Ale Asylum Sticky McDoogle

Brewed by Ale Asylum
Style: Scotch Ale
Madison, Wisconsin USA

Draft at the brewpub. Orange-brown color. Nice foamy head. Looks filtered, but hard to verify. Well balanced, with the smooth maltiness per the style, but with a respectable hoppiness as well. A touch more earthy freshness than a typical Scottish Ale.

Draft, 2006 GTM. Nondescript aroma. Cloudy, reddish amber. Very large, off-white head. Malty, not much to it. Beautiful lace. Nice beer but not much to it.

Lightly hazed copper color with a moderate off-white head. Light caramel, peat, and hints of sweet cream in the aroma. Flavors follow well with the aroma. There are some mild fruit flavors, with light berries and peaches that add to the caramel and peat. Finish is not real long, but enough malt to make this a very good heavy session brew.

Great Taste of the Midwest 2006


I started with a few beers I knew would not stand up after hitting the major ones later in the day. This completes my list of Ale Asylum beers to date, though I am sure they will soon have another as I chase the never ending treadmill of perfection.

Aroma / Appearance - Candy sugar, peat, caramel, cherry pie filling, wheat and smoke complete an interesting nose. It’s not quite what I would expect from a scotch ale but it is not offputting either. The body was a hazy amber with a one-finger head extending to the top of the 4 ounce sample glass.

Flavor / Palate - Sweet sugar malts, peat, caramel, cherries and honey glazed ham round out what I was able to detect. Perhaps a larger sample would make some things stand out more. Very smooth and easy to drink, it was gone before I knew it. The finish was light and woody with a lingering taste of candied apples. Not bad - hopefully next time I visit they’ll have it on tap.

On draught at the brewery taproom in Northern Madison. Pours a semi-hazy caramel amber brew with a creamy off-white head that slowly dissipates to a heavy off-white ring and film top. Some sticky lacing which explains how it got its name. Aroma of dry roasted caramel malt, a slight dark grape raisin character with dry leafy hops and some light peat. Taste is medium bodied, light carbonation with flavors of semi-dry caramel malt and some hollow dry hop bitterness and character. Finish is slightly dry, some mild bitterness that lingers around after the finish and then a light peat flavor. I am used to most scotch ales and scottish ales to be peaty and malty. Ale Asylum’s version has some dry hop added to make this a memorable beer.

On Tap at the Great Lakes Brewfest. Hazy copper with a thin off-whtie head. Aroma of toffee, sweet malt, bread and light roasted malt. Body is a bit thin with sweet malt, toffee, licorice, and grains in the flavor. Finishes semi-sweet but misses the mark for a Scotch Ale due to the thinness.

Hazy brown-amber body. Butter, mint caramelized malt. The flavor brings in tangy malt alogn with green stemmy hops. Primarily sweet, good mouthfeel.

(Draught) Pours a hazy amber body with a small off-white head. Aroma of nuts, peat, leather, toasted bread, and caramel. Flavor of caramel malt, sticky molasses, mild hops, and toasted nuts.