Founders Brewing Company- Dirty Bastard Scotch Style Ale: There can be only one Highlander!
Sunday, March 28, 2010 at 11:45AM | by Wes 
I have been putting this one off for a couple of weeks. The last time I had a scotch ale it tasted like someone stuffed tree bark into a sweaty gym sock. There just wasn’t anything I found appealing about it. Founders Dirty Bastard Scotch Ale was a beer that a great friend of mine from Michigan used to rave about. He would drag growlers home and hoard them in his room like a troll. I was always a little too drunk to give it a straight and true assessment.
Five years later I find myself ready for an honest (and sober) review. Founders Brewing Co.’s Dirty Bastard Scotch Style Ale pours like a glass of mud, thick, almost black and very flat. Ok, its not black, it is dark mahogany, but you get the point. There was no discernable head to speak of. The aroma was sweet with a strong, palpable alcohol air. It has certain grainy, wine like scent, that reminded me a lot of a barley wine. Honestly if you blindfolded most people they would not guess that this was a beer.
Scotch ales go through a long boil that, causes the wort to caramelize. This gives scotch ales a sweet malty flavor as well as an extremely high alcohol content. This beer falls into both categories. The flavor is a combination of roasted malt sweetness, earthy undertones and alcohol. I can only describe the flavor as intense.
I know this beer has some serious followers, but it is just not for me. I was hoping my taste for scotch ales had changed over the years, but I seem remiss. In all honesty this is not a bad beer, it is just too sweet for me. I can’t see myself drinking it regularly. I do see myself mixing it with some BBQ sauce (and other secret ingredients) and making the worlds best BBQ chicken marinade this summer though…
ABV: 8.5%
Consumed: Globe Glass
Verdict: Bum one from a friend
