AleSmith Wee Heavy Scotch Ale

Brewed by AleSmith Brewing Company
Style: Scotch Ale
San Diego, California USA

Set the stage, roadtripping to Montreal over the memorial day weekend, one last roadtrip with a high school buddy before the imminent (scheduled for august 20, 2003) arrival of our firstborn child. What could be more american that travelling to Canada over memorial day weekend. We'd been on the road 6-7 hours, and stopped by the Psychprof's place to drop off a package of goodies with him and to share a beer or two. Out we go while his children play with their newly obtained yo-yo balls (which are incredibly cool) and we sit down to drink. (stage set) 2001 vintage. Dark translucent amber color, sweet, ripe fruit aroma. The beer envelops my tongue with luscious dark fruit with a tickle of sublime carbonation. Hops are way off in the distance, there just enough to keep the sweet malt flavor at bay. Some butterscotch, sweet caramelly malt flavor. Who new how good a strong scottish ale could be. Historically this has been a style I've never really rated highly, but this beer has changed my mind. Absolutely phenomenal. Thanks a ton Psychprof!

Really nice drink and not as typical as some of the other Scotchs I’ve experienced. Bordered more on a porter than a Scotch for me. Pours an almost opaque black with a slight red hue. Big tan head. Very smooth and malty for the style. Flavors of chocolate and aromas of roasted malt. The aroma gives off a typical scotch cola and crystal sugar element. Creamy texture and full bodied.

Dark brown with purple edges; thin, frothy, tan head. Huge plum, brown sugar, butter cream, butterscotch, earthy, strawberries, smoke, coccoa, cookie, cherries, and nutty aroma. Heavily sweet, moderately acidic. heavily sweet, lightly acidic, lightly bitter finish. Medium-full body, oily/velvety texture, moderate carbonation, light alcohol. Yes yes yes.

WCCII: Thanks Tidiaguy. Pours a real dark redish bourbon with no real head of any kind. Medium strong vinous molasses malt aroma. Surpisingly light smooth clean body. Big big dry roasted malt and warming fortified wine flavours. Yep got the whiff of smoke and touch of brewed coffee and bitter sweet chocolate. A real nice fireside brew.

25.7oz bought at Alesmith bottled 08/04 - Sticky sweet aroma of caramel and licorice. Dark brown with no head but some lacing. Taste is surprisingly smooth considering the amount of flavor and depth. Deep rich smokey flavor of malts and more malts. A great chilly weather brew.

Re-rate, this is the first bottle of Alesmith that I have purchase in Ohio. Burgundy/brown color, pour with a moderate brown head. Aroma is rich, like prunes, carmel and nuts all mixed together. Flavor is sweet, with some alcohol showing. Finish starts off syrupy and ends slightly dry with some hop bitterness shining through.

Reddish brown, nearly opaque. Could not force it to have a head no matter how high I held the bottle while pouring. Great malty smokey nose. Taste of coffee, chocolate, dark malts, dried fruit, and bitter hops. Wonderful complexity. Alcohol completely hidden except for thoughts of something far stronger than beer... at close to 10% hidding the alcohol could be dangerous. I really do like this beer, but I don’t want the rating to get out of alignment with other beers I have also really liked. From time to time I need to drink another Westvleteren to remind myself why this is not a 4.6.

750 ml bottle

I wish I would have had this for #650 instead of the Yulesmith Summer edition. As good as that was this is probably the best beer I have tried in a while. It seems that Alesmith has not disappointed me yet as I work my way through their star studded lineup of craft beers. I look forward to getting another sample of the barrel aged version to see how this was affected by the aging.

Aroma / Appearance - A reddish-purple body looked nice under the moonlight. A short lived two finger head settled and left huge thick traces down the sides of the glass. Raspberries, chocolate truffle and thick velvet cake were so dense as to be almost suffocating. A hint of mint teased me as the possibilities within. It was almost as complex as some imperial stouts or huge fruit beers.

Flavor / Palate - The mouthfeel coated the tongue and throat leaving behind a mossy taste. Hops made an appearance but were well balanced. The finish of dark truffles and raspberries left me wanting to go right back to the store and buy another bottle. This was a fabulous beer that I’ll have to buy again at some point. The only thing keeping me from stocking this regularly is the price.