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AleSmith Wee Heavy Scotch Ale

AleSmith Wee Heavy Scotch Ale - Scotch Ale

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 Percentile 
100
overall
Brewed by AleSmith Brewing Company
Style: Scotch Ale

San Diego, California USA

bottled
common

on tap
available

Broad Distribution
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 Ratings  Average  Score  ABV  Style Pctl  Serve in 
7464.09/5.04.08/5.010%99.6Thistle
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Commercial Description:
Bottle conditioned
J.P. Gray's Wee Heavy Scotch Ale Scotland's bone-chilling winters command a strong, richly-flavored brew. J.P. Gray's Wee Heavy is such an ale. Named for Brewmaster Skip Virgilio's maternal grandfather, J.P. Gray's is a blend of the prized Maris Otter barley and dark roasted barley which imparts a slightly smoky flavor and a deep chestnut appearance. In the style of a classic Scottish wee heavy, this fine ale is remarkably smooth and malty with background flavors of chocolate and molasses. Warmth is provided by a substantial 9% alcohol by volume. The high alcohol and fresh ingredients allow this ale to age well over time. Appearance: Deep mahogany color, sparkling clarity, and excellent head formation and retention when properly served. Flavor: Deep caramelly malty flavor with just a hint of smoke in the finish. Aroma: The aroma is sweet and voluptuous, reflecting the flavor with malt, hop and yeast characteristics. Mouthfeel (body/texture): Lush, full, rounded, almost chewy. This is a BIG beer!
 Most Recent Top Raters Highest Ratings Who's Rated This?  
 Lagunitasfan (432), San Diego, California, USA
4.3 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/105/58/104/518/20
Dec 24, 2008    Updated: Oct 8, 2009
Bottle at Holiday Alesmith tasting. Soda brown color with very little head. Fresh tobacco scent. Taste is sweet and alcohol at the first. Caramel. Late bitter finish. Coffee leftovers. Rerate moving up from 4 to... Two year old bottle properly stored. Less tobacco scent. Still there, just not as prominent. Sweet funkiness starting to show on the nose. Bright sharp frutiness, almost cranberry. Vanilla. Dark brown with rust highlights. Resilent ring and lace. Taste is caramel and light fruit. Light flavor of dark fruit is part of it. Raisins, but also lighter fruit flavor. Bitter malt finish, and even a bit of hoppiness after two years. Gooey in the back of the throat. Wonderful. Wish I had 3 more in the cellar. I’m resisting going higher than 4.3, as II’m trying to not inflate. Nose is close to 9, as is flavor.


 ghawener (952), San Salvador, El Salvador
3.4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/57/103/513/20
Dec 22, 2008  
Bottle: Strong character, ABV is very present, too strong hides all the nice malty and flowery notes. Drink one slowly on a cold day.


 nickd717 (1276), Palo Alto, California, USA
4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/58/104/516/20
Dec 19, 2008    Updated: Feb 8, 2009
Scotch ale is not really an exciting style in my opinion, but surprise surprise, AleSmith does it well. Dark brown appearance with an off-white head. Pretty heavy stuff, lots of sweet caramel maltiness, hints of chocolate and smoke. Not much carbonation. Alcohol is there but fairly subdued for a 10-percenter.


 Soonah (900), Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA
4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/58/104/516/20
Dec 18, 2008  
From mcbackus via trade. Poured a dark swirl of brown, copper and ruby. A nice off white or tan head formed and sat for a while. Nice lacing. The aroma was smoky, roasted malt, light pine and citrus hops, peat and caramel. The flavor is roasted caramelly malt with smoke, faint hops and alcohol. Super nice medium bodied mouthfeel and terrific warming alcohol.


 mspindler (301), Alta Loma, California, USA
4.1 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/59/105/516/20
Dec 16, 2008    Updated: Dec 17, 2008
750 ml bottle. Let me first say that the more I drink, the more complex and awesome this beer becomes. Pours a dark red/amber color, clear and sparkling with tons of tiny bubbles. Large, creamy beige head with great lacing that lasts to the final sip. Aroma is moderately roasty/malty with some molasses and alcohol, caramelized fruits and a hint of spiciness as it warms. Flavor is fantastic, and gets better as it approaches room temperature. Sweet and malty, lots of smoke and some burnt toast on the back of the tongue, a hint of brandy at the front. Full bodied, creamy and maybe a little bit syrupy, perfectly balanced by moderate carbonation. Molasses from beginning to end, with some dates and a light dry bitter finish that sticks around for a while. Mmmm, it keeps getting better the more I drink.


 sebletitje (1880), Tampa, Florida, USA
4.1 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/58/104/517/20
Dec 10, 2008  
courtesy of one of our fellow weekly tasting. Pours light brown with tan head. Aroma is malty and chocolate. Taste of chocolate, thick barleyish mouthfeel with penty of nice caramely malts and chocolate mixed with a perfect roastiness. Some of us noted a very subtle presence of smoke.


 demitriustown (689), Shelby Township, Michigan, USA
4.2 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
9/104/58/104/517/20
Dec 6, 2008  
750 ml bottle Via trade with nbutler11 Thanks. Aroma of wonderfully roasted malt, caramel, dark plums, and somewhat bready scent. Appearance is clear copper color with a thick tan head that lingers and wonderful lacing. Taste is absolutely great. A managerie of flavors melding together making a wonderful brew. Caramel malt, sticky, roasty, a bit of smoke, dark fruits, and lingering candy like flavor but in a good way. Palate is nicely carbonated on the tongue, and aftertaste has a lingering maltiness. Overall, Very nice brew all around. Thanks Nice! Cheers!


mfaulke (81), clemson, South Carolina, USA
4.4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
9/105/58/104/518/20
Nov 28, 2008  
I cellared it for a year, and don’t know how old it was before I got it. The flavors had meshed perfectly with age, and it was hard to pick out one flavor on its own. Smoky butterscotch is probably what I would say. Couldn’t detect much of the hops, and it was less sweet than other scotch ales that I have had. Great beer. I wish I had another to lay down for another year.



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