King James Scotch Ale
Paw Paw Brewing Company

I picked up a bottle of Paw Paw's King James Scotch Ale for $8.49 at The Lager Mill. I haven't had the greatest luck with this brewery, but I'm down to give them another chance and try this Scotch Ale, so lets see how it goes. 2016 Vintage. Poured from a brown 22oz bottle into a snifter.

A- The label looks nice, it goes well with the name and it's a little eye catching. It poured a muddy brown color that didn't let any light come through and it had a fingers worth of bubbly gray head that died down to a thin ring that eventually faded away and it left a little bit of spotty lacing behind. This is a decent looking beer, but it's a little muddy looking and the head could be better.

S- The aroma starts off with a slightly higher amount of medium sweetness with a sherry and raisin aroma being the first to show up along with some brown sugar sweetness and it goes into a english ale yeast like aroma. Up next comes the malts which are pretty bready and impart some bread crust, toasted malt, caramel malt, light caramel and light butterscotch like aromas. This beer has a pretty nice aroma, it's a little unique for the style.

T- The taste seems to be a little similar to the aroma and it starts off with a medium amount of sweetness with that same raisin and sherry aspect being the first to show up and it shows up just as much and it's followed by a big watery and grainy flavor followed by the rest of malts which impart all the same aspects that they did in the aroma, but this time they are lighter. Up next comes the english ale yeast which is also lighter than it was in the aroma on the finish there's a weird light bitterness and watery sweetness with an english ale yeast and malty aftertaste. This isn't a great tasting Scotch, it's too watery for the style and the flavors don't line up.

M- Not that smooth, a little creamy, not too crisp, on thicker side of being medium bodied with a lighter amount of carbonation. The mouthfeel isn't that great, it needs to be thicker with a little more carbonation.

Overall I wasn't a big fan of this beer and I didn't think it was a good example of the style, it was lacking some of the key aspects that I look for in the style and when it came down to it i was left wanting more from it. This beer didn't have good drinkability, one is more than enough for me. What I like the most about this beer is the aroma, it's the only aspects that didn't have much wrong with it. What I like the least about this beer is the taste and drinkability, they aren't good and they need some work. I wouldn't buy this beer again and I wouldn't recommend, it's not hard to find a much better example of the style. All in all I wasn't impressed with this beer and it continues the trend of being disappointed with beers from PAw PAw. It's on the my least favorite beers from this brewery and it's below average for the style. Better luck next time guys, this one needs some major work.

 

 

 

22 ounce bottle into snifter; no bottle dating, but is a recent release into bottles. Pours slightly hazy/cloudy deep ruby red color with a 1-2 finger dense light khaki head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Light spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a moderate amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Aromas of big caramel, toast, brown sugar, brown bread, light nutiness, raisin, plum, fig, apple, light roast/smoke, herbal, light pepper, and yeast earthiness. Very nice aromas with good balance and complexity of dark/bready malt, fruity yeast, and light earthy hop notes; with good strength. Taste of big caramel, toast, brown sugar, brown bread, light nuttiness, raisin, plum, fig, apple, light roast/smoke, herbal, light pepper, and yeast earthiness. Light amount of herbal hop/roast bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of caramel, toast, brown sugar, brown bread, light nuttiness/smoke, raisin, plum, fig, apple, and herbal/yeast earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Very nice complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/bready malt, fruity yeast, and light earthy hop flavors; with a great malt/bitterness balance and zero cloying sweetness after the finish. Light-medium carbonation and medium-full bodied; with a very smooth, moderately creamy/bready, and slightly sticky mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is very well hidden with only a light warmth lingering after the finish. Overall this is a very nice scotch ale style. All around good complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/bready malt, fruity yeast, and light earthy hop flavors; and very smooth and easy to sip on for the ABV. A very enjoyable offering.

Quick review from notes Michigan Brewer's Guild summer festival 7/25/2015: the scotch of the day in my opinion, moody and complex