8.1

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5

12 ounce can into snifter, canned in 11/2018. Pours slightly hazy deep reddish orange/copper color with a 1 finger fairly dense and fluffy light khaki head with great retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of big caramel, brown sugar, toffee, brown bread dough/crust, toasted biscuit, and nuttiness; with lighter notes of chocolate, cocoa, raisin, plum, fig, pear, red apple, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/bready/light roasted malts and light-moderate earthy hop/fruity yeast notes; with great strength. Taste of big caramel, brown sugar, toffee, brown bread dough/crust, toasted biscuit, and nuttiness; with lighter notes of chocolate, cocoa, raisin, plum, fig, pear, red apple, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness. Light-moderate herbal, grassy, peppery hops; and roasted bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of caramel, brown sugar, toffee, brown bread dough/crust, toasted biscuit, nuttiness, chocolate, cocoa, dark fruit, herbal, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/bready/light roasted malts and light-moderate earthy hop/fruity yeast flavors; with a great malt/bitterness balance, and no cloying/astringent flavors after the finish. Light-moderate increasing dryness from lingering hop/roast bitterness. Medium carbonation and medium-full body; with a very smooth, creamy/bready/grainy, and fairly sticky/chalky mouthfeel that is nice. Mildly increasing warmth of 8% after the finish. Overall this is an awesome scotch ale. All around great complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/bready/light roasted malts and light-moderate earthy hop/fruity yeast flavors; very smooth and easy to drink for the ABV. A little too bitter, roasty, and drying than expected; but not overwhelming. Really awesome rich English malt complexity; with balancing earthy hops and restrained fruity yeast flavors. A really enjoyable offering, and impressive/well made style example.