AleSmith Wee Heavy Scotch Ale

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

Pours a nice dark brown color with little to no head. The aroma is somewhat chocolate mixed with some toffee and caramel. The taste is very smooth with nice notes of burnt cherries, raisin and some very slight notes of hops and vanilla on the finish. A true masterpiece of a beer, props to Alesmith!!

750ml bottle. Nice dark red pour, really nice with a tan head. Very dark and rich aroma, hint of anise maybe, very nice. Big and bold flavor, dark fruits,v ery rich and complex. Awesome!

I think 3 floyds robert the bruce is the best scotch ale i have ever drank. Well that has changed. Pours a dark amber color with a sweet malt scent. Flavor was sweet malty and full of alochol. WOW!! What a wonderful example of a scotch ale.

Rerate- 4-9-04- I don't know if I didn't like scotch ales before, or if the 2004 version is a different recipe, but this beer is awesome. Pours a deep brown with a wonderful off-white head and beautiful lacing. Smooth with a nice smokiness like a good scotch. I may have to age one to see how well it ages. Too bad alesmith doesn't oak age some of this beer. 7-27-02- Probably my least favorite Alesmith brew so far. Not a brew I will get again, yet it something that needs to be tried once. Their are more flavors of Caramel and alcohol than chocolate and molasses.

The first sample was perfect. Many more bottles have met their demise in this household, but not all of them illustrated the perfection that regularly peeks out. The possibility that only very fresh bottles perfectly suit my palate arises. Analyzation aside, many of my experiences with this beer have yielded awe-inspiring, nearly tearfully joyous moments. A feeling of a slight inconsistency is the only reason this doesn’t achieve perfection in scoring, even though it’s perfect in my mind. Any experience that was less than perfect was just barely so - this is a masterpiece, the finest beer I’ve ever had in my many years of craft beer enjoyment, the single most exciting beverage that’s ever crossed these lips.

The dense pour oozes from the bottle in a honeyed formation, filling the glass with a dark, shadowy ruby pour with devilish crimson brilliance. A thick head that’s creamier than cream itself forms and remains steadfast, throughout the consumption of the entire glass. The glass itself doesn’t even seem to matter, this always looks great. Lacing is thick, webbed and scattered in intricate patterns rarely encountered. Perfect.

Such rich aromas fill the air. The list is evergrowing as repeated whiffs are deemed necessary by someone who just can’t get enough, someone who just can’t get over how amazing this is. Peat, chocolate, vanilla, brandy, red wine, wood, hazelnuts, almonds, plums galore, caramel, butterscotch, roasted grains, fresh grass, molasses, herbs, coffee, flowers, toffee...the list goes on but I feel like it’s no longer a task sorting through such a numerous display of engaging nuances. Alcohol is prevalent throughout repeated inhalations but is never a deterrent or detractor from everything that captivates and satisfies. Perfect.

The first sip is better than silky, more luxurious than I can adequately describe. The body is full and robust but full of delicacy and complexity at the same time. Carbonation is low to medium and whirls the flavors around so efficiently that every tastebud has the opportunity to share in this momentous flavor. Peat and chocolate arrive first and set up a base camp at the perimeter. Smoke and caramel infiltrate the peaks and valleys. Sweetness is medium and perfectly wrought. Bitterness is low, hops are invisible. Acidity is nil, this is just too creamy. The finish is lengthy, bold and embracing; a soft glance at the preceding reveals a lingering chocolate and caramel edge with peated malt and faint fruit that fade gracefully away. Perfect.

Were this rated based upon the first bottle consumed, it likely would have been scored a perfect 5. Something so amazing warranted repeated visits nearly immediately though, and not all of those were as amazing. Not as amazing, as in 4.9 or 4.8 - this is always an amazing beer. Alesmith has not created their interpretation of a Scotch ale in the typical confines of the style, they’ve reinvented and improved upon the style to such a degree that I feel like this beer will never seem tiresome. To me, that is perfect.

Fig, bourbon, barley (and lots of it), chocolate and a faint hint of raspberry all hiding in the nose The color is a dark red appearing almost black with almost no head. Flavor begins rather tame, with a thinner mouthfeel than expected. Then it has a slightly chalky smokey feel to it. The finish is slightly crisp yet leaves the mouth with an extremely robust feeling. This would be exelent with a hearty meal.

brownish black color but dark ruby under light. small brownish tan head that fades quickly. smoky, deep caramel/molasses nose. deep toasted malty flavor but not quite burnt, alcohol and hoppy, salty bite. smoky flavor throughout. good mouthfeel and carbonation. peaty flavor. whisky-like flavor. prune notes upon warming.

Thanks to Indra for this vintage bottle. Black foil at the top. Dark red with a hazy khaki head. Lots of lacing, lots of foam dots. Aroma is smokey, lots of malt and some dark fruit. Taste is sweet caramel malt at first, some dark fruit, and a smokey finish. I have another bottle, so I will certainly re-rate. RERATE Silver foil on the 750ml. This bottle has been open for a few hours and is probably @ 73°, which is the ambient temp in my basement today. The first 4/5th of the bottle was very enjoyable. Aroma is woody and smoky with some raisins, caramel, and alcohol in the aroma. Smells good, but the Skullsplitter I had before this was more complex and had a huge malty aroma this beer seems to lack. The taste is wood, smoke, dark fruits, brown sugar, vanilla, alcohol, and rum. The mouthfeel is nice. This is very good, but imho, not one of the best scotch ales made. I did move the overall up to 17, moving the total score to 3.9.