For our 9th sampling Two Guys tried a Scotch
Ale. Our alert readers might immediately
realize that we have already sampled a scotch ale. Our really alert readers might think “doesn't
this break rules 1 and 2 of the Two Guys rules of beer sampling"? In fact, it
does not. The scotch ale comes from a
different brewery therefore it is a beer we have not tried. Our alert readers must now be thinking that
Two Guys are going to tell everybody what a scotch ale is. Well, you are wrong, we are not going to tell----ok,
ok we are going to tell you. Scotch Ale is ale that was first brewed in
Scotland.(Big surprise right?) What makes a Scotch Ale different is that it is
darker and sweeter than a normal ale and it tends to be a wee heavy--it makes you want to dance at weddings a lot quicker than
regular beers. American brewed Scotch Ales are caramelized so they tend to
have a caramel or toffee taste to them. Now onto the beer!
Joe:
For this sampling we tried Dirty Bastard("Dirty Bar
Tard" to my wife) from the Founders Brewing Company located in the mitten shaped
state of Michigan. As noted above, it is a Scotch Ale. It is a medium
carbonated beer with a 8.5% ABV which makes it a weeewhooooole lot of
heavy. As with most American brewed
Scotch ales, it has the sweet toffee/caramel taste as did the Claymore
Scotch ale we previously sampled. A very slight hint of fruit flavor was
mixed in with the caramel which helped give it a different taste from the
Claymore. The sweetness was offset by a smoky taste on the back end along with
the traditional hops bitterness. I am
giving this beer a score of 3.5 but I am adding a half star because we sampled
the beer while watching a football game.
Beer always tastes better when watched with football, the best sport in
the history of ever.
For this sampling we tried Dirty Bastard("Dirty Bar
Tard" to my wife) from the Founders Brewing Company located in the mitten shaped
state of Michigan. As noted above, it is a Scotch Ale. It is a medium
carbonated beer with a 8.5% ABV which makes it a weeewhooooole lot of
heavy. As with most American brewed
Scotch ales, it has the sweet toffee/caramel taste as did the Claymore
Scotch ale we previously sampled. A very slight hint of fruit flavor was
mixed in with the caramel which helped give it a different taste from the
Claymore. The sweetness was offset by a smoky taste on the back end along with
the traditional hops bitterness. I am
giving this beer a score of 3.5 but I am adding a half star because we sampled
the beer while watching a football game.
Beer always tastes better when watched with football, the best sport in
the history of ever. |
| Can you guess which team we were cheering for? |
The sale of
this beer is banned in the state of Alabama due to the profanity on its label. With
a name like Dirty Bastard, I was expecting a little attitude and it definitely delivered.
This is not a beer for the casual beer drinker. There was substantial alcohol
warmth which is a nice way of saying ‘strong alcohol taste’. This seems to hold
true with Scotch Ales. Brewed with 7 varieties of imported malts, there were a
lot of different flavors that all blended together quite nicely. I enjoyed it
slightly more than the Claymore Scotch Ale, however this may be due to my ‘beer
horizon’ being broadened through our wonderful journey of beer exploration. Three and a
half stars!