Sierra Nevada Barrel Aged Scotch Ale

Brewed by Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
Style: Scotch Ale
Chico, California USA

Draft sample at The Denver Rare Beer Tasting event during GABF week on 9/25/09. pours a deep amber with a tan head... lots of sweet malt and a touch of vanilla on the nose... medium body... some whiskey notes come through on the finish... overall I was expecting more from this one... left me a bit empty.

Cask at Blind Tiger. Deep brown pour with a nice creamy thin tan head. The nose is impressive with loads of soft oaky vanillla character. A little bit of light fruit and a fairly vineous sweetness. Lovely balance with the sweet, light fruity malts integrating nicely with the herbal/spicy oak components. A little hint of bittersweet cocoa and a touch of lingering spice on the back that gives it a nice lingering finish. The oak makes a huge contribution in terms of flavour, but yet the beer doesn’t clobber the other components. Really subtle, and very well-crafted beer.

Cask at the Blind Tiger. This one wins my Beer of the Month — August 2009 award. First off, the pour on this was marvelous, especially from a cask, with a wonderful, billowing head and perfect carbonation and lacing all around. The aroma combines a late autumn nuttiness with fresh, sweet spring flowers, while remaining refreshingly dry and never too sweet. Pillowy, chalky body, with a nutty, mild malt flavor sprinkled with a perfect amount of oak barrel and vanilla. The flavors have meshed wonderfully in the aging process and the barrel lent wonderful complexity without ever becoming overbearing. Excellent.

Draft at Uber Tavern, Seattle, Washington. Big thanks to Sierra Nevada rep Doug Willson who got this keg for Uber, and shared a pint with us. Pour is amber brown with a smallish off white head. Aroma of the whisky, nicely blended with the biscuit caramel Scotchiness of a traditional Scotch Ale. Taste reflects the nose quite nicely, with some added vanilla sweetness to the wood barrel flavors. The barrel aging nicely enhanced this beer, and really complemented beautifully. Super nice, a great effort from SN!

Draft at Uber. Crystal clear but nearly opaque due to coloration. Gorgeous mahogany hue with ultra-dense, creamy tan head and rock-solid sheets of lace. Nice nutty, woody, bourbony nose. Light and un-bubbly carb on a medium, appealing body. Big wood, vanilla, bourbon mid-palate with a light oaky finish.

Whiskey barrel version on tap at Uber Tavern 3/20/08. Poured dark amber with slight whiskey nose, good scotch ale but I thought it was a little weak, the whiskey/bourbon was not heavily present in the nose, in the up front taste, or the after tatse. Pretty hoppy I thought for a scotch ale. Pretty thick but still went down easily. Good beer but needs more time in barrel to make the whiskey notes more up front.

2007 PP Strong Ale Fest: Poured a clear dark amber color with an off-white head. The aroma was malty with sweet sugar and vanilla notes. Malty flavor with notes of toffee, bourbon and vanilla. Mildly bitter semi-dry finish. Medium-full body.

Name: Scotch Ale, Barrel Aged
Date: 11/30/2007
Mode: Draft
Source: Tasting, Strong Ale Fest

clear dark ruby red, wispy beige head, drippy streaks of lace, sweet malty aroma with a touch of smokey, rich sweet dark caramel malt flavor, nice candy sweetness, the bourbon and vanilla brings out even more sweetness, light earthy character,

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 8/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 17/20
Rating: 4/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: ***+/4