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Saranac Single Malt Whiskey Barrel-Aged Scotch Ale
Matt Brewing Company / Saranac Brewery
- From:
- Matt Brewing Company / Saranac Brewery
- New York, United States
- Style:
- Scotch Ale / Wee Heavy
- ABV:
- 9%
- Score:
- 85
- Avg:
- 3.77 | pDev: 10.61%
- Reviews:
- 15
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Retired
- Rated:
- Mar 17, 2017
- Added:
- May 08, 2014
- Wants:
- 1
- Gots:
- 5
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by fx20736:
Reviewed by fx20736 from New York
4.08/5 rDev +8.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.08/5 rDev +8.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Bought a 4 pk from Beers of the World on 5/23/14. Poured into a nonic, served at ambient temp.
appearance: medium dark amber. shortbread colored head. decent lacing.
smell: light whiff of caramel corn and a whisper of alcohol
taste: sweet, caramel, heat from the alcohol
mouthfeel: slippery, soft and silky.
overall: surprising offering from Fx Matt. Decent, if unexciting strong ale.
May 24, 2014appearance: medium dark amber. shortbread colored head. decent lacing.
smell: light whiff of caramel corn and a whisper of alcohol
taste: sweet, caramel, heat from the alcohol
mouthfeel: slippery, soft and silky.
overall: surprising offering from Fx Matt. Decent, if unexciting strong ale.
More User Ratings:
Reviewed by utopiajane from New York
4/5 rDev +6.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
4/5 rDev +6.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Color is mahogany. Clarity is excellent. Ruby tint. Malty nose with caramel. Not a lot of wood just an airy breath from it. Dark fruits, earthy, cocoa and peat . The bourbon is strong on the nose. No alcohol on the nose and nothing that reminds me of diacetyl.
Taste is a deep melding of mellow sweetness and a floral quality form the bourbon. Peaty with secondary smoke qualities. The wood seems dry to the palate and the caramel is very firm. It's like the taste of lightly burnt sugar. Deep and very rich. The bourbon in this is very prominent but well done so that the fullness of it's flavor is evident. The beer seems earthy like a tree trunk. Planted and rooted. The mouthfeel is full and I want to emphasize firm. Raisins , dried dark fruits. Hops add the perfect lightly herbal backnote. No alcohol on the palate at all just a friendly warming int he chest after the swallow. Finish is sweet but not syrupy. Superb! Dries out as it lingers malty.
Bold. Strong.
Oct 25, 2015Taste is a deep melding of mellow sweetness and a floral quality form the bourbon. Peaty with secondary smoke qualities. The wood seems dry to the palate and the caramel is very firm. It's like the taste of lightly burnt sugar. Deep and very rich. The bourbon in this is very prominent but well done so that the fullness of it's flavor is evident. The beer seems earthy like a tree trunk. Planted and rooted. The mouthfeel is full and I want to emphasize firm. Raisins , dried dark fruits. Hops add the perfect lightly herbal backnote. No alcohol on the palate at all just a friendly warming int he chest after the swallow. Finish is sweet but not syrupy. Superb! Dries out as it lingers malty.
Bold. Strong.
Reviewed by Roguer from Connecticut
4.11/5 rDev +9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
4.11/5 rDev +9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Brown sugar and caramel notes from the malt provide a strong base, but this brew is really all about the Scotch.
It presents clean and strong on the aroma, really dwarfing the base brew profile, but in a good way.
Translation to the palate is a touch disappointing after the aroma; here is where a stronger, more together malt base would have truly elevated this beer. As it is, the Scotch is enough to carry the day.
Oct 25, 2015It presents clean and strong on the aroma, really dwarfing the base brew profile, but in a good way.
Translation to the palate is a touch disappointing after the aroma; here is where a stronger, more together malt base would have truly elevated this beer. As it is, the Scotch is enough to carry the day.
Reviewed by Jjski from New York
3.53/5 rDev -6.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
3.53/5 rDev -6.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Bottle, labeled 10% ABV. Must be batch 2
Smells malty w/ hints of whiskey
Taste: Bready malts , very,very faint whiskey. dry oakiness
Mouthfeel: thin, slick, non imposing
Overall: underwhelming but worth $10 a four pack. As a HUGE fan of the style: this is not a replacement for Backwoods Bastard ( good) or Wulver ( very good). I wish another strong brewery like Southern Tier would start making a good BA Scotch Ale that is accessible on the east coast. BA Old Chub would be nice.
Saranac brews are always inexpensive, and taste that way.
Sep 29, 2015Smells malty w/ hints of whiskey
Taste: Bready malts , very,very faint whiskey. dry oakiness
Mouthfeel: thin, slick, non imposing
Overall: underwhelming but worth $10 a four pack. As a HUGE fan of the style: this is not a replacement for Backwoods Bastard ( good) or Wulver ( very good). I wish another strong brewery like Southern Tier would start making a good BA Scotch Ale that is accessible on the east coast. BA Old Chub would be nice.
Saranac brews are always inexpensive, and taste that way.
Reviewed by BeerAdvocate from Finland
3.84/5 rDev +1.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
3.84/5 rDev +1.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Sweet, Smooth, Creamy, Warming
Matt Brewing deemed it time again to play around with some barrel aging, a Whiskey barrel aged Scotch Ale to be exact. Right from the first sip the strength this shown though it never runs hot, mellow but thorough wood character from start to finish. Within all of this it tastes like we are drinking a loaf a bread, a true compliment for a malt bomb like this. Clearly they should be delving into this arena of “bigger” beer on a regular basis.
STYLE: Scotch Ale | ABV: 9.0% | AVAILABILITY: Rotating
Review from BeerAdvocate magazine issue #91 (Aug 2014)
Jul 15, 2015Matt Brewing deemed it time again to play around with some barrel aging, a Whiskey barrel aged Scotch Ale to be exact. Right from the first sip the strength this shown though it never runs hot, mellow but thorough wood character from start to finish. Within all of this it tastes like we are drinking a loaf a bread, a true compliment for a malt bomb like this. Clearly they should be delving into this arena of “bigger” beer on a regular basis.
STYLE: Scotch Ale | ABV: 9.0% | AVAILABILITY: Rotating
Review from BeerAdvocate magazine issue #91 (Aug 2014)
Reviewed by Pencible from Virginia
3.78/5 rDev +0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.75
3.78/5 rDev +0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.75
A: This poured a cloudy dark copper with moderate tan head.
S: It smelled like nutty and earthy malt and sweet butterscotch, with some copper hops.
T: It tasted like sweet caramel and butterscotch, with some nutty malt and a hint of earthy heather and salt. It had a clean mostly sweet aftertaste.
M: It was watery with some carbonation. Fairly thin body.
D: This was a decent scotch ale, but the single malt character didn't come through as much as I hoped. The scent and taste were good, but the body was a little weak. The finish was smooth with well hidden alcohol, so it was easy to drink. No need to age, or try more than once.
Dec 28, 2014S: It smelled like nutty and earthy malt and sweet butterscotch, with some copper hops.
T: It tasted like sweet caramel and butterscotch, with some nutty malt and a hint of earthy heather and salt. It had a clean mostly sweet aftertaste.
M: It was watery with some carbonation. Fairly thin body.
D: This was a decent scotch ale, but the single malt character didn't come through as much as I hoped. The scent and taste were good, but the body was a little weak. The finish was smooth with well hidden alcohol, so it was easy to drink. No need to age, or try more than once.
Reviewed by ClavisAurea from New York
4.19/5 rDev +11.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
4.19/5 rDev +11.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
12oz bottle served in a tulip glass at fridge temps. I believe this is from 05/2014.
Appearance: poured a nice dark orange with some yellow peaking through the sides. There was some sort of a head but it dissipated very quickly.
Nose: heavily malty, cherry pie, strawberries and other fresh fruit, no hop nose at all, no barrel age smell either, fruity English Ringwood yeast aroma, maybe some DME from the brewing process to boost the gravity.
Taste/Mouthfeel: very smooth with a fair amount of carbonation, malt forward with some spicy hops in the finish, very drinkable for a 9% Wee Heavy. I do not get any barrel aging in this.
Overall: So, this is a pretty good scotch ale but I really don't get any barrel aging like it is marketed to be. I'm a fan of Scotch in general and I was really excited to see it used in beer. After all, scotch is distilled beer.
Dec 21, 2014Appearance: poured a nice dark orange with some yellow peaking through the sides. There was some sort of a head but it dissipated very quickly.
Nose: heavily malty, cherry pie, strawberries and other fresh fruit, no hop nose at all, no barrel age smell either, fruity English Ringwood yeast aroma, maybe some DME from the brewing process to boost the gravity.
Taste/Mouthfeel: very smooth with a fair amount of carbonation, malt forward with some spicy hops in the finish, very drinkable for a 9% Wee Heavy. I do not get any barrel aging in this.
Overall: So, this is a pretty good scotch ale but I really don't get any barrel aging like it is marketed to be. I'm a fan of Scotch in general and I was really excited to see it used in beer. After all, scotch is distilled beer.
Reviewed by Beejay from Virginia
2.89/5 rDev -23.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 2.75
2.89/5 rDev -23.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 2.75
A: A dirty medium brown in color. A very full tan head.
S: Light caramel and bread. Perhaps a touch of orange peel in there as well. Something slightly earthy in there, but I don't get a lot of the whisky.
T: Bready, earthy and a touch of smoke. There is a little bit of a wood flavor, and a hint of whisky. There is an earthiness to this that doesn't really mesh well. There seems to be a weird mix of flavors that don't necessarily go well together. Seems harsh and a touch bitter.
F: Medium light body, with a fairly dry finish.
O: Overall this seems like an odd amalgamation of flavors. Not enough of the whisky character to single malt in all caps on the label, the bottle says rich, malty, and sweet, and the beer I'm drinking simply does not go with that description.
Nov 29, 2014S: Light caramel and bread. Perhaps a touch of orange peel in there as well. Something slightly earthy in there, but I don't get a lot of the whisky.
T: Bready, earthy and a touch of smoke. There is a little bit of a wood flavor, and a hint of whisky. There is an earthiness to this that doesn't really mesh well. There seems to be a weird mix of flavors that don't necessarily go well together. Seems harsh and a touch bitter.
F: Medium light body, with a fairly dry finish.
O: Overall this seems like an odd amalgamation of flavors. Not enough of the whisky character to single malt in all caps on the label, the bottle says rich, malty, and sweet, and the beer I'm drinking simply does not go with that description.
Saranac Single Malt Whiskey Barrel-Aged Scotch Ale from Matt Brewing Company / Saranac Brewery
Beer rating:
85 out of
100 with
50 ratings
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