10,000 Foot Beard
Barrier Brewing Company

Mid sized bottle, and I can find no bottling date/freshness info
Pour the expected dark brown under a lasting mocha cap and leaving respectable lacing
Maple syrup nose, with some caramel
Deep maple and caramel notes, with vanilla and assorted malty goodness....quality Imperial Scottish ale...well worth a try....went well as part of my chicken marinade (always a plus in my book)

 

 

 

Poured from a 500ml bottle into a tulip glass.

Look is a cola colored amber with an off white head.

Aroma is a lightly toasted caramel like malt.

Taste is slightly smokey with a strong malt backbone.

Deliciously balanced scotch ale.

Served in a snifter glass right from the bottle.

Appearance: Deep dark brown with medium to heavy bubbles on the body, Off-white head rising maybe half a finger's length off the body. Sticky lacing drops quick after two sips or so.

Smell: Bland hops, Ussualy expect more from scotch ales.

Taste: Malty for a scotch ale, but still tasty which comes off an unusual smoked feel. Think of food coming off the BBQ, but bitter and a touch of sweet sugars,

Mouth: Medium to heavy carbonation and above average stickiness to the beer. .

Overall: Descent brew, but I have had more than a dozen better scotch ales. Definitely more on the hybrid side of beer where it combines complexity and the right touch of bitterness that should please even the most amateur of beer drinkers. Salud!

 

 

 

A very dark pour that reflects a ruby color in the light and yields a nice white head that leaves som serious lacing. The nose is full of peat and malts. Very malt heavy on the initial sips with a pretty smooth and clean finish. A pretty rich malt build with good flavor tones of peat, caramel, vanilla, an a slight smokey flavor. The mouth feel in on the light/moderate side. The flavors stick nicely but the body is perhaps a tad light. The 9% abv is dangerously hidden.

Overall, an ok take on the style. Very malt forward and the flavors do deliver but it just didn't wow me.

500 ml bottle. Pours dark chocolate brown with only the faintest of a ruby glimmer. There is a thick tan head that leaves sticky lacing all around the inside of the tulip glass. Some meringuing of the head as well. The aroma is subtle, with a molasses and (very slight) spicecake character, almost reminiscent of a Doppelbock. The first thing I notice when taking a sip is the mouthfeel, particularly how silky and light (for the style) it is. The finish is a little astringent, but the beer's overall dryness makes it easy to drink. The taste also brings up the spicecake again with clove and dark fruit elements. As the beer warms up a bit, a nice slight peat smokiness starts to emerge along with some sugary edges. Overall, a very enjoyable and strong ale.

 

 

I'm always leery of any beer with beard in the name because I know somewhere out there is some disgusting product brewed with yeast from someone's beard. And no, it's not this beer. This is an imperial Scotch ale, 9.7% abv, from Barrier Brewing in nearby Oceanside, NY.

The beer pours brown-black - just a glint of dark amber light slips in around the edges. Enormous tan head leaves sheets of lace down the glass, and a foamy cap persists almost to the end. Aromas of wood, shellac, peat, and dark caramel-like toffee rise up, solidified on the sip with more of the same. Tacky pine resin and wood, musky, dank peat, and a dark caramel shellac of sweetness. Medium-bodied, a bit tacky, a bit sticky on the finish - has elements reminiscent of dark English ales, but heavier and bolder. Moderate, subdued carbonation. Appropriately rustic and rough-hewn, a bit of chew and moderately bitter. A solid entry into the style.