Central Coast Scotch Ale

Brewed by Central Coast Brewing
Style: Scotch Ale
San Luis Obispo, California USA

Brown with a short tan head. Peat, heavy caramel, and bourbon in the nose. Flat, syrupy mouthfeel. Up front is promising; smooth caramel malt and nice smokiness. Then it takes a turn for the bad. Sickening Tootsie-pop like sugar/chocolate/fake cherry taste comes out of nowhere and dominates everything. I let it warm to see if it improved, and it did not. Nasty.

Bomber from Bottle Barn. Aroma of peaty malt. Seems a bit sweetish. Very dark brown color with a tannish head that didn’t stay very long. Medium body with mild carbonation. A definite molasses flavor that is backed by some smoke. There’s also some dark fruit and roasted malt. Whoa! This is heavy stuff. It’s much more complicated than many "Scotch" ales. HInts of tar? The finish is not all that dry, and the dark, tarry flavors stay around. There’s even some bitter coming out at the end. It’s really impressive. Looks like production may be a bit inconsistent, but I seem to have lucked out.

This scotch ale pours a dark brown color from a 22oz bottle. Small to medium sized white foamy head, decent retention and nice lacing. The aroma is mild, a touch smoky and somewhat malty, I guess. Not much there. A light to medium bodied scotch ale. The malts are caramel and a touch smoky and a little sweet. The hops are earthy. There is not much to this beer, not a lot of flavor good or bad. I keep waiting for something to appear, as it warms, but so far nothing… There is some fruitiness and caramel malts, but a real dud flavor wise. A little more body than water but not much. Weird. I can’t give this beer a good mark and there is almost no taste to taste. Mouthfeel is thin. Finish is neutral. Aftertaste is very slightly sweet.

Bottle from BevMo. Very dark, dirty brown with very little head. Nose is very much like half-way chewed Big League Chew bubble gum mixed with smoked bourbon. Very whispy smoked taste with thin mouthfeel and a bit dry. Not what I would consider a Scotch Ale. Drainer.

Poured a rich deep brown color. Both bottle I had were In-fec-ted. Terrible tart and spoiled flavor from nose to finish, Hope to re-try this again, but after first two experiences, I am quite reluctant.

Thanks to beastiefan2k for sharing this at the RateBeer Captain Lawrence gathering. Poured a dark ruby with a huge fizzy head. Burnt smoky aroma. Flavor is slightly acidic citrus and heavy smoke. Flavors don’t blend very well and leave a burnt finish. Body is thin and fizzy. Perhaps a little past its prime.

CL RB gathering. Amber in color. Aroma is smoky. Taste is smoke, very thin body and fizzy, not much malt in the taste. contaminated.

Pours out a nice black color witha a small tan head. Aroma was sweet and malty. This was nice a aroma. The flavor on the otherhand was not. it was gross. I poured this down the drain. yuck