Craftsman Scotch Isle Ale

Not my favorite style but this is dark and malty and very rich. A bit of caramel notes as well.

On tap at Beachwood BBQ in Seal Beach, CA, this pours a reddish color with a nice white head. The aroma is of malts. The body and flavor are a bit subdued; this isn’t full bodied in flavor or on the palate. Nice tasting beer, just lighter than I expected.

Tap at Stone World Bistro. Pours copper/amber with off white head. Aroma and taste, smoked malts, plenty of dark fruits, caramel malts, toffee?, with a distinct smoke profile. Nice tasty stuff, not used to tasting smoke in a scotch ale.

Copper red with a fizzy white head. Malt and caramel aroma. Caramel and smokey wood taste with a musty finish

Sampled on tap at Lucky Baldwin’s March 2007
This beer sits with a fairly hazy, murky, amber color in my glass, it is topped by a thin, wisp of a head that just dusts the top of the beer with a tan taint. The aroma is a mix of salt, caramel and a touch of toasted grain. I almost want to say that some peat was used here, but I’ll have to taste this beer to be sure.

The taste is a touch sweet and has a reasonably full body for a lighter beer such as this. There definitely seems to be some peat smoked malt used in this recipe; it adds a salty, hearty hint of peat smoke, which really rounds out this beer. The peat is really at a nice level here. It is not overwhelming, fairly subtle, but definitely contributes to the flavor profile of this brew. Peat and sweet caramel malt notes mix in an interesting way in this beer; they really balance each other quite nicely. Salty peat is noticeable at some points, then fruity, caramel notes become noticeable and then back again to the other; back and forth these flavors mingle and play off each other. The fruit notes underneath the peat and malt are quite interesting; not particularly noticeable, but at times you get notes of prunes, berries and raisins.

This is a really interesting beer, even if not a traditional interpretation (because of the peat smoked malt). This places the smoked peat character at the correct level, especially since peat can be overwhelming even in small amounts. Here it is noticeable but not in any way obtrusive or jarring.

Draught. Dark copper-mahogany coloured body with a creamy eggshell head. Smells sweet, ryeish, with some faint candyish sugar and some toastiness lingering in the background. Seems a bit disconnected as far as the flavour profile goes. Plenty of sweetness, some vegetables notes, and then a mish-mash of caramel and soapiness. Drinkable but not very well executed.
Sampled at Lucky Baldwins on March 21, 2007.

Dark amber..dotted tan head...aroma sung with roasted nuts and veggies..
Slight roastedness..Slightly fruity nuts...bitter nuts in the finish..ended better than it started..nutty cocoa memories

Cracker, light tobacco/peat pepper, very malty, round and dim, no obvious punch.