Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Day 13 - Beer 16 - St. Ambroise Scotch Ale

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Ah, my first beer straight out of the bottle...well, the first since I've started this blog. McAuslan Breweries of Quebec have revamped their Scotch Ale and released it under their St. Ambroise banner, giving it a bump in alcohol rating and renewal of flavors. Done in the style of a "wee heavy", much like the Grande Reserve in an earlier post, it's a Scotch Ale with a stronger alcohol taste and rating,

St. Ambroise's Scotch Ale has the sweet overtones and almost a pear-like taste at first, with vanillas hitting you second. It is one of my favorite Scotch ales, and uses its sweetness wisely, not overdoing it, or venturing into other tastes, like Belgian ales or stouts.

Scotch ales originated back from Scottish beer recipes where the caramelization of the malts from copper fermenters would create that specific sweetness, from butterscotch to caramel to the vanillas found in St. Ambroise's version. Some breweries will even add peat-smoked malts in order to get that taste found in scotch, the alcoholic beverage.

With so many permutations of beers based on a country's heritage to another alcoholic beverage, you have to respect the effort made by breweries big and small. St. Ambroise, your representation of Scotch ale did not disappoint.

St. Ambroise Scotch Ale
McAuslan Breweries, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Alcohol Rating: 7.5%
Class: Scotch Ale
Rating: 8.5 out of 10
Quote: "Ach!"

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