I just love it when a couple of breweries come together to make beer. After all, if brewery A makes great beer, and brewery B makes great beer, then if you add A + B, shouldn’t the sum of their parts be more than C? Something like that is usually the case anyway. And such were my hopes for Community Service Wee Heavy Scotch Style Ale, a collaboration brew between Hampton, Georgia’s Jailhouse brewery and Georgia contract brewer O’Dempsey’s Beer to Die For.

The label says this beer is “Brewed in celebration of Georgia Craft Beer.”  I’ll drink to that.

Jailhouse has always impressed me with some of the best beer being brewed in Georgia today, I think. I’ve enjoyed a few very tasty O’Dempsey’s beers on tap at Taco Mac, too. The bottle that I purchased for $7.99 right around the corner at Uncle Jack’s here in Canton definitely favors the Jailhouse brewery theme, as does the label. That makes sense, since the beer was brewed there.

O’Dempsey brewer Randy Dempsey helped brew the beer at Jailhouse, after all. This is a formidable Scotch Ale-Wee Heavy at 9% alcohol by volume, and is a limited release beer. It was released in late 2011.  I bought a few bottles over a year ago and laid them down as this beer is a perfect candidate for aging. I do love malty beers, and Scotha ales are nothing if not malty beers. So let’s take a sip and try this one, shall we?

Jailhouse/O’Dempsey’s Community Service Wee Heavy Scoth Style Ale pours to a dark ruby color with a thin almost non-existent head formation with a sweet molasses nose. Taking a sip, I get sticky sweet dark malty notes, molasses, raisin, and a hint of grassy hops in the finish. Indeed, this an excellent scotch ale in my estimation, and one that I certainly hope Jailhouse (or O’Dempsey’s) brings back again. There may still be bottles floating around in the meantime; grab them if you see them.

And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.

*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.

(B)=Bottled

(D)=Draft

 

 



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