Merlin
Santiam Brewing Company
- From:
- Santiam Brewing Company
- Oregon, United States
- Style:
- Old Ale
- ABV:
- 7%
- Score:
- +8 ratings needed
- Avg:
- 4.05 | pDev: 4.69%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 2
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- May 26, 2026
- Added:
- Jun 16, 2024
- Wants:
- 0
- Gots:
- 0
NO SCORE
-
-
"With six different malts and Belgian candi sugar, this olde style ale is bold and nuanced, like the working dog it's named after."
Recent ratings and reviews.
Reviewed by vurt from Oregon
3.86/5 rDev -4.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
3.86/5 rDev -4.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Enjoyed on draft in a snifter at Central Station Taps in Beaverton, OR.
Beautiful clear copper-amber body with red-orange highlights. No head or lacing to the pour. Nose is several different kinds of sweet, but doesn't trip my "too damn sweet" alarm. Toasty and bready malt base with notes of toffee, candi sugar, a little mixed berry, a trace of butterscotch, and molasses. Flavor is drier and more nutty than the nose led me to expect. Candi sugar up front merges into a decent earthy bitterness with undertones of caramel, sugar cone, red Swedish Fish, and roasted hazelnuts. Caramel and bitterness briefly intensify in the finish, and are partially offset by a crunchy Belgian waffle character and a hint of cooked strawberries. Slight vinous note in the dry and malty finish. The body is medium and smooth. Carbonation is modest.
This beer confounded my expectations and left me impressed. I wish the bitterness were pulled back a little to give the other flavors a bit more room, but that's a quibble. This is a tasty and approachable old ale with sly complexity.
May 26, 2026Beautiful clear copper-amber body with red-orange highlights. No head or lacing to the pour. Nose is several different kinds of sweet, but doesn't trip my "too damn sweet" alarm. Toasty and bready malt base with notes of toffee, candi sugar, a little mixed berry, a trace of butterscotch, and molasses. Flavor is drier and more nutty than the nose led me to expect. Candi sugar up front merges into a decent earthy bitterness with undertones of caramel, sugar cone, red Swedish Fish, and roasted hazelnuts. Caramel and bitterness briefly intensify in the finish, and are partially offset by a crunchy Belgian waffle character and a hint of cooked strawberries. Slight vinous note in the dry and malty finish. The body is medium and smooth. Carbonation is modest.
This beer confounded my expectations and left me impressed. I wish the bitterness were pulled back a little to give the other flavors a bit more room, but that's a quibble. This is a tasty and approachable old ale with sly complexity.
Reviewed by TheBricenator from Oregon
4.24/5 rDev +4.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.24/5 rDev +4.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Look: A slightly cloudy, rich amber color in the glass and on the pour, which yields a booming off-white head that slowly craters to a pillow, leaving great lacing behind
Aroma: Toffee, caramel, warmed bread, Belgian candi sugar, piloncillo, light earthiness toasted bread crust, and some dough
Taste: Kicks off with a big-time shot of rich, multi-faceted sugar notes with everything from homemade caramel to toffee to piloncillo to candi sugar, and these develop synergy as waves of maltiness crash in to join. Bread, dough, toast, and crust lead the charge and deepen as the sweet malt notes combine with them and earthiness peeks in and out through the close
Mouthfeel: Full, smooth, soft, medium-high carbonation, and soft and smooth on the finish
Overall: This is some tasty stuff. I love what these folks do in general and had never seen nor heard of this one at their pub (yet) or in their packaged offerings so had to snag a few to try and glad I did. It’s a tasty and unique take on an Olde Ale that is malty and rich but also has a Belgian-esque twist to it that is evident. It reminds me of almost an Imperial version of their amber ESB, Spitfire, which is my favorite beer they make and hence, why I enjoyed this so much. Check it out if you see it
Jul 21, 2024Aroma: Toffee, caramel, warmed bread, Belgian candi sugar, piloncillo, light earthiness toasted bread crust, and some dough
Taste: Kicks off with a big-time shot of rich, multi-faceted sugar notes with everything from homemade caramel to toffee to piloncillo to candi sugar, and these develop synergy as waves of maltiness crash in to join. Bread, dough, toast, and crust lead the charge and deepen as the sweet malt notes combine with them and earthiness peeks in and out through the close
Mouthfeel: Full, smooth, soft, medium-high carbonation, and soft and smooth on the finish
Overall: This is some tasty stuff. I love what these folks do in general and had never seen nor heard of this one at their pub (yet) or in their packaged offerings so had to snag a few to try and glad I did. It’s a tasty and unique take on an Olde Ale that is malty and rich but also has a Belgian-esque twist to it that is evident. It reminds me of almost an Imperial version of their amber ESB, Spitfire, which is my favorite beer they make and hence, why I enjoyed this so much. Check it out if you see it
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