Way more than a dram
One of the behemoths mixed in at random. We started with a giant sixteen and a quarter pounds of Maris Otter malt and then a variety of supplementary specialty malts: thirteen ounces of Caramel 40, six ounces each of Munich and honey malts, and three ounces each of Caramel 120 and pale chocolate. Neither the mash nor the boil ran long, a bit to my surprise, since I expected kettle caramelization would be important. Hops were East Kent Goldings with an ounce at a half at the beginning of the boil and a half ounce at ten minutes to go. The gravity reached a borderline silly 1.104, and Wyeast #1728 (Scottish Ale) managed to get all the way down to 1.020 for 11.2% ABV.
You can smell this beer from a good distance with loads of toffee and molasses and vanilla and raisins. From up close there’s also a whiff of straight alcohol. It tastes very much like Scotch – as far as I’m concerned, the distinguishing characteristic of a good wee heavy. It’s sweet and a bit smoky as well as downright sneaky. There’s little to no heat or burn from the double-digit ABV. Rich caramel flavors dominate with dark fruit filling in the background nicely. The finish is definitely sweet (probably unavoidable) but doesn’t range into syrupy. While the beer isn’t particularly thick bodied, the richness make for a challenging pint. It’s a sipper better suited for a ten ounce glass – in an excellent way.