Rough XS McRouge Scotch Ale:
Hello friends. As I drank today’s beer (well, really sipped, but more on that later) I started to contemplate the end. No, not the end of the world, the end of this year and the culmination of this year in beer. What have I learned from this, what new styles have I fallen in love with? What styles will I never touch again? What did I discovered that I didn’t know about till now? Well, I think

today’s beer is one that falls into two of these categories- love and discover. What is it about Scotch ales that makes them so good to me? My personal theory is this: bourbon. Yes, the only uniquely made American spirit is my personal favorite spirit of choice and long story short, it’s complex flavor profile is amazing. I won’t drone on but the same complexity found in bourbon is found in Scotch ales and Rouge Ale’s XS McRouge Scotch Ale is a great example of the complex nature of this beer. First off, this beer is tiny, only 7 ounces and when it is poured, there is very little carbonation but a nice nose of roasted malts and cream is noticeable. A the beer’s color is dark and burgundy with no head to speak of to give it any contrasting color. The taste is complex with the front-end being a strong malt and smoke flavor that moves to a mellow caramel mid-tongue and a finish of burnt sugar and vanilla. Yeah, it’s good, and I really don’t think Rouge makes this anymore which is sad but there are just as good (and maybe better) Scotch ales out there. One little side note: Per the bottle instructions, this is best aged a year before serving and my bottle was bottled in 2010 so I think I was safe in the aging process.