Scotch Irish Mental Bob Old Ale

Brewed by Scotch Irish Brewing Company (Heritage Brewing)
Style: Old Ale
Ottawa, Canada

Cask. At 2007 Fort York TFOB. Another big hats off to Perry for trying something new, bold and memorable. and successful, too - like Greg, this was hands-down the hit of the festival for me - although the already familiary Black Oak Summer Saison was damned good too. Poured a deep hazy cola colour, with an average-sized frothy beige head. Rich aroma of raisins, chocolate, coffee, burnt caramel and pungent green hops. The taste followed right on, but was MUCH more bitter than I was expecting, those green hops warred with the fruit/roast malt for my attention, perhaps not smooth, but balanced, sort of reminiscent of Detente. The mouthfeel was very thick, almost chew and sugary (liquid oatmeal!), syrupy and a bit flat (cask - duh), with a bitter, carbonized linger to it Really good, another big malty treat from SI!

[497-20070810] Cask @ TFOB (Toronto, ON). Sweet spruce resin and some sweet dates in the aroma, light chocolate background. Hazy, very dark brown red body. Sweet raisin fruit malt flavour, the alcohol comes out more as it warms. Thick full body. Would prefer less sweet.

Cask at TFOB 2007. Pours a murky dark brown with a spare diminishing beige head. Aroma of alcohol (whiskey?), caramel malt, brown sugar, light hops and dark fruit. Flavour follows with caramel malt, brown sugar, wood and dark fruit -- sweet and just a little boozy. Average bodied. Pretty good, a nice version of the style.

Cask sample at TFOB 2007. Deep brown with a small head. Aroma of dark fruit, coffee, chocolate, malt, and lurking in the background, piney hops. Full, rich flavour of deep roasted malt, chocolate, raisins and a hint of molasses, with a healthy hit of hops in the finish. Highlight of the Festival for me.

TFOB 2007. Cask. Dark brown body with a small foamy beige head. (3+) First impression of the aroma is of grass, but it does not seem to come back so I decide to attribute it to the fact that I am sitting on the ground, rather than the beer. Aroma includes notes of dark fruit and malt, and is a bit more muted than I would have expected. It opens up a bit more as it warms, yielding hints of spruce and to a lesser extent pine. (7+) Sweet flavour with lots of malt, raisins and dark fruit, caramel malt and a light to moderate bitterness balancing it all. Average palate is rather full for a cask, pleasingly so. (3+) This is actually quite good. I would love to try this on draught or even better - bottle conditioned.