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Silly Burgundy Barrel Aged Scotch Ale

scotch-silly-burgundy-bottle

Brasserie de Silly has long brewed a Scotch Ale. Their recipe came out of World War I. A Scottish regiment was stationed near by and was longing for their traditional beer. Unfortunately, Brasserie de Silly didn’t have the ingredients or the know how to provide them with a nice Scotch Ale. To solve the problem, the Scots provided the ingredients and a man with brewing experience to guide the folks at Silly on how to produce the beer. 100 years later, and the Scotch de Silly is arguably the brewery’s most famous beer.

Like many American breweries, Silly decided to take their well known beer and provide limited edition variants. Every year, the brewery has offered a new barrel aged version of their Scotch Ale. They’ve used Bordeaux, Cognac, and Bourbon in past years. This year’s barrel is from the French wine region of Burgundy (Bourgogne). More specifically, they’re from the Premier Cru of Nuit-Saint-Georges. Red Burgundy wine is made from the Pinot Noir grape.

Appearance: Brown with amber highlights, tan head, good retention.

Aroma: Caramel, milk chocolate, cherries, woody notes, cherry cordials, vinous notes, berry hints, nutty.

Taste: Cherries, chocolate, woody notes, wine notes, hint of booze.

Overall Impression: Complex and rich, the addition of the wine aging adds some additional balance to the scotch ale with trends towards the sweeter side. The Burgundy barrels are an excellent compliment to the malty notes while adding excellent dark fruit and subtle vinous notes. Give it plenty of time to warm up to allow all the complex subtly to come out.

Availability: This is a limited release and once it’s gone, it’s gone. Look for it where other beers imported by Global Beer Network are sold.

9.5% ABV

3 thoughts on “Silly Burgundy Barrel Aged Scotch Ale

  1. That sounds delitful. I wish we got more of these small batch releases in BC Canada. We get lots of standard Belgian releases but nothing this cool.

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