Dirty Bastard Scottish Style by Founders Brewing

Founders Brewing from Grand Rapids, Michigan has a strong showing in the WBC and the GABF, winning multiple medals for their beers. 6 medals total in 2010 alone, with this showing I am excited to see what else they produce. I've had some of Founders beers before but I've never gotten to try their take on the Wee Heavy, both my favorite and least favorite styles. When done right I love it, when done wrong I despise it. Founders has hit this right on the nail for me.

Color:

Opaque, dark brown with a little coppery red, SRM ~20

ABV:

8.5%

Smell:

Scotch, roast but not coffee, oak and malts, almost sweet in a way

Taste:

The first main point is it tastes like scotch and oak. But the oak is very mellow in flavor, not heavy and barrel forward but just mellow. It had a nice smooth maltyness that reminded me a little of caramel. It is supposedly a 50 IBU beer but there was very little hoppiness in this beer, pretty much none. It was just very smooth and mellow. It had a oak barrel aftertaste but it wasn't too heavy. In general this had light carbonation but wasn't heavy or thick. It had a nice medium mouthfeel and was sort of carmel-ly in a way (according to Dave).

Rating:

This was a great wee heavy. In winter this may be one of my go to beers. The mellowness of the oak and the smooth malting just brought out the scotch flavor better. It doesn't push any of the flavors in your face. If you like that type of in-your-face-ness this isn't going to be the beer for you, at least not if you let it sit for 6-7 months. This will be on my list to try fresh since it probably has mellowed since first bottled.