Bagpiper's Scotch Ale - Allentown Brew Works

BeerAdvocate

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +7.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Review from BeerAdvocate Magazine Issue #42 (Jul 2010):

With a little fizzle from a big head, this Scotch Ale is nearly pitch black with an edge of garnet. A massive malt nose, sweetness and overtones of toasted bread meet a light, spicy note from the alcohol. The fullish slick body is smooth enough. The malt character peels back complex layers; toasted bread, treacle, dried grass and fresh bis- cuits. Light hopping is where it should be. This Scotch Ale packs an interesting alcohol warmth and vague spicing. The long malt finish is on the dry side with some of that spice as well. This brew is a real beaut and a great malt fix.

Serving type: bottle

01-11-2011 03:21:34 | More by BeerAdvocate

dan027

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +7.5%

05-17-2013 02:25:29 | More by dan027

twenty5

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev -5.9%

05-10-2013 18:46:41 | More by twenty5

anthonypw

Pennsylvania

4.75/5  rDev +27.7%

04-19-2013 15:29:02 | More by anthonypw

Woodysbeard

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +7.5%

03-09-2013 01:54:17 | More by Woodysbeard

Tom_Gilman

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev +0.8%

01-21-2013 16:08:08 | More by Tom_Gilman

DaveHack

Pennsylvania

3.25/5  rDev -12.6%

01-14-2013 22:53:48 | More by DaveHack

crag

4/5  rDev +7.5%

10-17-2012 19:16:20 | More by crag

t0rin0

California

4/5  rDev +7.5%

08-18-2012 12:54:35 | More by t0rin0

brentk56

North Carolina

4.03/5  rDev +8.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance: Pours a slightly hazy russet color with a large head that left quite a few strands of lacing behind

Smell: Caramel, toasted bread and figs

Taste: Caramel and figs, up front, with the toasted bread adding another dimension; some earthy hop elements add balance at mid-palate, but the finish drives home the sweeter flavors

Mouthfeel: Medium to full body with moderate carbonation

Overall: A very drinkable version of the style; I like the balance that keeps its sweetness from becoming cloying though I would prefer to see some peaty complexity that, to me, really separates the top notch examples of the style

Serving type: bottle

05-25-2012 00:23:01 | More by brentk56

dvanhandel

New Jersey

4/5  rDev +7.5%

01-17-2012 00:29:28 | More by dvanhandel

nofalltoofar

Pennsylvania

4.93/5  rDev +32.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Poured into a Belgian Ale Strainer

A: Beautiful rich mahogany. Wonderful barely-transparent color.

A: great pour, wonderful head that dissipates in a few moments.

S: Delicious. You can pick out the strong caramel notes and sweetness from the Scotch

M: Thick but not too thick. Not oily or excessively carbonated

This is a fantastic beer. It's both delicious and drinkable (although be careful because these hit like William Wallace's claymore). It's everything I love about good scotch and great beer. You can taste the sweet caramel taste of the scotch along with the subtle bite of the hops creating a smooth, sweet, but subtle beer that surprises you with another undertone with every sip.

Serving type: bottle

01-16-2012 02:45:35 | More by nofalltoofar

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

3.55/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Malt bomb Bomber from New Jersey. Initial smokey malty was nice aroma and tasty,a spot of peat, above average mouthfeel, caramel, brown colour and lots of lace. Some hop bitterness. However unbalanced sweet. So-so drinkability. Passable for the style, which I am just Ok on the style.

Serving type: bottle

12-28-2011 05:11:05 | More by northyorksammy

fester71

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev -5.9%

12-19-2011 00:46:12 | More by fester71

tlazaroff

Virginia

3.7/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A: Quite a beautiful looking beer, looks brown in the glass but when held to the light it shines a brilliant clear ruby color. Topped with a thick foamy light mocha head, and leaves a little lacing, but it doesn't matter, this beer looks great.

S: Sadly, the smell is lacking a bit. I get a little toffee on the nose, and a possible burnt sugar smell - like when you're making homemade caramel, but not much else.

T: My first thought, was "That's F***G good." It has this really smooth caramel flavor. No hops on the palate, but it does have a little bitterness. Don't let it fool you though, this is a malt-forward beer, as it should be. The flavor lingers from first sip to well though the finish. Quite a nice experience.

M: This one is full bodied and sticky-sweet. Literally, the beer sticks to your lips, it's awesome. Carbonation is on the moderate side, pretty much perfect.

D: The thing about this beer, is that the alcohol is so well hidden, it sneaks up on you really quickly. Defiantly a fine sipping beer, and I personally wouldn't have more than one in a sitting.

Serving type: bottle

10-19-2011 02:45:03 | More by tlazaroff

jzeilinger

Pennsylvania

3.53/5  rDev -5.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A - Pours a deep cherry mahogany color with a super thin caramel colored lacing ring. Very dark and very clear.

S - Toffee and roasted caramel with some smokiness. No hops, and all malts in the nose.

T - Mimics the nose with lightly roasted toffee and caramel even throughout the sip with a slight bit of smokiness. Slight pine bitterness in the finish. The flavor is lightly robust.

M - Thick medium body, sticky on the lips,

O - A solid Scotch ale with a few GABF medals to its credit. I was bummed out because I had this at the Bethlehem location and it was served from a bottle...WTF!!! No kegs?? Really???!!??

Serving type: bottle

10-13-2011 05:49:28 | More by jzeilinger

57md

Pennsylvania

3.95/5  rDev +6.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

The beer came with very little head that dissipated quickly. Color was brown with a slight orange hue. The nose was definitely malty with some caramel notes. Very full-bodied malt flavor that lacks the cidery alcohol burn of many beers of this style (that's a plus from my perspective). I could drink too many of these considering the ABV.

Serving type: on-tap

09-27-2011 03:18:30 | More by 57md

bonkers

New Jersey

4/5  rDev +7.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I poured from a bomber into 2 snifters, deep amber pour, moderate head. The aroma was fruity, medicianal, hints of booze and caramel. The caramel and figs are prominant, hints of peat and booze, finishes with a lingering dark fruit sweeetness. The body is full, nice carbonation, easy drinking for a wee heavy. I split this with my neighbor and we both found this to be very enjoyable.

Serving type: bottle

09-11-2011 16:21:01 | More by bonkers

mactrail

California

3.48/5  rDev -6.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

An orangey-red brown color in the snifter. Oddest aroma of leather and horse blankets. Rich, creamy mouthfeel. A fair amount of sweetness that seems to grow with each sip. Not sticky, but quite malty. Balanced with a tart, almost sour flavor. Seems to have a good dose of smoke with a fair charry hint. Some dry fruitiness, figs perhaps.

Quite drinkable. A bolder style of Scotch Ale but not weighed down with sweetness.

Serving type: bottle

07-18-2011 04:57:19 | More by mactrail

maximum12

Minnesota

3.7/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Before I even come to the traditional thanks, Allentown, WTF? Went to pop the cork & what began as a 30 second pop-and-pour turned into a 15 minute struggle. First the cork broke off. Get cork extractor. Goes right through, succeeds only in pulverizing cork & getting cork-bits everywhere. Spend more time wheedling the crippled cork out. Finally, grudgingly, it comes. More picking cork bits out of the two glasses. Grumble, grumble. Get a new cork provider - now! This crap sucks.

Anyways, thanks to unclejedi & stormking47 for these bottles, the first vanished in a wintertime tasting. This is the survivor.

Post-nonsense, this brew pours like liquid clay, a sluggish, dark red. Smell is purebred caramel malts.

Bagpiper's Scotch Ale pleases the palate. Loads of caramel dominate, almost to the exclusion of anything else. Nuts, brown sugar might be teased out if one used one's imagination. But this is a caramel sledgehammer. Luckily, I like caramel. Smoothly lovely.

Ultimately, this is a good beer without a lot of depth but hey, I like wading pools, too. But that f-ing cork...

Serving type: bottle

06-22-2011 02:41:02 | More by maximum12

BeerNemesis

New York

3.55/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Bagpiper's Scotch Ale | 750 ml. | 8.5% ABV | 2011

Brewer: Allentown Brew Works
Style: Scotch Ale / Wee Heavy
Glass: pint

Appearance:
The loud pop that erupted from the bottle upon pulling the cork guaranteed a foamy dome. Otherwise, it's dark and still.

Aroma:
Caramelized malts and a dull nutty aroma dominate the nose. The faintest hint of alcohol also breaks through.

Taste:
It opens with roasted malts and coffee tones. Mid-sip, hops oils kick in and balance the otherwise bready characteristics. It's earthy and moist, even to the (slightly bitter) finish. Alcohol warms the aftertaste ever so slightly.

Mouthfeel:
Full in body but slippery. Carbonation is less than expected but right for the style.

Harmony:
I am surprised by the hop presence. It really balances out the taste. However, I was personally not a fan of the malty, scotch tones and the earthy aftertaste.

Would I get it again?:
No, but it's not a bad beer.

Bottled: as usual no date...
Served: April 4, 2011

Serving type: bottle

04-05-2011 00:37:48 | More by BeerNemesis

micromaniac129

Pennsylvania

3.4/5  rDev -8.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A fast fading foamy head atop a deep brown almost black colored beer. Very well carbonated.
Aromas of malts, slighty roasted I think, with sutle hints of spice.
Very malty and rich. Maybe some hints of spice, but more like candied malt. Some earthiness.
Thin mouthfeel with a spritz or dry tart finish.
An okay beer, but really not that good. i thought I was drinking a dubbel.

Serving type: bottle

02-13-2011 12:50:48 | More by micromaniac129

Sachsenfreude

Germany

3.93/5  rDev +5.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

appearance; very dark brown, yet clear. Light tan head, good retention but little lacing.

smell; upfront molasses malt but soon turns to a roasted barley scent. Smells a lot like hard pretzels, very grainy, with grassy aromas. Maybe some cedar smoke but I need to drink more to say that for sure.

taste; bitter with a molasses taste but not really sweet. High quality licorice comes to mind. Bitter hops in the finish that are slightly sweetened by a pleasant warm alcohol.

mouthfeel; heavy body but not chewy, so on the lighter end of it. Slick to swallow, leaving a sticky mouthfeel. The slightest bit of warm alcohol burn is present.

drinkability; most important it taste good and goes down smooth. The aftertaste and mouthfeel is a little annoying but does not ruin the beer by any means. The alcohol is somewhat well hidden but one bomber is enough for a single sitting.

Serving type: bottle

01-26-2011 04:33:28 | More by Sachsenfreude

cooch69

Pennsylvania

3.83/5  rDev +3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

This brew pours a very dark amber color with a nice tight compact 1-2 finger head. It has a brilliant glowing character and is only a little clear.

Nose of caramel malts, dark sugars, a bit of dark fruit(raisin) and an earthy cocoa hint, but not chocalatey.

Smooth and refined maltiness, this one has a fair amount of bitterness up front as well as a little lingering in the finish. Not enough to get that much in the way of the malt of coarse.

Not Bethlehem's best, but a worthy addition to the finest of Breweries.

Serving type: bottle

12-26-2010 17:37:59 | More by cooch69

acurtis

New Jersey

3.4/5  rDev -8.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Had on tap at Allentown BrewWorks and also brought home 750ml bottle.
Dark brown with little head and good carbonation. Malty caramel aroma. Not too hot, nice sweet malty flavor. Drinkable for 8.5% abv. An excellent Scotch Ale which has won some GABF awards. I don't usually find scotch ales to be so drinkable, however my drinking companion did not find it so.

Serving type: on-tap

10-13-2010 15:59:46 | More by acurtis