Founders Dirty Bastard Scotch Ale

Brewed By: Founders Brewing Company in Grand Rapids, Michigan 
Purchased: Single bottle (12oz) from a 6-pack bought at Jewel in Chicago, IL; 2012
Style/ABV: Scotch Ale/Wee Heavy, 8.5%

Tonight I am going to confuse myself over a bottle of Founder's Dirty Bastard Ale! 

Founders is the holy grail of Michigan brewing. Based out of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Founders was founded in 1997 and produce some of the best beer in the world.

Tonight's beer, the Dirty Bastard Ale, is a Scottish Ale. Actually, this is a Strong Scotch Ale, or a "Wee Heavy." This beer falls under the Scottish and Irish Ale category of the BJCP, and is actually the strongest version of the Scottish Ales. In my review of Robert The Bruce, I gave a little information on the style. 

What is a Scottish Ale? If you consult the BJCP you will notice that there are three variations of Scottish Ales. The BCJP states that the Scottish Ale sub-styles are differentiated by gravity and alcohol strength. There is a good article on Scottish Ales at Winning Homebrew. According to their article:

The Scottish ales follow in the English tradition of having a confusing naming convention. The names are steeped in tradition and history, one thing the Scottish are famous for. To start with are the Schilling designations. These are remnants of the 1870 rating system in which the price of beer, including the taxes, was rated in the old pre-decimal shillings. 60 Shillings was a light ale; 70 Shillings was a heavy ale; 80 Shillings was an export; and 90+ Shillings was a barley-wine known as "wee heavy". If the names didn't confuse outsiders enough, it happens that the lighter ales, which were equated with the English mild, were dark beers. And the heavy beers, similar to English bitters, weer light in color. The fact that the breweries in Scotland still use these terms to describe their beers, shows how much the Scotts believe in tradition and history.

With all of that information out of the way...tonight's beer is a "Wee Heavy" or a "Strong Scotch Ale." The Scotch Ale is the strongest of the Scottish Ales, but it is not a Scottish Ale (by categorization...confusing, isn't it?). The BJCP describes the Strong Scotch Ale as deeply malty, with caramel, peaty, earthy, and smoky aromas. This is a malty tasting beer, with roasted malt, smoky flavors, and nutty characters. Hop flavors are supposed to be low.

If we go back to Founders' Dirty Bastard Page, we can see that this beer clocks in at 50 IBUs and packs 8.5% ABV. They describe the beer as dark ruby in color, and it is brewed with 7 varieties of imported malts. They suggest a complex beer, with hints of smoke and peat. Let's dig in and see what's up with this beer.

Founders Dirty Bastard Scotch Ale

The beer pours with 3-fingers of thick, bready, khaki/tan head. In low light this beer looks dark brown. The head doesn't hang around for very long, and quickly dissolves from 3-fingers worth to 1-finger worth, and then to a nice centimeter coating. When held to bright light, this beer is clearly a ruby-red/brown color. The beer is semi-transparent, and a nice stream of tiny bubbles can be seen rising upwards; moderate carbonation. There is some lacing as the head pulls on the glass; the centimeter of head is sustaining as a nice thin coating on the surface of the beer.

The aroma on this beer is incredibly malty. I'm pulling out huge sweet caramel malts that are manifesting as sweet raisins, sweet licorice (Twizzlers), bready esters, rum soaked cake, and brandy. There is a hint of earthiness in here, and I'm picking up on some peaty notes. There is a hint of booze in the nose.

This is incredibly sweet, with big peaty/caramelized/dark molasses/burnt sugar notes, and a hint of alcohol. I'm tasting raisins, rum/brandy soaked bread, huge caramel, earthy notes, peaty notes, hints of nuttiness and chocolate, molasses, Twizzlers, and even some hints of grain and roast. This is incredibly complex, and full of huge flavors.

Let's talk about the mouthfeel, complexity, and palate depth. This has moderate to high carbonation and is fairly smooth; there is a hint of viciousness, and it is fairly sweet. I would say this beer is medium-full. This is incredibly complex, and it has tremendous palate depth. Especially as it warms up. At 8.5% ABV, I consider this to be a sipping beer: however this is very drinkable. I think this beer would pair nicely with a cigar or a dessert. Up front you get carbonation and sweet malts; caramel, Twizzlers, sugars; this rolls into a slightly bitter middle that features peaty notes, earthy notes, dark molasses; the back end is lingering burnt sugars, peatiness, and a bit of drying.

Rating: Divine Brew 

Score: 92%

 

This beer right here is a lot of fun. The malt flavors in this beer are huge and complex. Lots of big caramel sugars, manifesting as these unique sweet notes...really good stuff. I could see myself pairing this beer with some Pecan Pie or a cigar. And, for what it's worth, I found this beer on the shelf (in 6-pack form) for like 8 or 9 bucks. That's a downright steal. I'm not familiar with aging Scotch Ales, but at 8.5% ABV, I have to imagine this beer can hold up for a few months. With that said...this is another good beer from the folks at Founders that is worth checking out. Until next time...cheers!