Bottle Conditioned

Just wanted to post a quick note on this beer, as I had it last night.

I had great hopes for this beer, as I tend to like Belhaven’s Scottish Ale (Bottle, not nitro can), so I figured this would be a nice one to try. Let me start by saying that I really love Scottish and Scotch ales. The smoky dryness combined with nice caramel notes are really nice in a lot of these styles. Unfortunately, this particular example fell slightly short.

This beer poured clear with a nice head. A nice aroma of caramel and light smoky notes (very light) was inviting. Taste-wise, however, the beer didn’t stand up to what I was expecting. The first item I noticed was a pretty thin body - a bit off putting for the style. Alcohol content in the beer was low (6.5%), but technically in style according to the BJCP. There were some nice kettle caramelized tastes with a slight tinge of smoke around the edges, but that was about it.

I drank the beer out of a brandy snifter, hoping for a beer that would have the body and flavor profile to support such glassware. Really though, this beer didn’t benefit much from this particular vessel, and probably would have been ok out of a pint glass - another thing that slightly bothered me.

Overall, this beer was a bit too easy to drink. Don’t get me wrong, I love beers that are easy to drink, but I expected this Wee Heavy to be a bit more of a late night sipper.

If you’ve had it, feel free to comment and let me know what you think!

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