Salty Scot
Parallel 49 Brewing Company

Salty ScotSalty Scot
Beer Geek Stats | Print Shelf Talker
From:
Parallel 49 Brewing Company
 
British Columbia, Canada
Style:
Scotch Ale / Wee Heavy
Ranked #87
ABV:
7.5%
Score:
87
Ranked #15,452
Avg:
3.9 | pDev: 12.82%
Reviews:
66
Ratings:
288
Status:
Active
Rated:
Mar 09, 2023
Added:
Nov 17, 2012
Wants:
  6
Gots:
  67
Building upon a Scottish "Wee Heavy", this unique beer was developed to provide a strong caramel malt flavour with enough salt to give it a bit of a bite. Stronger in alcohol, this beer starts off sweet but remains fairly light to drink.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Beer-A-Lot:
Photo of Beer-A-Lot
Rated by Beer-A-Lot from Virginia

4.09/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

May 02, 2015
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.93 by waudozer from Canada (BC)

Mar 09, 2023
Photo of MAB
Reviewed by MAB from Canada (AB)

3.96/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Custom Advent Calendar-- Day 9

Nice golden orange colour, and a good amount of white head that eventually calms down.
The nose is caramel and the taste is CARAMEL!!! Salty caramel, but candy in a liquid form. There's a roasted/ smoky edge to the finish as well.
It's quite enjoyable but then it becomes cloying before the end, so my ratings are all over the place.
Nov 10, 2022
Photo of TanyaMur
Rated by TanyaMur

1/5  rDev -74.4%
look: 1 | smell: 1 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1
This is disgusting and undrinkable with all the subtlety of saccharine sweet Mountain Dew. When I buy a beer I expect beer, not soda pop.
Feb 19, 2022
Photo of Beersnake
Reviewed by Beersnake from California

4.31/5  rDev +10.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Poured at fridge temp. Appearance is a transparent red/light brown with white/yellow head. Lots of carbonation with bubbles rising along the sides.

The nose is fantastic. Salted caramel all the way. Malty. Hard candy. A touch of maple. Sourdough bread, along with some dates. What a lovely beer to smell.

Taste: Smooth and somewhat light compared to the nose. Definitely getting the salted caramel and malty notes, but the lower ABV (7.5%) brings it down a notch. I can only imagine how this would taste if the ABV were above 10%. Anyway, lots of dark fruits. Plums, red grapes, and figs. Brown sugar, chocolate, root beer, and an earthy note. No hops detectable. Just a really nice tasting beer!

Overall, a really nice take on the style. Mouthfeel is light to medium bodied. Nice sweet malty aftertaste. I'm a fan!
Dec 18, 2021
 
Rated: 4.16 by aklavall from Canada (AB)

Dec 09, 2021
 
Rated: 3.95 by Roejogan from Canada (BC)

Oct 17, 2020
Photo of mothmanscott
Reviewed by mothmanscott from Georgia

3.76/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Pours a clear brown amber with a reddish hint. The pour produces a short 2 fingers of tan, shortlived, bubbly head which leaves only thin wisps of lace. Quite mundane in appearance. Aroma is roasted and burnt malt: toffee, butterscotch; dark chocolate and fruit maybe a hint of smoke. Taste is molasses/caramel/toffee, roasted nuts, dark fruit, semi-sweet dark chocolate with a buttery, smokey, dark fruit, pumpernickel and briny finish. Afrertaste is salty, sweet, deeply roasted malts, roasted nuts and toffee/molasses. The salt is very evident. Mouthfeel is medium bodied was low-moderate carbonation, creamy but a little slick with a faint peppery prickle in the finish. Overall I would call it good but not great and would not purchase it again.
Sep 27, 2020
Photo of CarolinaCardinals
Reviewed by CarolinaCardinals from North Carolina

3.82/5  rDev -2.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Picked up a 16 oz can from the government liquor store in Victoria B.C. 5-23-19 for about $3.00 USD. No recognizable can date.

Beer poured reddish brown with a beautiful white head.

Nose was dark fruits, very wine like.

Taste was figs with salted caramel. Finish was on the edge of cloying the palate.

Mouthfeel was light for the style and kind of smooth.

Overall a decent dessert beer, fun to have tried!
May 24, 2019
 
Rated: 3.49 by IPAnicked from Canada (BC)

Feb 16, 2019
 
Rated: 3.96 by mholdefer from Alabama

Jan 31, 2019
Photo of Elysha
Rated by Elysha from Japan

4.78/5  rDev +22.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
Crazy good.
Even if you hate scotch ales, holy crap.
Jan 28, 2019
Photo of woodychandler
Reviewed by woodychandler from Pennsylvania

4.33/5  rDev +11%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
I am CANtinuing to move through some of the odds & sods in the backlog here at Chez Woody & this seems like a good way to kick off the day. Viva The CANQuest (tm)!

From the CAN: "Ladies & Gentlemen"; "Sea Salted Caramel Scottish Style Ale"; "2015 US Open Beer Championship Gold"; "CANada's Select Brews Product of CANada"; "We put the kettle on for a long boil and this Scottish Style wee heavy is what we got."

This one surprised me on the Crack! when it revealed itself to be a brimful craft CAN with nowhere for the tongue to go. As a result, I got a pretty good spray and some foaming afterwards. My Glug was fairly quick since I wanted to get the beer into a glass & stop the foaming action coming through the vent. It formed two fingers of dense, foamy, rocky, deep-tan/light-brown head with decent retention before slowly falling to wisps, leaving decent lacing in its wake. Color was Deep Amber/Light Copper to Copper (SRM = > 13, < 17) with NE-quality clarity. Nose was super sweet, very much of caramel and roasted malt with a hint of salt. Mmm. Mouthfeel was medium. The taste was very much of salted caramel! I am not one for sweets of any stripe, as you know if you follow my reviews, but I do like salty & I have been known to pilfer salted caramels when they are available. They are two seemingly incongruous tastes that really work well together and they definitely do so in this beer. The site's Style Guide mentions a low bitterness, but I would say that it was non-existent in this one. It was sweet & salty, but that was about all. In fact, it did a great job of hiding its inherent alcohol, which could be dangerous in quantity. Finish was sweet, no getting around that, but it was pleasant, not at all cloying. Man, this was a nice beer right out of the gate! It lived up to billing & was a really nice example of the style.
Aug 11, 2018
Photo of brentk56
Reviewed by brentk56 from North Carolina

3.81/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Appearance: A thunderingly hard pour yields about half an inch of ecru foam but it fades rather quickly to a ringlet, leaving spotty legs of lace; underneath, the liquid is a clear mahogany

Smell: Butterscotch tones are prominent

Taste: More butterscotch than caramel, but since the two are closely related, we will call it caramel; the middle dries out, as a result of the salt, though there is really not much of a salty character here; the finish is much like the start

Mouthfeel: Medium body with low to moderate carbonation

Overall: I have had this bottle in my cellar for about four years and it is drinking nicely but it is what it is; an interesting twist on the style but ultimately rather one dimensional
Aug 05, 2018
 
Rated: 4.25 by R_Kole from Canada (AB)

Jun 12, 2018
Photo of patre_tim
Reviewed by patre_tim from Thailand

4.22/5  rDev +8.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Deep amber with lots of carbonation, and 3 fingers of yellow head.

Smells of creme brulee, cherries, caramel and toffee.

Tastes of rich, and clearly presented caramel. Hints of creme brulee, toffee, but not really getting any salt, though its there.

Medium, slightly chewy body, with moderate, foamy carbonation.

Got this online from wishbeer, drinking in Chiang Mai, June 7th, 2018. Excellent brew based on a great idea.
Jun 07, 2018
Photo of Clutch28
Reviewed by Clutch28 from Canada (SK)

3.76/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Look: dark amber red with a quickly disappearing off-white head.

Smell: Caramel, bread, slight plum from the yeast esters.

Taste: first hit for me was like raisins soaked in rum, then the caramel hits, not too sweet before the malt backbone arrives bring some chocolate along with bread, dries out nicely at the finish.

Feel: Feels lighter on the tongue then i was expecting from a Wee Heavy. Sort of a light bodied Wee Heavy to me.

Interesting beer and worth a try. Not really a super stellar beer but it lives up to it's billing at least.
May 31, 2018
 
Rated: 4.5 by kootenays88 from Canada (BC)

May 19, 2018
Photo of GarrettB
Reviewed by GarrettB from Colorado

3.76/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
May 8th, 2015 - This beer is salted caramel incarnate, at least on the tongue. For the nose I'm swimming in a heavy malt bill, and wrapped in ribbons of caramel. But the flavor is much saltier, offering that sea salt caramel take on the flavor. It's decadent and obvious but I'm enjoying it. More importantly, the directness and the tastiness of the beer helps to forgive the label which looks too much like a Bitmoji.
May 12, 2018
Photo of Beginner2
Reviewed by Beginner2 from Illinois

3.97/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Are you ready for dessert?
Because this Wee Heavy is a tasty and consistent dessert; smelling, tasting, and finishing as an integrated whole. No surprises, but also no flourishes. Just a solid ale.

Having paid that compliment, I must say that Salty Scot does not Look like much. Perhaps a nice dark amber, but no suds.
On the other hand, it's honest Smells like a caramel sauce. While not as sweet as that, it still Tastes like a beer; using just enough hops to remind me of beer. It sits in the mouth the same way: a balanced dessert.

This is my first from Parallel 49, a restaurant/brewpub that offers great variety while seemingly having great fun. I hope to visit Vancouver soon and taste their ales that are hard to find in the Midwest.
Mar 30, 2018
Salty Scot from Parallel 49 Brewing Company
Beer rating: 87 out of 100 with 288 ratings