 MartinT (4241), Montreal, Quebec, Canada
May 3, 2008
My Bottom Line:
Star anise rises and shines (too brightly?) atop the rich caramel body of this fruity and sweet Scotch Ale.
Further Personal Perceptions:
-A slice of foam covers the deep burgundy.
-Star anise is overwhelming in the nose and provides absinth-like flavors alongside its usual licorice sweetness.
-Some roastiness accompanies an alcohol prod.
-Its wealthy mouthfeel might be my favorite feature.
On tap at Brouhaha.
Dickinsonbeer (2458), Hoboken, New Jersey, USA
Jul 1, 2008 341 ml bottle. Pours a deep dark ruby brown with a nice lasting thin beige head. Aroma is very unique if not just wierd- lots of piney, juniper character, almost pine sol, heather tips, spearmint, bubblegum, mint and the usual sweet caramel malts and some molasses. Brown sugar and thick sweet malts in the flavor with more piney hints, juniper berries, licorice and star anise, gin, heather tips, earth, dried leather, and a decent smooth finish. Interesting but not really what I was thinking for a scotch ale.
pintbypint (872), Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Jun 25, 2008 341ml brown bottle, from Goldorak. Deep brown colour, highlights of mahogany. Head is creamy with a tight bead, tan in colour. Big sweet malt nose, some dark chocolate notes with an interesting dash of spice (pepper, black liquorice?). Flavour also features big malts, toffee hints, and black liquorice. Herbal and dry finish with some earth. Medium to full in body, mild carbonation. Interesting.
Stine (1271), St. Paul, Minnesota, USA
Jun 16, 2008 Robust red pour and a thin whitish film. Syrupy, black anise notes dominate the aroma; lacings of caramelized raisins, prunes, molasses, and pepper. Clean and muscley. Flavor is firm and malty, a bit too crisp, but padded down nicely with this pungent, dusky black licorice sweetness. Minty and clean. Lively spicing impressions lead it a bit out of style but to a generally good place. Pitty, skinish, tannic fruit character with little jammy character is really fitting with that dominant licorice and spice flavor. Rich earthy maple. Black spiced honey lingers into a lovely, sweet-dusty chocolate presence mid palate. Medium-full body is round and firm with generous length of licorice and leafy, sweet tobacco in the finish.
The distinctive, singular character of the beer with a healthy smattering of nuances works really well for this style, making for a finely tuned and pointedly different scotch ale experience. Thanks Dany!
Boutip (1704), Gatineau, Quebec, Canada
Jun 13, 2008 Bottle: Poured a deep brown color ale with a medium size foamy head with some retention and good lacing. Aroma is a ix between some chocolates and caramel notes with some distinctive star anises notes. Taste is also a nice mix between some robust caramel malt notes with some light touch of black chocolate and some easily distinctive notes of star anises. Full body with good carbonation and no apparent alcohol. I really enjoyed the spicy take on the scotch ale style and I did not think it was too dominant as other prior reviews.
blankboy (2464), Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Jun 5, 2008 My bottle (341ml) shared with HogTownHarry -- courtesy of Viper666. Pours a very deep reddish-brown with a spare diminishing off-white head. Aroma: Something odd in there, a herb or something that I can’t quite place (Reading the other reviews, perhaps it’s star anise?). Also smells of toasted caramel malt and cola or Root Beer or something of the like. Flavour’s also odd to me, whatever it is I can’t place in the aroma is also in the flavour -- tastes kind of like flat cola with a weird aftertaste. Average watery body. I don’t know, something about this rubs me the wrong way, it’s not for me.
|
