Kuhnhenn A Few Shillings Too Many - Kuhnhenn Brewing Company

cosmicevan

New York

4.18/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

big thanks to steimie for hooking it up! 2012 vintage.

a - pours a deep crimson maroon with no head and hardly any lacing to speak of. swirling the glass creates some fleeting life, but for the most part there is just a thing ring of white bubbles along the surface.

s - ripe plums. raisins. caramel toffee. bready and even toasted.

t - yum. great balance of fruits and sweetness. big caramel maltiness with toffee bread and toasted plums. very well balanced.

m - feel is really nice. booze is really well integrated and invisible to me.

o - overall, another win from kuhnhenn. really great example of the style and really well integrated booziness. VERY enjoyable.

Serving type: bottle

01-30-2013 03:07:53 | More by cosmicevan

SportsandJorts

Michigan

4.25/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Type: on-tap
Glass: pint
From: Ashley's in Ann Arbor
Price: i believe it was $6.50

Appearance: dark brown almost black. clear and by time i got it no head just a lacing along the sides.

Smell: a tad bit fruity. a little bit of bready yeast.

Taste: very fruity. bready malts, some sweetness. the alcohol is hidden completely in this one.

Mouthfeel: No heat from alcohol but dry and a little sticky.

Overall: Whoa. this is the first scottish wee heavy that i have truly enjoyed ( even with dirty bastard) Score another point for Kuhnhenn's which is gaining points towards my favorite MI brewery (behind Bell's and Dragonmead still)

Serving type: on-tap

01-26-2013 07:47:43 | More by SportsandJorts

sweemzander

Illinois

4.03/5  rDev -1.5%
look: 2.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

12oz. bottle poured into a snifter. 2012 release.

(A)- Pours a very deep and dark burn sienna color. Poured with no head or bubbles of any sort. Guess I am not THAT surprised since it is 12.5% ABV.

(S)- A very big beer for the style, I can tell already. A hugely dense burnt caramel, fig, and raisin going on in this. Quite sweet too.

(T)- Wowza, similar to the smell most, but not quite as sugary or boozy as I feared. It has a large body of burnt caramel, fig, and raisin. Finishes dry and a mild bitter spiciness. Some nice underlying notes of sherry, vanilla, and cocoa as well.

(M)- An extremely mellow; borderline flat carbonation level, but it is indeed carbed. It is ridiculously sweet and rich, but still less than what I was expecting based upon the smell. The big ABV on this is so well hidden too, though it does start to get a bit more noticeable as it warms.

(O)- This is quite the Wee Heavy! It definitely does not win any beauty awards, but it is one of the biggest takes on the style I have ever had. A bit too big to have more than one, but it is definitely an experience. Complex and dynamic with its huge malt profile.

Serving type: bottle

01-09-2013 20:12:20 | More by sweemzander

minterro

Michigan

4.15/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

From notes at Crunchy's

Not much head leading to not much lacing. Off white head.

Super drinkable for a scotch ale that’s plus 10%. Alcohol is super well hidden I would think it was almost half the abv if not told.

Full bodied low carbonation. Bready malts, bourbon, and boozy nose. Taste is a tad bit sour, dark fruits, and smokey. Not overpoweringly bitter or dry in the finish. Flavorful but not over whelming.

Serving type: on-tap

12-14-2011 21:17:21 | More by minterro

warnerry

Michigan

4.2/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Pours a deep reddish orange with only scant head, but a bit of lacing.

S -- Combination of sweet and earthy aromas with subtle bourbon notes. Caramel, faint peat and smoke.

T - Similar to smell with more caramel/toffee, but not really that sweet. Finish is actually semi-dry and earthy.

M -- Not as heavy as I thought it might be, but a solid medium mouthfeel that is spindly sticky but finishes a bit dry with some wood character.

O - I really enjoyed this. Not big and sweet, though there is some sweetness. Actually seems somewhat subtle for a big Scotch ale, in a good way.

Serving type: on-tap

11-16-2011 23:10:19 | More by warnerry

MasterSki

Illinois

4.15/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

I've shared two growlers of this in the past couple weeks. Most recently served in a Cigar City tulip. This batch is only listed at 9%.

A - Pours with a half-finger of tan foam that settles to a thick collar. Hazed orange-brown body with some transparency when held to the light.

S - Smoke and peat, caramel, burnt sugars, light alcohol. I know previous versions were barrel-aged, but I don't get a lot of overt barrel or bourbon presence. Perhaps some vanilla and faint whiskey, but those could merely be other flavors playing tricks on me.

T - Taste is more heavy with bready malts and toffee. Thankfully this isn't cloyingly sweet like many scotch ales I've had - some fruity esters in there as well. Quite smooth, with minimal alcohol presence - impressive when I thought it was 12.5%, merely appreciated at the listed 9% ABV. Still not much wood or bourbon.

M - Light carbonation zest, minimal heat, sticky and chewy medium-full body. Quite style-appropriate.

D - One of the better takes on the style that I've had, although I'd probably take Backwoods Bastard over this one. I had multiple pours without it getting overly saccharine or boozy. I'm just curious if it was actually barrel-aged like previous batches.

Serving type: growler

06-19-2011 14:41:51 | More by MasterSki

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

4.22/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This was one of the more impressive brews I had tried at the brewery. It's got a really nice reddish orange color with a thin head on it. The smell was little light I thought, I could only pick up on some sweetness and not a whole lot else. The flavor was the best part of this beer. The flavor was sweet like the aroma and it had some nice hints of spice in there. The mouthfeel was very smooth and highly drinkable. I really enjoyed this beer!

Serving type: on-tap

05-04-2011 04:52:32 | More by Knapp85

metter98

New York

4.1/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A: The beer is clear amber in color and poured with a thin white head.
S: There are moderate aromas of brown sugar, caramel, dark fruits and toffee in the nose.
T: The taste is very similar to the smell and the brown sugar flavors contribute a light amount of sweetness.
M: It feels medium- to full-bodied, very smooth and a bit sticky on the palate. There are hints of alcohol warming in the finish.
O: Considering its strength, the beer is very easy to drink because the alcohol is well hidden from the taste.

Serving type: on-tap

05-03-2011 01:32:29 | More by metter98

brewdan

Michigan

3.63/5  rDev -11.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours an opaque brown. Small oatmeal colored head. Minimal lacing.

Smells strongly of dark fruit, raisins, dried plums, dark cherries with a hint of cinnamon.

Tastes a lot like it smells, strong dark fruits with a bittersweet cherry component. Alcoholic and fairly mouth puckering. Also fairly oxidized but it is over two years old now.

Mouthfeel is good overall. While carbonation is minimal I am glad it is neither flat nor overly carbonated.

I wonder what this beer was like fresh. It's decent now but fairly tart and I am thinking it was not like that fresh, although I kind of like it like this. Not really to style (now) but still enjoyable.

Serving type: bottle

03-27-2011 16:52:07 | More by brewdan

maximum12

Minnesota

3.18/5  rDev -22.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Thanks to lothore for shipping me a bottle of this during the dog days of summer. No idea this monster was so big on the alcohol when I brought it in. Yikes. A scary Halloween, indeed.

Pours pretty flat into my cleaned Ommegang chalice. Dark, but with some nice, Eric the Red-type highlights around the edges. Smell is wham-bang sweet & highly malty, not really expected. Whew. Almost roasted. I like where this is headed.

A Few Schillings Too Many is an accurate description...I wonder what they threw into this to make the ABV so high? Alcohol is in the house, but there's all sorts of wild things going on, not all of them good. Peaty wood is a close second to the backlash of alcohol, along with some strong notes of plum, raisins, & other dark, brooding fruits. Very weird combination, a melange of stuff thrown together that clashes rather than provides depth. The lack of carbonation doesn't help either, lending the brew a slick, oily, flat, wine-like touch on the tongue. Drinkable? Heck no. I'm going to work my way through this beast & keep trying to figure it out, but one & done here for sure.

Pretty good beer. Seems like too much jammed into one bottle, too much for its own good. Who knows, perhaps this one will be a gem in a few more years when the flavors gel like a fine jam, but then again, maybe not. A mess, but one that's interesting to plumb.

Serving type: bottle

11-01-2009 02:40:55 | More by maximum12

pwoods

Ohio

3.95/5  rDev -3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12oz. brown bottle poured into a snifter. ABV over 13%. Notes.

A: Pours a deep brown, ruby in the light. A decent head rises through the alcohol. Not much lacing.

S: Loads of alcohol goodness. A very small smoky quality. Rich malts that are full of alcohol.

T/M: super sweet but surprisingly not syrupy. More of the big alcohol but without any burn. some smoked meatiness in the back along with the smoke and very light peat. Deeply rich malts with some light dark fruits in the back. Body is only about medium and has lower carbonation.

D: Not to be taken likely but a very tasty brew.

Serving type: bottle

10-30-2009 00:42:36 | More by pwoods

gford217

Georgia

3.45/5  rDev -15.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Big thanks to Derek for another Kuhnhenn brew, poured into a tulip.

Pours very, very dark, almost black in the glass. It shows a deep, hazy copper when held up to the light. there is a small off-white head that quickly recedes to a solid ring and a soapy swirl on top. Not much lacing but some boozy legs on the sides.

The aroma is very sweet with the requisite caramel malts and some vanilla, but there is also a healthy dose of dark fruits in the nose and some hints of smoked peat. The faintest tart cherry whiffs start to come out, but it's very faint. There's a little alcohol burn in the nose as it warms.

The tart cherries show up early in the taste with an initial pop on the tongue that seems a little out of place. The sweet dark caramel malt base is definitely still in there as well as some dark fruits, especially raisins and figs. The finish has a slight smoked peat character but also some lingering sourness.

The mouthfeel is slick and typical of the last couple Kuhnhenn bottles I've had. It's not nearly as infected as the Rauch, but it's definitely headed that direction. I'm glad I read some of the comments about these beers and caught this one before it really turned. As it is, it's a decent scotch ale that was probably an excellent beer when it was released.

Serving type: bottle

08-04-2009 03:33:55 | More by gford217

tmoneyba

Ohio

4.1/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Draft sample at MBGF Summer08.

Poured a dark brown color with a moderate frothy off-white head that mostly lasted with good lacing. Heavy roasted malt and caremel aroma. Medium to full body with a sticky texture. Medium to heavy sweet woody flavor with a medium sweet alcohol finish of moderate duration.

Solid drinkable brew.

Serving type: on-tap

02-21-2009 23:41:39 | More by tmoneyba

hopdog

Pennsylvania

4.65/5  rDev +13.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

12oz bottle (thanks Derek for getting this one off my want list!). 2008 Vintage.

After spending a couple hours at 'Bingo Bash' for my little one, I needed something strong to numb the pain so I reached for this one.

Poured a deep and dark orange/amber color, almost brown with a smaller sized off whtie head. Aromas of wood, earthy, peaty, and light bourbon. Tastes of woodiness, bourbon, caramel, dark fruits, brown sugary, vanilla, and toffee. Sweet with a very light dark cherry tart finish. Alcohol content well hidden. I got to say, this one was very nice and I'm going to have to get some more!

Serving type: bottle

02-07-2009 02:13:40 | More by hopdog

kels

Virginia

4.2/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Cheers to Frank who found a bottle of this waiting just for me at Kuhnhenn's last weekend. Opened it tonight and split it with my brother.

Appearance: Deep ruby highlights in a dark brown liquid. The short white head fades out altogether quickly, leaving very little retention behind. Liquid appears pretty viscous; can't see the light all the way through.

Smell: Big alcohol hits hard, and is joined by sweet caramel malts, some earthy and slightly smoky peat.

Taste/Mouthfeel: Mouth is very viscous and sticky with low carbonation. Supersweet, syrupy malts and lots of peat and woody flavors dominate, with caramel sweetness and strong alcohol in the aftertaste. Hints of chewy, sticky raisins and figs sneak in behind all the big flavors. It almost reminds me of port wine.

Drinkability: Wow, this is big. I definitely couldn't do more than one of these in an evening. I know Scotch Ales are on the heavy side, but even for the style I'd say this is only barely above average for drinkability - the syrupy consistency can be a little overwhelming.

Serving type: bottle

02-01-2009 09:37:34 | More by kels

mikesgroove

South Carolina

4.8/5  rDev +17.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

This beer is intensely good. I must thank Jay again for sending me such wonderful beers all the time. This one I enjoyed tremendously. Served chilled and poured into a wine glass, this one was consumed on 01/26/2009.

The pour was very big with a rich dark brown color coming forward right away. Nearly opaque with a small head of tan creeping up the sides throughout the session but eventually falling back down to earth. The aroma was wonderful with rich caramel and toffee notes that just exploded in the air. Hints of apricot and other light fruits bouncing around as well. Really the best flavor I could have imagined coming out of this one. Rich caramel and toffee flavors, hints of vanilla, pears and light tart flavors bouncing aorund. No alcohol at all, there is just no way this thing is twelve percent, it does not drink anywhere near this kind of strentght. Smooth, perfect carbonation with a drinkability that was off the charts. I just dont know what else I can say about this beer. Everything I try from them simply blows me away, and this was no exception, just outstanding in every way.

Serving type: bottle

01-27-2009 02:18:04 | More by mikesgroove

tempest

Pennsylvania

3.68/5  rDev -10%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On-tap at Ashley's, served in a pint glass.

Really, this beer was over 12%? It honestly drank like a beer half it's strength. The body was smooth and relatively thin, I didn't have any trouble finishing the glass. I'm also surprised because the flavor wasn't very rich. Sure, it had the trademark caramel with bit of roasty malts. Watch out for this one, it could put you on the floor.

Serving type: on-tap

08-29-2008 22:16:27 | More by tempest

emerge077

Illinois

4.47/5  rDev +9.3%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

On tap at HopCat in Grand Rapids, review from notes.

Served in a thistle glass, the Scotch ale had a ruby glint when held to the light. It had a minimal amount of foam, but there was a little when the glass was served. Halfway through it had no head at all, likely due to the level of alcohol.

Banana, melon, rich toffee and caramel. So distinct and powerful, the fruit and sweet confection aromas overpowered the hint of alcohol.

Fruit drizzled in maple syrup, rich caramel notes that lingered. Very malty and full bodied. Low carbonation, but not syrupy. The ABV is huge but doesn't become a distraction. One to sip and savor...i'll drink this whenever I can.

Serving type: on-tap

08-14-2008 01:49:18 | More by emerge077

Lothore

California

4.5/5  rDev +10%
look: 3.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Best Before 2009 (coming in right below the wire!)

A- Pours a murky brownish hue with a very small, tan head.

S- Smells deeply sweet, brown sugar, vinous notes, dark fruit, dates, raisin.

T- Taste is much lighter and sweeter than the nose. Lots of vinous, red wine notes come out, plum, quite a bit of unfermented sugary sweetness towards the end.

M- Has the mouthfeel of a Cabernet at this point. Fairly thick, almost no carbonation. Seems to work well with the flavor.

D- From the nose I was expecting an entirely different beast altogether but this one really suprised me. It has definitely aged well. I would have been interested to see what it tasted like a year and a half ago with more carbonation but the creamy mouthfeel seems to work for this one.

Serving type: bottle

06-28-2008 03:55:55 | More by Lothore

biegaman

Ontario (Canada)

4.6/5  rDev +12.5%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

On tap at Coles.
Big head that parted to the outside. A really muddy, earthy brown colour that was a shade lighter on the top. A dense, sticky body absolutely saturated in caramel/butterscotch texture. Thick and filling with tar like notes on the finish and strong malts lasting out for some considerable time. Not much - where any - alcohol noticeable. That, and the aroma, seem to be the only aspects of this beer that aren't ferociously bold! I can't seem to get much of anything out of the smell. The rest of the makeup, however, has no shortage of anything! Excitement, action, appeal - it's like a describing a summer Blockbuster movie - only this has good taste.
A nice whiskey barrel touch is very obvious, with less distinct notes of banana and raisins. So malty, so caramelly, so rich, so decadent (too decadent?)
Wow, near perfection...wow

Serving type: on-tap

03-01-2007 18:53:31 | More by biegaman

Crosling

Colorado

4.5/5  rDev +10%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

12’er. Extremely dark brown. Sweet dark fruits, caramel and chocolate are present in the awesome nose. Amazing, multi-dimensional flavor, which is wonderfully fruity, a bit smoky, awfully caramelly and extremely complex. I don’t taste any wood, in fact, I wonder if this bottling was even aged in wood, but I don’t care. It’s fantastic.

Serving type: bottle

02-24-2007 05:27:18 | More by Crosling

ggaughan

Pennsylvania

4.1/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On tap at the Hop Devil in NYC for their Kuhnhenn night. This beer poured a deep brown color with slight to no head. The nose was nice and doughy, yeasty and a bit sweet. The taste was equally sweet and had a touch of wood which meshed nicely with the high abv. Another steller treat from Kuhnhenn.

Serving type: on-tap

02-24-2007 04:50:49 | More by ggaughan

hoppymeal

Michigan

4.38/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Pours dark cola brown to black in color with a flash of a very small buttery caramel yellow head. Nice big rich aroma, sweet and sugary malts, ripe dark fruitiness with a good dose of soy or worcestershire sauce. Taste is big sweet and malty, some nice pruniness. The soy aroma is evident in the taste as well but is not as strong as the nose would indicate and actually blends withe the sweetness nicely. Very rich and full bodied, a hint of a warming alcohol shows up before a mellow dryness creeps in and lingers in the finish. A great night cap beer, sweet and mellow, very enjoyable.

Serving type: bottle

02-07-2007 03:14:12 | More by hoppymeal

oberon

North Carolina

3.78/5  rDev -7.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Another Michigan brew I was really looking forward to having on tap at Cole's yesterday.Poured a deep dark brown nearly black with a thinner but tight formed tannish colored head,as expected mig malt dominates this beer notes of brown sugar,molasses, and raisin dominate with an underlying spiced cherry note the alcohol shows itself a bit as well.Dark fruits really take over on the palate almost to much so brown sugar and molasses flavors meld into a raisin-like quality that really hits home in the finish and to me makes it a bit one dimensional.Its an excellant winter brew it is big and chewey and sustaining just a bit one dimentional on the palate,still quite good.

Serving type: on-tap

01-21-2007 14:31:22 | More by oberon

Gaisgeil

Michigan

2.95/5  rDev -27.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

I've been waiting quite a while for them to brew another batch of this so I could review it. I finally got that chance, unfortunately it was pretty much a total let down for me.

Served in a tulip glass a very deep brown in color with little to no head to speak of. It was given to me quite cold, definitely not the the preferred Scotch ale temp range, but that's another complaint entirely. Nose is very sweet, molasses and brown sugar, slightly alcoholic. Taste is intensely sweet, brown sugar, molasses, slightly earthy with a caramel undertone. Mouthfeel is that of maple syrup, sticky sweet and lingering on the palate. Overpowering malt profile, very little bittering balance. I love a big malt bomb like many Scotch ales are, in fact it's my favorite style, but this takes the whole affair much to far for my liking.

Slàinte!

Serving type: on-tap

01-11-2007 19:45:49 | More by Gaisgeil