Cambridge Bannatynes Scotch Ale

Brewed by Cambridge Brewing Company
Style: Scotch Ale
Cambridge, Massachusetts USA

Redbones. Pours a nice deep rich ruby brownish amber with a nice thin lasting head. Aroma is fruity mostly with sticky caramelly figs with a nutty almost smoked bacony character, some acrid burnt char going on along with hints of both sweet and dark chocolates. Flavor is very meaty and gamey which went awesome with the BBQ obivously, hints of smoke, lots of caramel sweetness and a very unique black mole sauce character which I swore tasted just like the sauce we were served! Crazy very unique scotch ale.

On tap at Redbones. Nice scotch aroma with a bitter twang in the nose. Flavor is slightly sweet with chocolate, butter and papaya. Really smooth body and just a bit too rich to go along with BBQ.

Tap at the brewery - dark purple, nearly black beer, with a lasting tan head - rather dry aroma, with roasted notes, and touches of peat - bubblegum sweetness up front, followed by a drying, earthy, peaty flavor and a touch of bitterness - these later qualities seem to take over, as mild plum, chocolate, and vanilla struggle to get noticed - a bit out of balance.

Draft. Black coloring. Heavy, lacy head coats the glass. Malty, but also has a bourbon-esque scent to it. Flavoring made my nose drip! If that’s not the sign of a quality scotch ale, not sure what is.

Dark chocolate colored body with creamy, light-brown head with sticky lacing. Aroma is dominated by burnt malts with sweet notes. Initial taste is light bitter, ramping up to a moderately bitter finish, with a hint of sweet, red licorice after the carbonation subsides. Light on the mouth, it has a somewhat dry texture with active carbonation. Balanced flavor with hits of bitterness and sweetness up front, with a lingering sweet, but predominantly bitter finish. Reviewed on January 20th, 2007.

2004 draught @ the brewery. Listed at 9% abv this year. Served in a shaker, this beer looks spectacularly black. Only a tinge of dark brownish-burgundy color on the sides when held to the light. Small, rapidly disipating tan head. Aroma of caramelized brown sugar, rich, strong molasses, notes of ash, unmalted roasted barley and plenty alcohol. Flavor begins moderately sweet, moderately bitter (good balance to start) with a rum raisin pudding sort of bite to it. Fig and date notes quite apparent, with chocolate chip cookies, chewy sweet toffee, molasses and some dry peat on the end. As it warmed, there were very large problems with alcohol sharpness. It gave a biting, almost sour note to the beer and seemed unpleasant. Body tapers off on the finish, with a bit of sticky molasses. Some hops bitterness remains, with some dark brown malts as well. I enjoy the fact that it is not overly astringent or bitter from too much roast, and it strikes a good balance between sweet and dry (though it tends heavily to dry, especially with the overbearing alcohol). Good rendition and not much to my surprise, for such a huge beer, it does not seem very big, bold and full. I can’t figure out what it is with Cambridge’s big beers, but they seem almost as easy to drink as their lighter beers. Not necessarily a bad thing, just take it for what it is.

Dark brown and red tints. Dark malty, raisin aroma. Rich body, dark bread, roasted plums, sweet and sticky, some tobacco notes, alcohol shows very occassionally. One of the better scotch ales I’ve had, and I’m not even a big fan of the style (maybe now I will be).

NERAX '03 Nice strong scotch ale, sweet and malty with a touch of smoked malt coming through.