Day 33: Wee Heavy

Name: Wee Heavy

Brewer: Belhaven Brewery - Dunbar, UK

Style: Scotch Ale

Alcohol Content: 6.5%


Review: This, folks, is why I am following through on this new years resolution. Consider my review of the Belhaven Scottish Ale. I was clearly unimpressed. Normally, I would write off Belhaven as a mediocre brewery and vow to avoid all of their beers. That is poor reasoning. I happened to come across the Wee Heavy at small hole-in-the-wall bar near 96th and Amsterdam on the upper west side. After one month it's already getting harder and harder to find new beers to drink out at the bar. I find that I am relegating myself to any new beer I can get my hands on. Thankfully, the Wee Heavy did not let me down. The bartender knew what he was doing and served it to me cool, but not cold. As it continued to warm I noticed that this was a flat, dark, full-boldied ale. The lack of a discernable aroma masked a sweet flavor with apparent toasted caramel malts and a fairly neutral finish. The mouth feel was flat, in discord with the full-bodied flavor (that's not to be unexpected from this style of ale). While it may seem that I'm describing a cacophony of flavor and texture, that is untrue - they were quite symphonic. The Wee Heavy is a fine example of what I think a scottish/scotch ale should taste like.

Rating: 4.5/5

Recommend? YES