Central Coast Scotch Ale

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

Date: 03/15/2008
Mode: bottle
Source: Tasting, Cellar Party

Appearance: dark brown, fine beige head,
Aroma: chocolate and dark caramel aroma with a lactic tartness,
Flavor: sweet chocolate flavor, lots of lactic tartness balances the sweetness, dark caramel tries to add more sweetness,

Aroma: 3/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 3/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 5/20
Rating: 1.7/5.0
Drinkability: 3/10
Score: -/4

22oz bottle. Poured a deep brown with a light red tint and an averaged sized off white head. Aromas of earth, caramel, and I’m getting a weird bubble / sweet tart aroma. Tastes of earth, wood, caramel, and the same weirdness I was getting in the aromas.

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. Dark mahogony beer with a tan head. Smoky, caramel, sweet malt aroma with a bit of fruitiness. Sweet malt flavor with smoke. Sweetness becomes strangely sacharine. A bit of earthiness. Medium body. Lingering smokey, malty, sweet. I did get over the sweetness and spent the rest of the bottle trying to figure out if it’s infected or not.

On tap at the Brewpub, but I purchased 2 bottles. Nose is varamelly malt with a little coffee; Brown color with a small tan headFlavor shows coffee, chocolatewith a small hop finish. this was the best of the five beers I sampled!

Appearance: Pours an opaque, brown body with a small, off-white head. Smell: Powerful tartness reminiscent of spoiled fruits. Must I go on? Taste: No more than a hint of dark maltiness, then the flavor leaps to a tongue-pickling lactic tartness. This is followed by a big hit of Band-Aids. I’d recommend pairing this with a tall glass of cleansing water. Mouthfeel: Medium-thin body. Moderate carbonation. Drinkability: Patently awful, so much so I’ll be greatly disinclined to try anything from this brewer in the future. A beer that throws your tastebuds under the bus.

Bottle: Cola colored, medium sized frothy beige head, few rings of lacing.   Sour barnish/musty nose.   No peat, smoke, ash, anything you might expect from a Scotch Ale.   I am already worried.   Does have a floral aspect too, oddly enough.   Well, this one certainly does have a tart flavor, old stale dark pitted fruit as well.   I don’t think that this is what was intended.   Likely an old bottle, or perhaps even an infection?   Didn’t explode when I opened, so who knows.   Average body and mouthfeel.   Tart finish, still interesting as I do enjoy tart beers, but as a Scotch Ale this is unexpected.   This one deserves a re-rate.   Oye vay... I hope their other beers aren’t like this.