistaken about this at first, but upon looking into my glass when I was almost finished, I saw small bits of leaf and stem. Quite strange. I'm perplexed by this beer. I really don't know what to think...