Pipers Scotch-Style Ale - Sprecher Brewing Company

Displayed for educational use only; do not reuse.

BA SCORE
82
good
-
161 Ratings

rAvg: 3.59
pDev: 16.43%
Reviews: 113
Hads: 48

Ratings Help

Brewed by:
Sprecher Brewing Company

Wisconsin, United States

Style | ABV
Scotch Ale / Wee Heavy | 8.27% ABV

Availability: Year-round. bottle (107), on-tap (6).

Notes:
Gold Medal Winner in the Strong Scotch Ale category at the 2004 Great American Beer Festival (GABF).

View: Beers (39) | Events (0)

Reviews

Sort by: Latest | High | Low | Top Reviewers | Show Hads:

« first ‹ prev | 1-25 | 26-50 | 51-75 | next › last »

Reviews by joefinnigan15:

joefinnigan15

3.25/5 rDev -9.5%

09-19-2012 01:23:36 | More by joefinnigan15

More User Reviews:

eheinz

Illinois

3/5 rDev -16.4%

05-21-2013 01:09:30 | More by eheinz

eliz108

Wisconsin

4.25/5 rDev +18.4%

05-17-2013 15:33:25 | More by eliz108

drummermattie02

Texas

4/5 rDev +11.4%

05-13-2013 14:32:53 | More by drummermattie02

BaronVonBeauregard

Georgia

2.7/5 rDev -24.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.75

This pours a medium brown color with a slight head. The scent is sweet and I’m also picking up hints of smokiness as well. The taste is sweet, malty, and also has a strong smoke flavor to it. The texture is thin, but it is balanced. I'm just not a big fan of the smokiness. I hated shiner smokehouse. I don't hate this but it will not be in my glass ever again.

Serving type: bottle

04-28-2013 20:13:03 | More by BaronVonBeauregard

Infamous7100

Ohio

3.21/5 rDev -10.6%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25

A: Pours a great looking copper/caramel/burnt orange. Surprising, very little head and very little lacing. Nice color, but lacks the other aesthetics.
S: Extremely malty with some big time roasted notes. Simply stated, sweet and semi-smoky. Hints of caramel do lend some support to the smokiness, but malt wins the day here.
T: Whereas malt wins the day on the nose, in my opinion, the roasted and smoked flavors win on the tongue. Starts sweet, but towards the middle to back, the earthy/smoky flavors start to dominate. The domination continues through the finish and I am left dull sweetness and campfire like flavor. The 8% alcohol is hidden well by the semi-sweet smoke.
M: Medium to full bodied with a decent amount of carbonation. I like the creaminess of the brew. Toward the back, there is a slight boozy burn that was somewhat of a surprise as the taste masked the booze well. Closes with a long lasting, smoky hang.
O: Being this is a scotch style ale, I think it fits the style well. The earthy, malty and smoky flavors associated with Scotch Ales and Wee Heavys' are ever-present, but perhaps a bit skewed too much in that direction. It could use a tad more balance of sweetness, perhaps some chocolate notes or dark fruit. Not bad, but not me. A lot of rauchbier characteristics.

Serving type: bottle

04-27-2013 19:06:00 | More by Infamous7100

lordofthewiens

Maine

3.4/5 rDev -5.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25

In a pint glass the beer was a dark amber color with a rather small tan head.

A sweet caramel aroma with a hint of smoke.

Taste followed aroma. Caramel with a hint of smoke.

The beer was more watery and unidimensional than I expected.

Not a scotch ale that I would want to drink a lot of.

Serving type: bottle

04-05-2013 23:03:28 | More by lordofthewiens

khargro2

Georgia

2.75/5 rDev -23.4%

03-15-2013 01:12:15 | More by khargro2

Herky21

Iowa

3.5/5 rDev -2.5%

03-13-2013 14:12:46 | More by Herky21

Zachtheporter

Wisconsin

3.75/5 rDev +4.5%

03-13-2013 06:27:41 | More by Zachtheporter

Lemke10

Wisconsin

3.85/5 rDev +7.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

This pours a semi-clear, medium brown color with only a slight head. The scent is sweet and I’m also picking up hints of smokiness as well. The taste is sweet, malty, and also has some decent smoke flavor to it. The texture is thinner but it is balanced out by the rich flavor of the ingredients. Certainly very unique for a so-called Scotch Ale.

Serving type: bottle

03-13-2013 06:05:17 | More by Lemke10

rdtac

Iowa

4.5/5 rDev +25.3%

03-12-2013 04:05:03 | More by rdtac

RickS95

Indiana

3.45/5 rDev -3.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 2 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.75

It's an attractive pour with its mahogany brown, caramel color. Fairly clear, but still relatively opaque. The head is two and a half fingers thick, foamy-looking and slightly off-white. Good retention with minimal lacing.

Smell was disappointing because there just wasn't anything. I practically put my nose in the foam and couldn't get anything. The only thing that ALMOST registered was caramel malt. Even with the beer warming a bit, there's nothing.

I don't care much for the style but the combination of malts and reasonably high ABV gave it a slight smoke taste that worked for me. There is a kind of spirity taste to it that also worked, even though I don't drink spirits. As it warms, a caramelly taste emerges.

It's a bit creamy at the start, with a little sweetness mixed in. Toward the back of the sip there's a nice mixture of savory hops and a bit of heat and smokey feel from the alcohol. The savory lasts well into the finish because there's only limited bitter.

Overall this was pretty good. It went down easy and has a nice kick of alcohol.

Serving type: bottle

03-09-2013 03:45:40 | More by RickS95

elec

Minnesota

3/5 rDev -16.4%

03-08-2013 02:59:53 | More by elec

Celtics76

Rhode Island

3.25/5 rDev -9.5%

03-07-2013 17:16:13 | More by Celtics76

Kunstman

Wisconsin

3.75/5 rDev +4.5%

03-06-2013 04:25:18 | More by Kunstman

philbe311

Pennsylvania

3.25/5 rDev -9.5%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25

A - An active swirling pour yields less than a finger's worth of fizzy off white colored head with limited retention which gives way to an uneven swirled lacing and thin collar.... The color is a dull caramel brown... There are a few stray streaks of rapid paced carbonation throughout...

S - The nose of fairly subdued and understated... Peat... Light smoke... Some dark fruit... A hint of brown sugar... Some off band-aid notes was well...

T - Peat... Brown sugar... Caramel... Some light woody notes... Hints of dark fruit... The finish is dominated be a fairly assertive smokey character... That off band-aid flavor is a major detriment to enjoying this one more...

M - Medium to full bodied... Moderate carbonation... A bit thick... Somewhat sleek...

D - I'm a Scotch Ale / Wee Heavy devotee and this one misses the mark by a mile for me... Perhaps I got a bad bottle, but this one falls short in every category... There is are some slightly off band-aid qualities in terms of both aroma and flavor that are the primary culprits of my displeasure... Trying to keep those aside for a moment, this still an average at best representation of the style... Much of the richness and depth that I expect in the style are present, but blend together in such a way that sum of the part doesn't equal the whole... Unfortunately this is a beer that I won't recommend nor seek out, though I'd be willing to try again if I'm convinced that I had an off bottle...

Serving type: bottle

03-06-2013 03:09:59 | More by philbe311