When it comes to ales, think of the Scottish ales as the polar opposite of an India Pale Ale. Rather than feature the bitterness of citrusy and piney hops, you get the toasty, sweet profile of malt. It is an extra heavy beer with a amber color, as opposed to the IPAs of lighter volume and color. I know nothing about brewing processes and the science behind it, so I will lean on Brew Your Own magazine for what makes this beer unique:

Enhancing the perception of sweetness is a low level of hop bitterness and considerable melanoidin character either from long boil times or specialty malt additions. Fermenting higher gravity wort not only results in higher alcohol beer, but also some additional ester formation.

Scottish ales brewed in this manner are also referred to as Wee Heavy to differentiate this class from the related but different Scottish strong ale grouping. I know that I have consumed a Wee Heavy or two in the past, but cannot quite put my figure on when or where. I know for certain that I never had a beer from Duck Rabbit Craft Brewery in North Carolina, though it remains high on the recommendations list of a Carolina beer centric acquaintance of mine. I grabbed its Wee Heavy Scottish Style Ale because Duck Rabbit’s exceptional milk stout was not available.

The Wee Heavy from Duck Rabbit is all caramel. You get it in your sniff after pouring. It hits your palate at first sniff, and it lingers as the aftertaste. You can tell that there is a lot of grain in this beer and that it spends a lot of time cooking until it reaches its caramelization point. The end product is a rich beer that might be the best winter warming beer I have consumed since it started snowing.

Brewer: Duck Rabbit Craft Brewery

Beer: Wee Heavy Scottish Style Ale

Style: Wee Heavy

ABV: 8.0% IBU: n/a

Container: 12 oz. bottle

Price: $2.79 (purchased as a single) Point of Purchase: Abe’s Cold Beer, Bethlehem, Pa.

To The Eye: Copper and clear. Rich, frothy head on top from an intentionally hard pour.

To The Nose: Caramel. There are some bready notes, as you might get from a bock, but a lot of caramel.

To The Palate: Caramelly sweetness with a creamy, heavy mouthfeel. There was some of the breadiness that you get from high malt beers but there was just a lot of caramel.

Aftertaste: Warming finish with a caramel aftertaste.

Boozy Factor: Perfect winter beer because it warms you completely to the bone. But, it’s not an overwhelming beer flavor

On a Scale of 1 to 10, with 10 as highest: 7.5