AleSmith Wee Heavy Scotch Ale

Bottle purchased in Los Angles, CA. Pours to a deep caramel to brown color, with a thick, tan head, and a soft carbonation. The nose on this beer is sweet and malty, with lots of good aromas of caramel, pipe tobacco, and hints of butterscotch. The palate is soft and full with lots of big sweet and caramel malt flavor. This beer finishes with big sweet and caramel malt flavor up front, then ends with a warming, soothing burn that lingers with more sweet malt. A cloying, but delicious beer, with fantastic sweet malt character. Excellent Wee Heavy, and a wonderful beer to match with a rich desert, or a perfect night cap.

Draft @ Papago. Pours dark brown and clean with a white medium head. A very pleasant sweetness starts the beer, in connection with caramelized sugar notes and mild burnt chocolate. This beer is very smooth on the palate and easy to drink, maybe too easy. Nutty dark roasted malts, dominate but nothing overly aggressive in this beer. I did not find the smokiness in this one but maybe I missed it. Great medium full mouthfeel. "Hiccup!!, OH excuse me!"

My gift to myself for successfully defending my Ph. D. Gorgeous thick orange beer wtih a thick sticky off-white head. Aroma is sweet and matly, orange peel, prunes/plums, dark sugary maltys, strong peppery EtOH aroma inside of all of the strong maltiness. I don’t get any smokiness at all. Some lighter malts (brown sugar, light crystal, honey) in here as well. Rye bread sweetness. Sweet caramel, dark bread, fairly complex, but clean (i.e. no strong yeast) malt profile. Well-balanced between maltiness and bitterness. Finishes a bit drier than the flavour and aroma would suggest. I don’t know how old this bottle is, but I suspect I would have preferred this beer fresh. Still a very tasty barleywine-type beer. As the temperature rises, there is some strong licorice that comes through. Nice brew.

I’m really becoming a fan of these scotch/scottish ales. This one poured with only a small hint of a head with only a tad bit of lacing cliniging to the sides of the glass. The nose has a mess of chocolate with some other sweet notes and an obvious finish of roasty/smokey meatyness. This palate on this is oh so smooth and silky. Very sweet and thick it is almost cnady-like. Lots of sweet matly flavours that provide tastes of rich chocolate and toffee or caramel. There is a fantastic finish of light smoke that drys only slightly. Very well done, Alesmith.

Dark reddish brown body with a small head. Aroma is chocolate, caramel, hints of oak. Flavor matches the aroma with notes of vanilla (oak) and has a small hint of smoke. Smooth, complex and easy to drink. I’m flying through this glass! Easily the best Scotch Ale I’ve had.

Draft at Alesmith, early Dec 05. Coppery brown pour, with mod tan head. Huge scotch malty aroma, toffee and some molasses, touch of smoke. Big caramel malty flavors - smoke and toffee, some dark fruit like prune perhaps. I usually am not a fan of Scotch ales, but I was blown away by this beer - especially the flavors. I hope the bottles of it I aquired after the sampling will be as good as the draft tasting. Very well done.

750ml bottle pours dark brown with ruby highlights and a creamy tan head that fades to a ring but clings to the sides of the glass. Aromas of smoke, caramel, toffee, some ripe fruits, and just a bit of chocolate. Beautiful full rich flavor, caramel, smoke, yeast, toffee, candy sugar, dark fruit, and a little vanilla. Quite complex and delicious. Palate is smooth and yet full and chewy. A delight to hold in the mouth. This is an absolutely wonderful brew..

Pours very deep brown with a really creamy head. Aroma is very malty and rich, with nice smokey notes. Palate is slitghly thin but still the flavor is so mouthfilling, smokey and delectable that it’s hardly a complaint. 10% alcohol is not noticed at all. An exquisite beer.