Scratch Beer 138 - 2014 (Belgian Style Brown Ale)
Tröegs Brewing Company
- From:
- Tröegs Brewing Company
- Pennsylvania, United States
- Style:
- Belgian Dark Ale
- ABV:
- 8.3%
- Score:
- 84
- Avg:
- 3.63 | pDev: 6.89%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 2
- Status:
- Retired
- Rated:
- Oct 01, 2014
- Added:
- Mar 28, 2014
- Wants:
- 0
- Gots:
- 3
SCORE
84
Good
84
Good
The flavor of Scratch #138 originates in the Abbey Ale yeast strain, which produces a distinctive fruity character similar to raisins, figs, dates, and prunes. As the flavor develops, the dark fruit character endures, adding traces of toffee, chocolate, caramel, and dark rum as well as subtle spices, roasted nuts, and toasted grains. The addition of Belgian Candi sugar and cane sugar boosts the ale’s sweetness, while Tradition hops offer a faint floral hop note that ties everything together.
19 IBU.
19 IBU.
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Reviewed by Darkmagus82 from Texas
3.65/5 rDev +0.6%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
3.65/5 rDev +0.6%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Served on tap in a chalice glass
Appearance – The beer is served a hazy mahogany brown color with some ruby highlights and a one finger head of tan foam floating atop the brew. The head fades very quickly leaving almost no lace on the sides of the glass.
Smell – The aroma of the beer is mainly of a roasted and bready smell with some aromas of darker fruits of fig and raisin. Some lighter yeasty smells as well as some spice of coriander and clove are there as well. A moderate amount of a candied sugar and some brown sugar mix with the rest, overall creating a rather roasty and moderately sweet Belgian brown smell.
Taste – The taste is drier then I would have anticipated from the nose. It begins with a moderately strong roasted malt flavor with some other darker fruit flavors of a raisin and fig which were detected in the nose. The sweeter dark fruit flavors, while rather light upfront, fade as the taste advances and are replaced by some lighter fruit flavors of an apple nature as well as some candied sugar and brown sugar tastes, all which help maintain a light sweetness in the flavor profile. Right after the initial taste, some yeast flavors come to the tongue and bring with them some spice of clove and pepper. All while the yeast comes to the tongue and the sweet flavors transition, some light hop flavors also come to the tongue. The hop are mainly of an herbal nature, but contain some grassy flavors as well. Some toasted bread and light char tastes come to the tongue at the very end of the flavor profile and when mixed with the rest of the flavors and a tiny bit of an alcohol burn, they leave one with a rather roasted and drier Belgian spiced brown ale flavor to linger on the tongue.
Mouthfeel – The body of the beer is on the thinner and crisper side with a carbonation level that is on the higher side. Both are rather nice for the Belgian style and drier tastes of the brew, making for a crisp and rather easy drinking Belgian Brown ale even while at 8.3 % abv. (which it hides rather well).
Overall – A rather decently crisp and drier Belgian Brown ale. A nice easy drinker although I am not sure I would choose this as the next Troegs mainstay.
Apr 21, 2014Appearance – The beer is served a hazy mahogany brown color with some ruby highlights and a one finger head of tan foam floating atop the brew. The head fades very quickly leaving almost no lace on the sides of the glass.
Smell – The aroma of the beer is mainly of a roasted and bready smell with some aromas of darker fruits of fig and raisin. Some lighter yeasty smells as well as some spice of coriander and clove are there as well. A moderate amount of a candied sugar and some brown sugar mix with the rest, overall creating a rather roasty and moderately sweet Belgian brown smell.
Taste – The taste is drier then I would have anticipated from the nose. It begins with a moderately strong roasted malt flavor with some other darker fruit flavors of a raisin and fig which were detected in the nose. The sweeter dark fruit flavors, while rather light upfront, fade as the taste advances and are replaced by some lighter fruit flavors of an apple nature as well as some candied sugar and brown sugar tastes, all which help maintain a light sweetness in the flavor profile. Right after the initial taste, some yeast flavors come to the tongue and bring with them some spice of clove and pepper. All while the yeast comes to the tongue and the sweet flavors transition, some light hop flavors also come to the tongue. The hop are mainly of an herbal nature, but contain some grassy flavors as well. Some toasted bread and light char tastes come to the tongue at the very end of the flavor profile and when mixed with the rest of the flavors and a tiny bit of an alcohol burn, they leave one with a rather roasted and drier Belgian spiced brown ale flavor to linger on the tongue.
Mouthfeel – The body of the beer is on the thinner and crisper side with a carbonation level that is on the higher side. Both are rather nice for the Belgian style and drier tastes of the brew, making for a crisp and rather easy drinking Belgian Brown ale even while at 8.3 % abv. (which it hides rather well).
Overall – A rather decently crisp and drier Belgian Brown ale. A nice easy drinker although I am not sure I would choose this as the next Troegs mainstay.
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