Town Hall Wee Heavy

Brewed by Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery
Style: Scotch Ale
Minneapolis, Minnesota USA

[On-Tap at Town Hall] Pours dark brown with a light tan head. Aroma is malt, a little chocolate, and a huge amount of peat. Taste is quite sweet and also huge on peat with a little chocolate and maybe a hint of smokiness. Medium mouthfeel with a long finish. This isn’t my favorite style, but it was a good beer nonetheless.

10 oz. pour at the brewpub, as I joined with others from the Twin Cities crew during joet’s visit on 11-30-07. The aroma, which is not as strong as I hoped, features raisin and chocolate scents. Classic sweet barley wine aroma for the most part. Chalky, dry must smell that is not as unpleasant as it sounds but not particularly impressive either. Brown in color with an amber hue and a small amount of creamy, cream-colored head. Malt weetness and peat smoke smack the imbiber in the tongue on the first sip. Brown sugar, bourbon, and sweet corn from the malts. Lemon and tobacco dryness from the peat smoke. Dry, Scotch-like finish. Burnt grain / charred oak aftertaste. Heavy body. Smooth and oily in the palate. Tastes like a beer version of a peated bourbon (yes, bourbon, not Scotch, due to the heavy-bodied sweetness) or a lightly smoked barley wine. Town Hall Wee Heavy is unusual and unbalanced. It’s also a bit cartoonish; it seems like a mockery or an exaggerated simplistic interpretation of the wee heavy style rather than something authentic. I’m glad I tried it, but I must admit that I came away disappointed.

sweat malt aroma dominates this nearly headless black beer. Hints of milk chocolate and peat. Sweet malty bidy with an Islay level hit of peat. Smooth finish. Mmmmnnnnnn... Scorched earth..... Next time they need to throw in a limb from one of them bog people to increase the peat flavor. Delicious beer nonetheless.

GABF 2007. Dark brown, maple syrup colored pour with some subtle ruddy hues and a thick, rich topping of tan head. Fantastic peat smoke aroma thats dripping with tons of brown sugar and sticky caramels. Decadent dark bready malt, dripping with melanoidins, and topped with a firey date glaze. Full bodied, creamy mouthfeel. Sweet brown sugar flavors saturated with caramel and smoke. Charred dark fruits and notes of mild chocolate come through as well. The flavors blend together harmoniously, creating a cohesive spectrum of flavor complexities. A bit sticky and sweet in the finish, but the flavors are awesome, and it’s not really inappropriate for the style.

GABF 2007. Pours to a rusty light brown body with a thin light tan head. The aroma is awesome. Rich Scottish grains that are really clean, crisp, and fresh. A nice peat smoked chocolate. The flavor is sweet and yeasty with that Scottish thin going on. Lots of unique malts blended so superbly. Peaty brown and specialty grains. The palate is sweet, barely warming, and smooth refined texture.

Dark mahogony pour full tan head w/ nice lacing. Sweet almost too sweet brown sugar aroma tiny touch of peat and a light hop. Full well coated creamy palate. Smoky taste, peat over a big sweet brown sugar lightly syruppy taste. Very nice great complexity in the finish.

Darkest ruby and a small tan cap. Pungent floral and vegetal earth, lightly sweet caramel malt, subtle lightly roasted chocolate, unsmoked peat. Unique brew that really grows on you. Medium/full body, just smoother than balanced. Great brew.

Date: 01/31/2007
Mode: Hand Bottled
Source: Tasting

cloudy brown, wispy beige head, sweet caramel with dark chocolate and smokey peat aroma with light yeast, big body, rich malt flavor, lots of smokey peat, nice earthy hops and bitterness, light caramel sweetness, dark fruit,

Aroma: 8/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 8/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 17/20
Rating: 4.1/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: **4