Scotch Silly - Scotch Barrel-Aged
Brasserie de Silly S.A.

 

Pours a very dark brown, almost mocha colored but with copper hues when held to light. Tan head builds than dissipates fairly quickly. Aroma is big and quite sweet. Tons of dark fruits, fig and dates predominately, some raisin. I also get caramel, subtle oak but otherwise not many barrel characters. Taste is more spice than the nose implied, especially upfront, then sweet notes come on the back end with big caramel. Dark fruits are present but much more subtle than the nose. Some bitterness rounds out the profile. I get almost no scotch characters, which admittedly I don’t hate as I’m not huge into the peat-like notes. It drinks more like a quad than a scotch ale. Overall, this is a very nice beer. Would I have guessed it’s a scotch ale aged in Scotch barrels? Absolutely not, but it fits my personal palate preference better that way.

Bought a 750ml bottle for $15.49 in 2015 from Crockers in Niles, Michigan. Cellared this beer, but didn't intend to wait 5 years. Now I'm glad I did. This scotch ale was very smooth tasting. The bourbon after notes was just right. When I first poured it in a pilsner glass, it looked rough and really thick, so I didn't expect much, but it exceeded my expectations.

 

750 ml bottle into a tulip snifter. Fall 2017 edition. Had 6/9/18.

Pours a cloudy dark amber, with a one inch foamy head and a fair amount of soapy lacing. Aromas of plums, malt, oak, cherries, caramel, figs, dates, raisins, some wine, some peat, light scotch. The flavor follows the nose pretty closely- malt, plums, a little more scotch than the aroma, light tobacco, some peat, oak, caramel, cherries, figs, raisins. Smooth, a good medium body, well carbonated.

Very good, enjoyable, solid base beer. The scotch is not intense, actually kind of lacking, so that’s a negative. There’s just something about it, where I feel like if I had it again, I definitely would score it lower. But, it has a pretty good price point, so it’s worth a purchase to see what you think.

 

 

 

 

 

Reddish copper colored body with a thin, light tan head. Slight boozy aroma. Scotch whisky flavor dominates the taste; mild malt base struggles to balance the tastes. Heavy body; alcohol heat; astringent.

The barrel-aging overshadows any real malt and yeast character one would hope to savor in a beer like this. A slight turn-down of the whisky and a bit of a dial-up of a sweeter, toastier malt character would really make this beer much better.

 

Appearance is dark garnet red, almost perfectly transparent. The small tan head dissipates quickly and leaves zero lacing. Aroma is malty, sweet, and has a definite Belgian yeast quality. Taste is much the same with a good amount of alcohol presence. Mouthfeel is smooth and warming without the sharp heat of alcohol.

Smooth and sweet. Grainy sort of brew with a hint of oxidation. Dark amber-brown with swirls of foam in the Duvel tulip. Interesting aroma that has hints of peppermint along with the yeasty malt. Caramel apples.

Lots of sweet caramel with the Belgian yeasty taste. It's a peculiar combination but an interesting sipper. I don't actually taste much of any alcohol. This doesn't seem to have aged with much grace, but who knows when it was actually bottled. From the 750 ml corked bottle purchased at Liticker's in OB.