Innis & Gunn Fired Oak Scotch Ale with Davey & Steve

This summer’s limited edition from Innis & Gunn: the Fired Oak Scotch Ale, named for the charred American oak barrels used in aging. Scotch ale sits in that end of beer towards strong ales & barley wines, sometimes called a wee heavy.

This new offering tasted close to the original, which was nice; we’ve had a few beers lately that missed the mark. This was a good return to classic form, here’s what we thought:

colour
Davey – amber cider
Simon – brassy orange, deep apple, clear
Steve – amber

smell
Davey – cider, fruity
Simon – strawberries, maple, medicine
Steve – dark lager malt

taste
Davey – sharp, sweet, dark maple syrup
Simon – similar to the Original, lighter with a deeper maple, oak
Steve – beer & licorice

finish
Davey – tart/sweet aftertaste
Simon – maple, clean, malt, slight hops
Steve – sweet

free association
Davey – n/a
Simon – chopping wood
Steve – too sweet, last call beer

overall
Davey – 7.5/10
Simon – 8.8/10
Steve – 6.5/10

Innis & Gunn Fired Oak Scotch Ale – 7.0% 330ml – $5.95 – Scotland

Try it? Yes. Buy it? Yes.