The Stoic Belgian-Styled Quad

Deschutes Brewery
Bend, OR

APPEARANCE: 2.5/3: Pretty orange-gold. White, thin head, rings the glass. Hazy.

AROMA: 3.25/4: Spicy, tropical, citrus. Passion fruit, orange blossom, sweet raisin, richly aromatic. Alcohol.

TASTE: 7.25/10
Hop/Malt Balance: 3.25/4: Big, sour, tropical. White raisin, pineapple, orange, passion fruit, chamomile notes.
Aftertaste: 2/3: Whiskey aftertaste, bitter back of the throat. Whiskey sour is there, but the rest is lost.
Mouth-Feel: 2/3: Chewy, big-bodied. Alcohol tingle.

OVERALL: 2/3: The big body overwhelms the whiskey, relegates it to an aftertaste. If we knew what pomegranate tasted like, we'd have to say it's in there. Good, but BIG.

TOTAL: 14.5/20–I'll Try A Pint

NOTES:
Matt: Complex, like any good Belgian. I feel like there are almost too many factors at play to evaluate it fairly, but I do like the sour. Worth a shot.
Ben: Maybe they tried to do too much with this. Would be better left with the Belgian yeast profile alone; the whiskey gets lost in the tropical flavors. Big and boozy, almost too much.

Kilt Lifter Scottish-Style Ale

Four Peaks Brewing Company
Tempe, Arizona

APPEARANCE: 2/3
Very little head, thin. Brown, clear.

AROMA: 2.25/4
Clean, sweet—apple notes? All malt, no hop.

TASTE: 6.5/10
Hop/Malt Balance: 2.25/4: Very malty, lots of caramel. Some grassy hop.
Aftertaste: 2/3: Very subtle smoke, subtle bitter, drops out fast.
Mouth-Feel: 2.25/3: Finishes clean, okay body, appropriately carbonated. Maybe a tad thin.


OVERALL: 1.75/3: Tastes like an amber, really. Scottish Ale for the masses—sweet caramel, crystal malt, not the Scottish Ale we'd hoped for.


TOTAL: 12.5/20–I'll Try A Pint


NOTES:
Matt: Not an awful beer, but more like an amber than a Scottish—I'd take a 90 Shilling over this in a heartbeat.
Ben: Crystal malt makes it really caramelly-sweet. A bunch of peat-smoked malt would make it more true to style.