SKA Strong Scotch Ale (Heaven Hill Barrel)

9oz draft @ For the Love of Hops 6/6/09 (Enjoyed with FlssmrBrewAlum)-Poured a dark amber with a small off white head. Aroma of bourbon. Taste of the same with some sourness as well. This light to medium bodied brew might possibly be infected. Not what I was expecting. Wish I could try uninfected.

9 oz draft courtesy of the TB Hop Juice release (Warrenville, IL). Poured a hazy dark brown, lighter around the edges, small offwhite head that laces minimally. Aromas throw smaller bourbon, peat, caramel, vanilla. Very nice. Subtle sweetness. Initial is, let’s be honest here, possibly infected. Lighter bodied, packing on a decent sourness and booziness, some vanilla and caramel, but sourness takes over. Bourbon, vanilla, oak up front moves quickly to sour bretty feel. This HAS to be infected. Me and Headnager agree. An ok beer, and the sourness is not detrimental to the overall experience, I just feel that this was NOT how this beer was supposed to be. Good, but wrong. Cheers!

CPLYFO 09. Thanks to JdubFl. Pours a nice dark ruby with a thin head. Aroma is pretty big with the bourbon, caramel, toasty, vanilla, char, big sugary malts, and a bit off the wall fruitiness and some high abv prickliness with solvent. More alcohol and solvent in the flavor- the body seems to thin out a bit, still lots of sugar, bourbon, and wood, but turns thin and lets through some paint thinner notes.

Bottle at the otown throwdown. Dark copper pour. Borbon adds really smell to the caramel and smokiness. Tastes very sweet, with a touch of sour. One of the best scotch ales I’ve ever had. PickitupPickitup.

Bottle… C&P’sLYFO Throwdown… Beautiful, dark, mahogany ale with a small, fizzy, off-white head. The aroma is overflowing with notes of bourbon, nuts, tobacco, wood and caramel. Medium-bodied with modest carbonation. Sweet, caramely, woodsy, boozy and lightly acidic flavor. Tangy, warming, dry finish. Kudos to jdubFL for sharing this bottle! * * Video = http://homepage.mac.com/maltajo/RATEBEER/iMovieTheater10.html

Bottle from the Otown throwdown. thanks jdubfl. Brown pour. BOURBON BOMB! Fine by me. Along with the bourbon I got some notes of stone fruit and a bit of vanilla. Flavor is full of bourbon, tart cherry and some caramel. Damn good beer.

C&PLYFOTD: Bottle, courtesy jdubFL. Thick head and creamy lacing, copper pour. Rich dark fruits with strong hops and other spices in the nose, some slight smokiness. Rich flavors, nice citrus and tropical elements, with lots of caramel and a tinge of tart. Oak is present, but not assertive. Full-bodied, and complex.

Sample at O-town throwdown ’09 Pours dark brown. Aroma is loaded with bourbon and oak wood Taste, good notes of wood barrel bourbon, and surprisingly sour for a scotch ale. In the mix there are light hints of fruits and sweet sugar.