Warped Speed Scotch Ale

Lake Louie Brewing Co.
Arena, WI

Available: WI

Alcohol (vol.): 6.8
Color: n/a
Bitterness: n/a
Original Gravity: 1066
Final gravity: 1014
Malts used: 100% Briess
Hops used: HopUnion North American varieties

Almost dark enough to be a porter, this Scotch ale has a full and rich aroma combining notes of raisin and slightly burnt toffee with a chocolaty, almost mapley sweetness and just a whiff of smokiness. In the mouth, it opens up with dark chocolate and plum before settling into more of a roasty, malty character, with soft and, yes, kind of porter-like notes of coffee and black liquorice. The finish doesn’t leave me with the sweet, warming sensation I expect of a Scotch ale, but rather a drier, roastier and even faintly burnt aftertaste. A beer with a bit of a personality disorder, I think, but not enough of one to make me refuse it on a cold winter’s eve.
- Stephen Beaumont

YUMMY! I don’t even have to get the beer close to my nose to experience the super malt aroma! One of the best Scotch ales I’ve ever had. Lots of malt. Adequate hops. Roasty/caramel characters. Very, very smooth. Enveloped in drinkability. I’ll pay good money for this. World class, and represents the style with great pride.
- Charlie Papazian

The label doesn’t look promising, but I press on. The beer has a deep russet-brown color and raises a tan head. Chocolate aromatics dominate the nose. The palate features caramel and chocolate in a slightly sweet framework backed by broad bitterness that hangs on the tongue a tad too long. Not a Scotch ale by any means—far too much hop for that. Heavy enough, though, to handle a wee charbroiled sirloin.
- Garrett Oliver

Stephen Beaumont
Stephen Beaumont boarded his first plane at the age of 15 and hasn’t looked back since, obsessing about travel to the point that he gets nervous if he doesn’t have a ticket or two stacked on the corner of his desk. When he’s not running around in search of new taste experiences, he makes his home in Toronto, where a new cultural experience is only as far away as the next neighborhood.

Charlie Papazian
Author of the New Complete Joy of Homebrewing, founder of the Great American Beer Festival and a Beer Examiner at www.examiner.com, Papazian is a leading voice in beer and brewing.

Garrett Oliver
Internationally recognized brewer and expert on traditional beer, Garrett Oliver is the brewmaster of the Brooklyn Brewery and the author of The Brewmaster's Table.

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