Wow! It's so quiet in this thread! Here is a review to liven things up a bit! It looks like my 10-10-10 review throwdown will occur Oct. 24. Sorry for the delay, but I really like to do these x/x/x reviews right.
SpanishCastleAle's Strong Scotch Ale
Aroma - While pouring and photographing this beer I got whiffs of really nice toffee and plum. Now that I'm holding the glass to my nose, the toffee is still there, mingling with plummy dark fruits and faint ethanol. Slight smoke as the beer warms.
Appearance - Poured a crystal clear, beautiful rich caramel brown. Ruby highlights show through. It poured with a smallish bubbly tan head that dissipated quickly to a thin spotty lace. I really liked how this beer looked.
Flavor - Begins malty, but quickly goes too dry, as you warned. Finishes with a lingering minerally bitterness that isn't quite to style. The malty flavors that aren't overwhelmed by the bitterness and dryness are quite nice. Light caramel and toffee continue into the flavor from the aroma. Unfortunately, it doesn't last long on the palate before the aforementioned foes wipe it away. All that remains is a minerally, slightly roasty and astringent aftertaste. There is a hint of smoke coming through as the beer warms. A savory "soy sauce without the saltiness" flavor also started to emerge upon warming.
Mouthfeel - Light to moderate body, too thin for style. Too much carbonation that dries the palate and contributes an unwelcome carbonic bite.
Overall - It's like deja vu. Again, I'm having a wee heavy with a lot of potential, but that is hampered by being too dry. A wee heavy really needs to be deeply malty and sweet and almost sticky, whereas this is dry and quite crisp. It's difficult tasting those malty flavors in this beer, because they are gone in a flash. Mash higher, use more crystal malts or kettle caramelize more, ferment cooler, pitch less, oxygenate less, do whatever it takes to get this beer sweeter. I'd also drop the bittering down a bit or adjust the water profile. There are sulfates or carbonates or something in there that seem to enhance the bitterness and provide a minerally flavor I wasn't crazy about. I swirled this beer around a lot and once it was degassed a bit, the malt and sweetness began to come through a bit more. Definitely carbonate this beer less next time. The carbonic bite of the carbonation was working against the sweet malty flavors. Having said all that though, I actually enjoyed this beer. It is too dry for a wee heavy, but it is a good beer nonetheless. Once degassed, the maltiness shone a bit brighter and the bitterness and minerally flavors decreased. Did you use any smoked malt in this beer? I seemed to start detecting a tiny hint of smoke once the beer warmed up in both the aroma and the aftertaste. Anyway, thanks for sending this beer along. I'm sure your next attempt at a wee heavy will be much closer to the mark!
![Craft A Brew - Safale S-04 Dry Yeast - Fermentis - English Ale Dry Yeast - For English and American Ales and Hard Apple Ciders - Ingredients for Home Brewing - Beer Making Supplies - [1 Pack]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41fVGNh6JfL._SL500_.jpg)
