The Bruery - "11 Pipers Piping" Scotch ale

OK, here's one more holiday-themed beer that I'd be remiss not to mention. While I've enjoyed a great deal of offerings from The Bruery, you may recall a few years ago I tried the "9 Ladies Dancing", on draft at D'Vines no less, and was less than impressed. But I'm willing to try again, and today's beer is the eleventh variant in their "12 Days of Christmas" series. It's a Scotch-style ale (also called a wee heavy), made with coriander and Candi sugar (it's the same sugar they use in Old Dominion Brewing Co.'s "Candi" trippel) and weighs in at a very respectable 11.00% ABV. Notice it says "contains alcohol" on the label...it sure does.

Color is pretty much standard for a Scotch ale; it generates a medium-khaki head that really puffs up when hard-poured.

Check out all those bubbles! They settle down pretty quickly, though. There's a dark, sweet, molasses-like aroma that's really strong. Wow. 

Whew, woof. This is one heavy beer. Definitely a Scotch ale, there are heavy, boozy layers of malt and sweet Candi sugar. That Candi sugar has a particular taste and you can definitely taste it in this beer, kind of like caramel. As the flavor develops, it becomes more medium-full bodied with some bready / yeasty notes, and lots of toffee and caramel. I'm also getting some biscuity sweetness, mostly on the finish, and lots of sugary notes with a touch of coriander on the aftertaste.

This is good stuff. It's a big meal, no doubt, but not unapproachable. I like the mix of flavors and I like that it's, well, normal. A lot of The Bruery's stuff is experimental beers with crazy flavors, so it was nice to see an iteration of this series that's not off-the-wall. If you like deep, sugary ales with heavy booziness, this is the way to go. A true "winter warmer"! There might be a few bottles kicking around to grab.