It Ain’t Heavy, It’s My Beer

Beer O’ The Week: Wee Heavy

Sam Adams continues to impress with Scottish ale

Wamp’s Wisdom

PHOTO: J.T. WAMPLER

Sam Adams Wee Heavy is one of the Boston Brewing Co. Imperial series.

Wee Heavy is a Scottish ale traditionally brewed with the sweetest of the runnings from the mash tun. The name comes from the high alcohol and the wee small glasses in which it’s usually served. This ale comes in at 10 percent alcohol and pours dark ruby with a decent amount head for such big beer.

Aroma is smokey with molasses. The alcohol is prominent without being overwhelming. Raisins and smokey malt are the dominant favors with an alcohol tickle for a finish.

Boston Brewing keeps impressing me with their commitment to making a variety of beers and doing it well. Give this one a try, but you might want to share a bottle with a friend.

Pair with rich dessert featuring chocolate or fresh fruit.

Rating: 4 caps

Rico’s Reaction

Wee Heavy is rich, powerful and sweet — in other words, the exact opposite of me. It’s also really, really, really good. Again, kind of my antithesis.

Back in my early days of beer drinking, Sam Adams Boston Lager was one of the first brews to capture my taste buds. Friends who had tried to initiate me into the world of barley pop with such “exotic” fare as Rolling Rock didn’t appreciate the potency of lager’s hops, but I was immediately hooked.

The only bad memory I have associated with the lager is that was what I was drinking at George’s Majestic Lounge when the basketball Hogs lost to UCLA in their return trip to the national title game. A disappointing outcome, sure, but at least the beer was still good.

From the lager, I naturally branched out into Sam Adams’ other flavors — their ale and their delicious cream stout. It was with a lot of excitement that I finally tried their scotch ale, once it started showing up in area liquor stores. This time, Sam Adams disappointed me. I remember thinking the beer was overly sweet and far too strong on the caramel overtones delivered by roasted malts.

Maybe it’s just sentimentality, but the Wee Heavy seems like a correction to that disappointment.

Wee Heavy delivers everything I’d hoped for and more in Sam Adams scotch ale. Here’s hoping my Rolling Rock buds’ tastes have changed enough to give this one a shot. Now, if the Razorbacks could just get back to that championship game …

Rating: 4 caps