Scotch Ale
Brasserie Bièropholie

Thanks to papat444 for this one - found it in my cellar last time I was in Toronto. Served in a Stone pint glass.

A - Pours with a thin late-rising off-white head that quickly settles to a thin ring and some haze. Murky red-brown raisin body. Not a looker by any means. 2.5

S - Cherries, peppermint, treacle, red licorice, and a touch of vanilla. Smells a little like a non-barrel-aged version of Three Floyds Stay in School. 3.5

T - This seems to be a little past its prime. There's a lot of anise, some bready malt, and a slightly sour cherry finish. Not undrinkable, but not particularly great either. Bitter, earthy finish. Well-hidden ABV. 3.0

M - There's a touch of carbonation zing still left, but it drinks a little like day-old cola. As such, it's a syrupy medium-light body with a lot of residual stickiness. Not much alcohol heat. 2.0

D - I was able to finish the bottle, and while this has seen better days I'm thinking it wasn't all that great to begin with. While the alcohol is well-disguised the earthy bitterness gets a little tiring. 3.0

Pours like a Coke, dark bubbly with a nice tan head. Only about 1/2" of head but it sticks around nicely.

The smell at first hits me with a strong dose of dark chocolate syrup. Then molasses. Some stewed cherries. It smells almost too rich and fruity. As it warms I get black licorice.

Taste is as you would expect from the aroma, rich, with a chocolate malt, boozy cherries with an underlying herbal bitterness that fades along with the rich flavors in the aftertaste. There's almost an illusion of marzipan going on. Much like the aroma, the more I drink the more I'm left with an oddly almost metallic hit of black licorice on the tip of my tongue.

Surprisingly light bodied for such a rich tasting and rich smelling beer.

Not really what I expect from a Scotch ale and not horrible but not really a winner for me.

Poured in a Maudite glass, brown, cognac like luminosity. A very little head almost nothing.

As usual, Bieropholie dont do usual brews, this is a scotch ale A la Bieropholie, I mean that some flavor are original for the style. some vanilla maybe,,but its a good Scotch ale. Sweet and a little bit bitter at the end. kind of thick in mouth, round, well balanced beer.
Nice beer for a desert or apero..

341ml bottle shared courtesy of TomDecapolis.

Poured a deeper copperish color with a smaller sized off white head. Aromas of caramel, tofee, some woodiness, nutty, and roasty. Tastes of caramel, citrus, nuts, earthy, and toffee. Alcohol content well hidden.

Pours a dark chestnut, minimal head and thin layer of lacing. Nose- oddly this smells just like chocolate mints?? Taste- thin bodied, caramel some spice. strong licorce finish. Slightly hot and dry finish. Interesting take on the style, but not my cup of tea

Pours a rather dark brown with a murky white head that dissapears. No lace. Appropriate enough for the style.

Strong aroma of mint, licorice and regular old toffee candy. Huge nose of sweet malt, nothing else, a fair bit more toffee than malt, interesting.

Flavor of caramised malt, burt malt, alcohol and a non-descript chocolate-like bitter balance, interesting.

Interesting ale, not my favorite Bieropholie offering.

A: Very deep dark amber in color w/ really no head at all.

S: This smelled exactly like mint chocolate chip cookies. The mint was just a hint, but the chocolate chip cookies were very strong in aroma. Some licorice as well.

T: Tasted very minty, and a lot like cookie dough. Some grassy flavors as well. The licorice is there as well.

M: Nice and thick, and a little chewy too.

D: Not dad at all.

Pours a very dark, porter-like, ruby. Fairly thick, fizzy tan head. Not much in the way of lacings.

Not a fan of the aroma. Found it very metallic from the anise that everyone else has mentioned. Very nervous... I HATE black liquorice.

Interesting. Anise blends well with the burnt caramel taste from the cooked malt. Surprising coffee bitterness up front from the roast as well. Taste seems to fade pretty fast in the finish. A hint of camp fire smoke in the finish that's held at bay by the sweet malt that manages to fight past the herbal character. No alcohol flavour.

Mouth feel... sort of thin. I'd like this to be a little more full bodied and creamy. Little more carbonation would be nice too.

Hm. Not sure what to think. Full credit for creativity, but perhaps a little overboard with the herbal character, hence the 3 on drinkability. Wouldn't buy it again, but if you like the style go for it.

This is spot on the style,but was only minor amount of smoke. Well balanced, so sweetness was largely substitutd by spices such as star anise. I liked it, it was well drinkable and satisfying. A bit drying. Nice dark colour with wavy lace, but only a bit of initial beige head.

Bottle: Poured a deep brown color ale with a medium size foamy head with some retention and good lacing. Aroma is a ix between some chocolates and caramel notes with some distinctive star anises notes. Taste is also a nice mix between some robust caramel malt notes with some light touch of black chocolate and some easily distinctive notes of star anises. Full body with good carbonation and no apparent alcohol. I really enjoyed the spicy take on the scotch ale style and I did not think it was too dominant as other prior reviews.

Extremely impressive appearance, which could fool you into thinking it was an imperial stout. Super dark-brown, almost black body and billowing tan coloured head, which settles into a decent cap and laces well. Darker than average for the style, but awesome looking for it. Light treacle aroma, with strong earthy notes and vanilla. The taste follows the aroma closely, with the light treacle coming to the fore, with the vanilla and earthiness hitting the roof of the mouth, and a slightly herbal finish. It certainly is an odd, but strangely satisfying, combination of flavours. Creamy, thick body echoes the treacle hints from the malt. Very little evident carbonation.

A strange goose, this one. I found the earthy herbal nature to be a bit bizarre, and it was almost as if there was too much going on here, and the flavours would have been more cohesive if the herbal aspects were dropped. Definitely an interesting offering.

Poured from a 341ml. bottle.

Appearance: Pours an opaque dark brown, practically black body with a thin, tan head that dissipates quickly.

Smell: Sweet smelling, black licorice & aniseed. Very strong but not overpowering, very pleasant.

Taste: A balanced taste between bitter & sweet. There's no denying the aniseed that leaves a light black licorice aftertaste.

Mouthfeel: Creamy & a bit malty in the palate. A little bit of toffee, caramel & of course, aniseed. Low carbonation & an alcohol presence that slowly makes it's presence known. Medium-bodied & smooth with some mint thrown in there.

Drinkability: Good ease of consumption but be warned, you should expect strong overtones of aniseed. A decent sipping beer.

Overall: I personally do not like black licorice (can't eat it) but the aniseed/black licorice character did not turn me off, though it did make picking out the flavors a bit of a challenge. Just know when choosing this brew to expect this aspect. A good effort from a brewer who seems to like experimenting, which is a good thing.