Saint-Bock Scotch Ale Fumée

Le Saint-Bock
Formerly brewed at Les Trois Mousquetaires
Style: Smoked
Montréal, Canada

En fût. Verre de 12 oz dégusté au Saint-Bock. Arôme: Odeur de caramel brûlé légèrement fumé. Apparence: La couleur est brune foncée complètement opaque. Présence d’un mince col mousseux et d’une fine dentelle sur le verre. Saveur: Goût de noix fumés, de caramel et de fruits. Durée moyenne de l’arrière goût. Palette: Le corps est moyen avec une texture légèrement astringente. Moyenne effervescence en bouche. Présence de fumée en arrière goût. (Rating #860)

Dark clear brown ale with a thick moka head. Sweet raisin aroma with light molasses. In mouth, a roasted malt with notws of vinous raisins, not very sweet and very light peated notes. Rich and smooth. Went nicely with the Bosniac meat.

Clear dark brown color with ruby highlights and a thin beige head. Solid aroma of smoked malt and caramel. Good flavor of smoked and earthy, soily malts with caramel. The body is medium with a creamy texture and gentle carbonation. Interesting.

On tap at the bar Le Saint-Bock, deep mahogany color, with a small tan-colored head, sweet toasted nose, with a dark dried fruits fruitiness of plums, raisins, dates, subtle touch a smoked malt, toffeeish note, caramelized malt in the aroma follows through on a medium-bodied palate with a sweet toasted, caramelized malts character, with a sweet fruity maple syrup note, faint smokiness accent, a bit oily, grainy, hint of black coffee roastiness, leading towards a sweet toasted grainy, and faint leafy hops bitterness finish.

Robe brune foncée sans mousse. Arômes légers de caramel. Saveurs de fumé tourbé, de caramel et de fruits.

Dark cola brown with crimson notes, very minimal amount of lace with not much cling to it.
Pleasant smokey nose, it’s more of a hickory, firewood kind of smoke, not the cooked ham/bacon. Funny, I would have expected more of a peaty kind of smoked, at least that’s what I would have went for if I brewed it.
The smoke really is in the driver’s seat in this one, in fact it tastes more like a Rauchbier. Could use a little more malt especially at first, you only get a tiny bit of sweetness in the tail end. Booze levels were perfect for me though, present, but only as a secondary role. Fans of smoked Beers should really enjoy.

Any first impressions?
-A ring of foam slowly thins out into the obscure black burgundy.
-Rising smoke subtleties and feeble caramel maltiness are overcome by impending tartness and predicted dryness in the aroma.
-A rather muscular smokiness initially coats the palate, leaving way for old ale-like baccate and raisiny fruitiness.
-The prickly carbonation could definitely be relaxed in order to render a softer mouthfeel, but that doesn’t mean this isn’t well-fed.

What if you dig deeper?
-Malty sweetness is too subdued for my tastes in the style.
-Alcohol is aptly hidden.
-The smoke flavor is important, but doesn’t carry through in the finish, which might decrease its smoky apparency to some.
-Berries and black grapes are really expressive in the flavor profile, offering plenty of tartness and dryness in the second half of the sip.
-Some roastiness and supporting hops also show up in the end.
-This could use some more caramel maltiness to really please scotch ale lovers, but as is it’s a fine fruity sipper with lots of personality.

On tap at the Saint-Bock, Montreal.

Clear brown, rather dark and with burgundy reflects. Mostly lasting beige head comes and cover it all. As expected, considerable smokiness emanates from the malts upon smelling, but surprisingly, a good dose of roastiness plays alongside with it. The result comes off pretty nutty, in my mind immediately reminding of smoked almonds, though the roastiness goes further, not quite chocolatey, but possibly toward a mellow coffee flavour. Hops remain neglectable all through, which must be the reason why we manage to perceive subtle notes of dark reddish berries or prunes underneath the earthiness. The roastiness dominates the sweetness that we usually associate with scotch ales, don’t look too much for caramel, butterscotch or desserty flavors as the beer remains mostly dry. In terms of texture, the liquid slides slowly along the tongue with a rather hard carbonation that accentuates its initially minimal mineral components, though after a few minutes, it becomes oilier, though a bit thin compared to its flavors. Not so rich as I expected, darker malt bill than I anticipated, but an inventive offering showcasing the potential for craft brewing of playing with smoked malts in styles that are not german.