Dark Horse Scotty Karate Scotch Ale - Dark Horse Brewing Company

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BA SCORE
90
outstanding
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919 Ratings

THE BROS
97
world-class
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rAvg: 4.03
pDev: 11.91%
Reviews: 486
Hads: 433

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Brewed by:
Dark Horse Brewing Company

Michigan, United States

Style | ABV
Scotch Ale / Wee Heavy | 9.75% ABV

Availability: Fall. bottle (440), on-tap (44), growler (2).

Notes:
Available September to March.

View: Beers (55) | Reviews (84) | Events (0)

Reviews

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Reviews by DrinkMoreBigBeers:

DrinkMoreBigBeers

Michigan

3.55/5 rDev -11.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

A - Pours out a murky brown that is impossible to see through. Has a creamy tan head with small to medium to big bubbles. Almost no head which died off relatively fast. Alcohol legs on this one. Careful or you will get a lot of yeast from the pour!

S - Can you say malt bomb. I get raisin, dark fruit, caramel, bread, and some nuttiness with a little alcohol in the back. Smells almost like an old ale to me.

T - I pick up brown bread, raisin, fig, vanilla, some earth and a faint alcohol / astringency in the back end. Follows the nose and again reminds me of an old ale.

M - This one is really easy on the mouth almost slick with a light carbonation. Light bodied however, which does not live up to a beer this big.

O- This beer drinks really easy for a beer of almost 10% abv. However it does lack in the mouth, and the taste does not impress like an excellent scotch ale should. It reminds me of an old ale by the smell and taste so it does not follow the style in my eyes. A disappointment for sure in my opinion. Better luck next time, cheers!

Serving type: bottle

10-23-2012 00:26:41 | More by DrinkMoreBigBeers

More User Reviews:

BlurryVisi0n

New York

3.93/5 rDev -2.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Served in a tulip glass.

Appearance: One thing is for sure and I find quite intriguing is how heavy the bubbles are on the body of the brew.The body itself is brown with a caramel color, almost opaque and hazy with sediments floating throughout. Head is off-white rising to maybe 1/4".

Smell: Light malts, smells good giving you a sweet scent.

Taste: Has a sweet caramel feel with a hit of toffee. Absolutely love the malts, migvht overwhelm first time scotch ale drinkers but I find it just right.

Mouth: Medium to heavy, carbonation...bitter finish at the end might remind you something making you reminisce of barleywine.

Overall: Very good brew but still not at the level of my favorite scotch ale. It definitely is stronger but stronger doesn't always mean better. Flavor is everything and a little tweaking couldn't hurt. Salud!

Serving type: bottle

06-20-2013 06:44:34 | More by BlurryVisi0n

Eddyfunt

Michigan

4/5 rDev -0.7%

06-18-2013 20:32:45 | More by Eddyfunt

jimmah120

Minnesota

3.75/5 rDev -6.9%

06-17-2013 06:19:50 | More by jimmah120

harrymel

Washington

3.75/5 rDev -6.9%

06-14-2013 04:20:52 | More by harrymel

djre4orm

Virginia

4/5 rDev -0.7%

06-13-2013 19:52:32 | More by djre4orm

pjkelley82

New York

4.18/5 rDev +3.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

I had the privilege of tasting this next to innis & Gunn as well as founders dirty bastard. My friend prefered this one over the 3. Mainly for the reasons I liked it over the founders one which was more mouth to it and a little more bite. To me the founders was a little sweeter which i liked. I prefer innis and gunn over all of them but thats me... this is probably the 5th or 6th wee heavy I tried and it's easily number 2... I wouldn't skip over this one if you like the style...

Serving type: bottle

06-11-2013 07:51:35 | More by pjkelley82

woodychandler

Pennsylvania

3.79/5 rDev -6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Another bottled beer courtesy of my local, in-person trader, tone77. Cool stuff!

From the bottle: "Guest Artist Series #1 James Mestamaker Austin Texas".

I have no idea how the label relates to the idea of a Scotch Ale, but I totally dig the wigged-out one-man band that it depicts. Perhaps that is how they anticipate one will feel after a bottle of this beer. We shall see. Holy hot, Batman! I got a good whiff of booze in pouring this one into my glass. I got a brief appearance of (maybe) a finger of deep-tan head that quickly fell to swirling wisps. Color was a slightly hazy cola-brown. Nose smelled of dried, dark fruit(s), leather, lemon zest and al-kee-haul. Whee! Mouthfeel was medium with an initial alcohol heat followed by notes of toffee, leather, dried fruit, and brown sugar. Finish was semi-dry with the alcohol heat accounting for this in the face of all of the sugary flavors involved. This really packed a wallop, even for me. I would recommend that you at least try it once and if you are a fan of the style (which I am not), you will be head over heels for it.

Serving type: bottle

06-09-2013 04:29:31 | More by woodychandler

Greywulfken

New York

4.03/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

A: deep brown body under a finger of tan foam in an over-sized snifter; filmy cap persisted for the most part; sparse brief lace motes

S: deep, rich, thick, dark malty smells, fruit-like; caramel toffee sweetness aromas

T: crisper than the nosee; intimations of peat smoke and boozy fruit. Made me think of rye spiciness at times. Sweetened with warming, softening edges.

M: a little shaper than I'd expected early on, but still in line with the taste; slight filmy coating; slight astringence while cooler; bittering, then smoothing finish

O: a rugged take on the wee heavy, not as syrupy as some, with more bite than others.

Serving type: bottle

06-09-2013 00:09:28 | More by Greywulfken