Flyers Bottleworks VIII (140 Schilling Strong Scotch Ale)

Brewed by Flyers Restaurant & Brewery
Style: Scotch Ale
Oak Harbor, Washington USA

In short:
How: Bottle 22oz. Age unknown, consumed about two months after receiving it from Bitbucket. Thanks a lot Bob.
The look: Dark brown body topped by a very small beige ring of foam
In long: Big nose of dates, port wine and toffee. Taste is cinnamon buns (very much), sherry, figs, blood, pancakes, paper, dark grapes, vanilla, raisins, tobacco, black liquorice, some butterscotch, too much plum. Unusual sour notes. An overall English style sensation. In the past I have used the word “blood” to describe a beer flavour, but I don’t think I’ve ever had a beer that tasted so bloody. That beer was just as bloody as an Al-Qaeda suicide bombers convention. Nonsensical but kind of fun to imagine.

Bottle. Pours medium brown, with a creamy tan head. Well-balanced, open, layers of malt, plenty of fruit, strong without being overtly boozy. Very nice.

Gorgeous mahogany colored brew with a browned head. Nice layered maltiness in the aromaa, with solid depth and complexity. Touches of bubble gum. Sherry and candi sugar flavors dominate the body. Unlike any scotch ale I have sampled to date. I am also astounded to see the head-pounding ABV% as this is not readily apparent from the tasting, though there is a rich, sweet alcohol vein. Dry sherry and oxidated deep, roasted malts on the finish. Not what I’d call a scotch ale, but I guess you need to use your Imagination...

Shared by ygtbsm94. Don’t know what was up with this one but it wasn’t very good at all. I really didn’t even feel it tasted like a scotch ale. Lots of imperfections.

Bottle shared by ygtbsm94. Pours a brune body with a tan head. Malty with a sure level of oxidation some paper and cherry character with a lighter malt, much of the hops are more soapy then anything else. I wasn’t a fan, maybe it was stored improperly.

Sampled at the Ohio group tasting on DLD eve ’09. Brown pour with a medium tan head. Malty aroma with some definite booze presence. Tangy and sweet malt flavor up front with a boozy finish. Not bad.

Big thanks to Andre for hooking me up with this one, poured into a tulip. Pours very dark for a scotch and looks almost black in the glass. It’s a deep, deep copper when held up to the light and sits under a small tan head that dissipates to a small ring quickly and leaves little lacing. The aroma is dominated by the sweetness of the caramel malts and the vanilla and bourbon of the barrels. There are some tobacco hints and some earthy undertones in the nose, not much left of the hops. The taste isn’t quite as good as the aroma and shows some signs of oxidation with a slightly sour twinge up front on the tongue. The underlying caramel malts and dark fruits are still present and the taste is still pretty intact with some brown sugar sweetness as well. It’s got a slightly sour finish, more evidence of oxidation unfortunately. The mouthfeel is slick and almost oil with little carbonation and slightly metallic in the aftertaste. The nose held some promise in this beer, but I do think that it’s started to go downhill a bit. Still good, but definitely not the beer I imagine it once was.

22oz bottle. thanks to kan. pours dark brown with off white head. nose is sour, fruity, malty. flavor of sourish chocolate, malty, coffee, infected.