Bluegrass Bourbon Barrel Scotch Ale

Brewed by Bluegrass Brewing Company
Style: Scotch Ale
Louisville, Kentucky USA

Name: BB Scotch Ale
Date: 04/21/2008
Mode: Growler
Source: Tasting, Cellar Party

Appearance: clear dark ruby red, wispy beige head,
Aroma: sweet dark caramel and vanilla aroma with a nice bourbon sweetness,
Flavor: sweet dark caramel flavor, lots of vanilla sweetness, light bourbon melds well with the malt character, light smokey character still comes through from the base scotch ale,

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 15/20
Rating: 3.7/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **4

Growler at Dark Lord Day 06: Pours a clear copper orange with a thin, wispy off-white head. Sweet caramel chocolate and vanilla oaky bourbon aroma. Sweet sticky butterscotch malty body has some vanilla and mild papery cardboard. A pretty decent Scotch ale.

Draft at Shelbyville Road under the name Pitched Kilt. Poured clear dark brown color with a moderate light brown creamy head that mostly lasted with good lacing. Good caramel toasted malt aroma. Medium to full body with a smooth texture. Good well balanced bourbon and tart fruit malty flavor with a moderate smooth balanced finish of long duration. This is a standout brew.

Growler @ DL06: Poured a clear chestnut color and a beige head. Bourbon aroma with notes of vanilla and brown sugar. It smelled like a creme brule. the flavor was sweet and peaty with more of the brown sugar and a light bourbon and vanilla finish. Smooth and silky but a little thin.

7/03/2009: Bluegrass Bourbon Barrel Scotch Ale has a great aroma containing the fruity, rich maltiness typical in a Scotch Ale along with sweet bourbon, dark caramelized sugars, and hints of barrel char. It is brown in color with a smooth, but dense beige-colored head. There is substantial yet balanaced amount of bourbon in the flavor, peat-like smoke in the mid-palate, and plenty of caramelized sugars and malt throughout. This beer is warming with a bit of woozy alcohol in the finish, but it fits well with the style and other characteristics of this beer. It has a smooth and mellow texture. Overall this is a really good beer and BBC did a fine job pairing a Scotch Ale with bourbon barrel aging. However, it does seem to be lacking a bit of depth, richness, and complexity.

Draught (sample + partial growler fill) at Party Town in Florence, Kentucky. Rating #16 for this beer.

Growler: Pours a deep red with a tan head. Aroma, vanilla, some spices, oak and caramel, molasses. Flavor, some roasted notes, oak, vanilla, spices, molasses and brown sugar. Pretty tasty.

Draught. Pours bold red-copper with large bubbles and a fast-disappearing off-white head. It has a sweet burned sugar aroma with hints of bourbon and quite a bit of green wood. The flavor is rich sap, molasses, ash, earth, and a whiskey finish. A very mild brew, considering.

Beer #21 at GTMW ’09. I’m happy to patronize some of these brewers who’ve come such a long way. Nice reddish brown, thick head kicked by the narrow glass. Just a nice beer smell, shielded by the head. Not too much scotch or alcohol, despite being, I believe, 8.3% abv. Not a lot of peat to it either, until the end of the glass. A very decent beer taste adds up to a very understated but good ale.