William Wallace Wrestle Fest
Arcade Brewery

 

 

This beer pours an opaque brown body with a thin broken tan head. There is a smell of caramel malt with a light toast aroma and some mineral water smell in the finish. The taste has that same soft toasted malt with a very faint toffee note and a hint of dark roasted malt burred but shows a bit as it opens. All the malt flavors taste very flat with some nougat character and a slight stale quality in the finish. The mouthfeel is medium with a soft alcohol heat in the throat. This beer doesn't have much malt character for the style and it doesn't have the lusciousness that I really like in good scotch ales, but the alcohol is well hidden making easy to drink just a bit dull.

 

22oz shared in a tulip glass. Batch one (a few weeks old).

A - poured a deep slightly dirty copper brown with some serious yeast cloudiness. Thin tan head with good lacing

S - not a ton going on when cold. Warmed up a bit there were nice sweet malt characteristics, but nothing really noteworthy.

T - Solid scotch ale. Sweet malts with some darker dried fruit complexity on the back end

M - Rich and heavy perfect for a cool evening

O - solid effort. Nice, but probably wouldn't seek out again given the rather expensive ($9ish) price point for what was just a nicely done scotch ale.

 

 

This is tough for me to review. I can tell this is a stellar Scotch Ale. The color is a perfect tawny opaque with just a hint of head remaining after the pour. The aroma is toffee and just a bit of cherries. The mouthfeel is warming and slightly creamy, just like I think it should be. The taste, however, is where things get interesting. I generally like my scotch ales just a little sweet, with lots of raisin and caramel. WWWF, however, is far more earthy, with notes of almost charcoal bitterness. It is fascinating and might be more traditional, but it is not my preference. All in all, a solid if not outstanding scotch ale.