Big Sky Heavy Horse Scotch Ale
A full bodied, full flavored ale. Deep garnet red with a dense, creamy head of tan. Stone Thrower is fermented at a lower temperature and the brewing water is softened to be closer to that found in Scotland. Malts: Pale, Crystal Chocolate, Roast. Hops: Hallertau Tradition, East Kent Goldings.
3.4
195 reviews
Missoula, United States
Community reviews
Pours a copper color with some red hue. There is a thick off white head that left plenty of lacing around the glass. The aroma is sweet, caramel, bread, and dark fruits. The flavor is similar to the aroma with a little bit of bitterness as well.
12 oz bottle poured into tulip glass. Pours a dark brown with ruby undertones with a tall off-white head that settles into a good quarter inch or so with plenty of lacing.
Smell is of sweet, dark roasted malts, some dark fruits and some smokiness.
Taste is of dark caramel malt up front complimented by dark fruits, with woody, smoky flavors coming through as well, finish is a nice balance of the sweet and the dry.. Mouthfeel is pretty thick, soft and creamy.
Overall, a very good, well balanced scotch ale.
12 oz. bottle poured to a Czech-pils glass showing a clear, brownish copper color, with a fairly persistent, frothy tan head that diminished half way, to a modest ring & layer of foam, and dots & dashes of lacing. The nose started with a fleeting scent of ripened dark fruit, then malt & toast, and a mellow combo of caramel, toffee, and brown sugar sweetness. The taste added a moderate, somewhat lingering, earthy hop bitterness that was nicely tempered by a malt creaminess that also contributed some fullness to the medium+ body. Decently carbonated, with a subtly sweet & lightly bitter finish. Not wee heavy-ish, but pretty tasty.
Pint at Ashley’s on 5/16/14. Pours a clear chestnut brown color with a medium beige head. Aroma of blackberry, cherry and caramel. Grainy malt flavor with caramel and fruit before a semi-sweet finish.
Poured from a bottle - Dark red/brown with a light fizzy head that faded to minimal lacing quite quickly. Aroma was sweet - malts and hints of prunes and smoke. Taste was predominately malty with prunes, roasting, and a light hop finish. Mouth was fairly decent. Overall, a fairly decent Scotch.
Good, not great. On the mild end of a scotch ale flavor-wise. Nice color and aroma.
12oz bottle. Pours out a dark amber topped with a sand head. Nose is sweet malts light hops and some caramel. Taste is as the nose with a nice sweetness and a little bitterness.
From bottle. Pours a dark red with just a bit of tan head that fades quickly. Aggressive nose with hints of dark fruit and chocolate. Similar flavor, smooth through the middle with a relatively sweet finish. Pretty good.
This is a dark amber brew with a medium off white head. The beer itself has a medium body and is more sweet than hoppy. It gives slight hint of molasses and and cocoa, but otherwise it has a rather vague taste. It isn’t quite bland, but it doesn’t quite excite the palate either.
Bottle. Clear reddish caramel with a thin beige head. Aromas of sweet malt, caramel, and light coco. Flavor is sweet caramel, malt, coco, molasses. Medium bodied, more sweet than anything.
Sampled at an ESBLS tasting. It poured a dark brown color with a small tan head. The aroma was a nice caramel-sugar with some earthy malts. The taste was of big caramel malts with a lingering hop and a creamy almost nouget flavor. Very nice.
12 oz bottle. The pour is a dark translucent ruby with a decently thick light tan head. The head fades quickly leaving no lace. The aroma is very sweet. It's got a nice malty characteristic and a few touches of caramel. There isn't much else going on. The flavor is also vey sweet. A little less roast than the nose and the maltiness is a little more prevalent. The mouth feel is really thin, and the flavors definitely don't hang around very long
Phoenix bottle. Nice bronze/copper color with a medium tan head that quickly dissolves into a film. Big aroma of burned/caramelized sugar reminiscent of a roasted marshmallow. Flavor of roasted malt and a hint of coffee. Pretty tasty.
Aroma presents notes of caramel, chocolate, roasty goodness. Appearance is lovely. Pours clear dark red with minimal froth on top. Up to this point, Heavy Horse is tantalizing. The taste is quite malty, with caramel, vanilla, and chocolate notes grabbing my attention. I have to say that my palate wasn’t satisfied by this beer. It’s body is too light, the texture too thin, carbonation too soft. This isn’t the beer I expect when I ask for a Scotch Ale. In my opinion, this is a pretty good Brown Ale, but falls short of a Scotch. I expect a Scotch Ale to be more present and assertive, with some body, warmth, and hop bitterness.
Bottled from Valley Farm. Sweet roasty nose with some toasted maltiness. Roasted malts up front. Some sweetness and more maltiness. Pretty well balanced. Roasted finish.
Draft 20oz:
Honestly I don't get much aroma (but I'd have a hard time smelling a fart in a porta john lol) the color is a deep amber to almost brown, head is a light tan. I don't get as much Scotch as I was wanting, but this beer is very smooth and has hints of vanilla. It finishes as smooth as a baby bottom with no bitterness at all. Over all this is an easy drinker but leaves a little more to be desired from a scotch ale.
Bottle, provided by Travlr, thanks Gene! Poured a clear nutty amber color with a light tan head. Aroma was some sweet, toasted caramel notes, some earthy notes to it too. Caramel taste, sweet notes. Pretty drinkable.
Bottle. Clear amber brown color, tan head. Aroma of. Urnt caramel, light licorice. Taste is sweet and smooth caramel, butterscotch. Not bad.
Smooth ale with a scotch flavor and some hints of sweet vanilla. Delicious.
Best part of this beer is the aroma and appearance. Has good flavor, sweet and malty. Kind of heavy, and lacks a little of the bitterness and/or alcohol burn of some of the better Scotch Ales. But, very good nonetheless.
From a bottle. Nice sweet taste of fruits. A good balanced beer. I found myself wanting another
Clear, dark amber, slight tan head. Nose is caramel, hint of smoke and dark fruit. Sweet. Middle is roasted malt and cherries. Finish is more sweet malt. Nicely balanced.
Bottle. Pours clear, ruddy light brown with an off-white head. Sweet aroma of bread, brown sugar, vanilla. Taste of caramel and nuts with just a hint of grassy hops.Lots of malty goodness here.
Bottle pour thanks to jake65. Pours a translucent amber with a velvety head of beige foam. The aroma has notes of toffee and walnuts. Some grainy qualities as well. Taste is mostly sweet with a continuing sweet finish. Medium bodied and light carbonation.
On tap @ Black Bottle. Mahogany pour with an off-white head. Cherry, spices, and sweet molasses. Caramel, some toast, and bread. Flavor is sweet dark fruit, molasses, and caramel. Toast, light chocolate, and cherry. Maybe a bit of spice.
From 12oz bottle to snifter. Pour is a deep copper, medium brownish head. Nose is scotch, malt, alcohol. Taste is a medium body, mostly bitter. Finishes nicely with that scotch feel on your tongue, nice touch. One of the best scotch ales out of MT, if not #1.
12 ounce bottle into tulip glass, best before 11/21/2013. Pours crystal clear deep ruby red color with a 1-2 finger dense khaki head with good retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Light spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass. Aromas of big caramel, raisin, fig, apple, toast, brown sugar, brown bread, light chocolate, light roast, herbal, light pepper, and yeast earthiness. Very nice aromas with good balance and complexity of malt and yeast ester notes; with good strength. Taste of big caramel, raisin, fig, apple, toast, toffee, brown sugar, brown bread, chocolate, light roast, herbal, light pepper, and yeast earthiness. Lingering notes of caramel, dark fruit, toast, toffee, chocolate, brown bread, brown sugar, light roast, and herbal on the finish for a good bit. Very nice balance and complexity of malt and yeast ester flavors; with great robustness and zero cloying sweetness after the finish. Medium carbonation and medium-full bodied; with a creamy, moderately slick, and lightly chalky mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is very well hidden with minimal warming present after the finish. Overall this is an excellent scotch ale. All around great balance and complexity of malt and yeast ester flavors; and very smooth to sip on. A very enjoyable offering.
12 oz bottle from Evergreen Discount Liquors. Amber/brown color and clear with a light tan head and light lacing. The aroma is caramel malts with light spice, fruit, chocolate and hops. Similar flavor with a medium sweetness and a touch of bitterness. Medium body with a malty sweet finish.
Nutty aroma with hints of peat and oak barrel. Pours light brown with average beige head. Taste is more peat, wood, smoke, kind of dry palate. Not bad.
Dark brown pour some light tan head. Aroma of brown sugar, woody and raisins. Lactic acidity some acrid maple syrup flavors. Woody smokey toffee caramel. Does have nice smooth yet also acidic mouthfeel. Not nearly as plying as some scotch ales.