Thursday, October 2, 2008

Scotch Ale, Smuttynose Brewing Company, Portsmouth NH


And now to one of my very favorite breweries...ever, the Smuttynose Brewery in New Hampshire. I strongly recommend enjoying any of their beers if you get a chance. They are all over the Northeast. Let's see how their Scotch Ale holds up - it's a beer I haven't yet had from their line-up.

It pours a deep hue, brownish/caramel and has a light head.

The smell is all malt, a little on the sweet side. There is a mild chocolate and subtle alcohol aroma.

The taste is malty, but with a distinct smokiness. It doesn't taste as sweet as it smells, though there is a caramel flavor. It is a full body beer, a little on the heavy side for sure. If you let it warm up a little, it gets thicker with a fuller body and the flavors are pulled out and more distinct.

The aftertaste is smokey and malty. A great cold weather sipper!

From the bottle I learned that the peat smoked malt provides the smoky flavor in the beer. It is 8.2%.

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