Trip In the Woods: Maple Scotch
Sierra Nevada Brewing Company in Chico, California, United States 🇺🇸
Scotch Ale / Wee Heavy Series|
Score
7.63
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Balanced and rich, this classic Scotch Ale was brewed with maple syrup and aged in bourbon barrels. Flavors and aromas of oak, maple, and caramel round out this delicious and complex beer.
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Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7
deep Brown black pour from .75l
Supremely Oak. very vanilla. pretty good stuff. booze up.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Bottle from the lcbo. Slightly hazy brown pour with a large off white head. Aroma is just a bourbon bomb. Loads of sticky bourbon barrel, brown sugar, hints of maple, vanilla and dark fruit. Mouth feel is slightly oily, carb is standard. Finish is sweet, loads of barrel, bourbon soaked wood, bourbon soaked vanilla pods, burnt toffee, hints of nuts, medoum bitterness. A barrel bomb.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6
Bottle. A- Mild smoke, peat, subtle maple, toffee. A- Copper color, clear liquid, off white head. T- Subtle booze, maple, slightly sweet, malty. P- Full body, average texture, average carbonation, balanced finish. O- Way better than the base beer but still not enough for me. The maple flavor is there but barely. I think it really only adds to the booze of it all. A bit of a peaty scotch flavor but it's mostly controlled by all the malt. Okay but not outstanding.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8
Bottle big thanks to Ken. It pours clear deep mahoganny brown with a medium white head. The aroma is rich oak, vanilla, bourbon, maple, bourbon biscuits, toffee, brown sugar and dried fruits. The taste is smooth, bitter - sweet, bourbon, oak, bourbon biscuit, toffee, maple, damp wood, dark fruits, toasted brown sugar, plenty of vanilla, touch of spice, chewy and toothy with a drying finish. Medium to full body and fine, foamy carbonation. Sooo smooth. Fun stuff. Dangerously drinkable.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5
Refrigerated 75 cL brown bottle corked and capped poured into a cup. Dark brown with small/medium beige head. Aroma is maple syrup, medium body, lower carbonation, and little lacing. Taste is caramel, maple syrup, vanilla, and bourbon. Better as it warmed.
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 8
Not sure how Sierra Nevada managed to create a bourbon barrel-aged maple scotch ale that wasn't a syrupy sweet disaster, but, holy hell, they did it. Yes, the pint has a sweetness to it--bourbon, maple syrup, caramel, and chocolate all factor heavily into the profile--but the pint never grows cloy or overbearing, instead turning boozy and oak-heavy on the back end, preventing any sugary notes from settling on the palate. Dark fruit, whiskey, and candy bar goodness coalesce into a massive malty front, yet all dry out for an intense bourbon finish, leading to a warm, thick fade. Lovely, lovely beer.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Tap. Pours hazy chestnut, small beige head, decent lacing. Aroma is malty, dark sugars, maple. Flavor is melon sweet, light bitter. Merlin body.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Small pour at PreFunk. Maple and bourbon barrels really add a nice touch to this scotch ale. A touch of sweetness and booziness to the normal peaty scotch flavors. Really tasty and drinkable.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5
750 mL bottle. Pours a clear red brown with an off-white head. Sweet maple, bourbon, molasses, raisin aroma. A lot of sweet maple flavor, bourbon, malty molasses, raisin, oak. Super tasty.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 9
750 ml bottle into snifter, no bottle dating. Listed at 9.8%. Pours fairly crystal clear deep ruby red light copper/brown color with a 2 finger fairly dense and rocky cream colored head with fantastic retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lasts. Thick soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a moderate amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of big caramel, maple syrup, brown sugar, vanilla, toffee, bourbon, coconut, toasted oak, and brown bread; with lighter notes of roast, raisin, plum, fig, date, apricot, apple, herbal, grass, and yeast/oak/toasted earthiness. Touch of booze in the aromas and it warms, but not overwhelming. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/bready malt, maple syrup, bourbon barrel, and light fruity yeast/earthy hop notes; with great strength. Taste of huge caramel, maple syrup, brown sugar, vanilla, toffee, bourbon, coconut, toasted oak, and brown bread; with lighter notes of roast, raisin, plum, fig, date, apricot, apple, herbal, grass, and yeast/oak/toasted earthiness. Very mild herbal/grassy hop bitterness and bourbon/oak tannin spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of caramel, maple syrup, brown sugar, vanilla, toffee, bourbon, coconut, toasted oak, brown bread, light dark fruit/roast, and herbal, grass, and yeast/oak/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/bready malt, maple syrup, bourbon barrel, and light fruity yeast/earthy hop flavors; with a nice malt/bitterness and bourbon/oak spiciness balance; and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Medium carbonation and medium-full body; with a very smooth, creamy, silky, and velvety mouthfeel that is amazing. Minimal sticky hops, oak tannins, or dryness. Alcohol is very well hidden; a mildly increasing warmth of 9.8%, with zero barrel booziness lingering after the finish. Overall this is an amazing barrel aged scotch ale! All around incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/bready malt, maple syrup, bourbon barrel, and light fruity yeast/earthy hop flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on for the big ABV with the very mildly bitter/tannic/drying finish. Very rich/complex malt and maple syrup sweetness; perfect bourbon barrel integration/balance; and mild complementing fruity yeast and earthy hop balance against sweetness. Never boozy, tannic, or drying on the barrels. A highly enjoyable offering, and spot on style example.