When it comes to the Sprecher brewery of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, my experience has been for the longest time with traditional German styles of beer. Today’s craft beer drinker wants more, however, and so Sprecher expanded into different styles of beer. Rest assured, the ones I have tasted so far have retained the expected level of quality of a Sprecher brew.

To be fair, it had been over ten years since I had last enjoyed a Sprecher brew when the brewery entered the Georgia market in 2013. The first new Sprecher brew I tried was a Pub Brown Ale and then, Sprecher Bootlegger’s Bourbon Barrel Hard Root Beer.

Tonight, yet another new beer for me: Sprecher Pipers Scotch-Style Ale. Pipers Scotch-Style Ale weighs in at a formidable 8.3% alcohol by volume and packs 21 IBUs, not really a lot for such a massively malty style, but that’s by design as you want a rich sweetness in a Scotch ale. Sprecher Pipers Scotch-Style Ale runs $9.99 a 4-pack in the Atlanta area, so demerits for that. Give us 6 bottles for ten bucks, Sprecher! Worse yet, it appears the bottles used to be 16 ounces; now they are 12.

Ingredients from the website:

Malts: Aromatic, Caramel, Pale, Roasted, Vienna

Hops: Goldings, Hallertau

Sprecher Pipers Scotch-Style Ale pours to a rich dark ruby color with a thick creamy head of tightly packed bubbles and a soft inviting nose of sweet sticky malt and treacle. Taking a sip, the beer is immediately smoky up front, ever so phenolic but really so full of character from the peat-smoked malt! I’m immediately in love with this beer. Subtle notes of sweet treacle and very subtle fruity raisin come through, too. The finish is on the sweet side with some alcohol warmth to boot.  It really comes off more of a hyper Scottish Ale than a Scotch Ale to me at first, but the dark malts eventually emerge. It’s delicious all the same, and a treat that should not be missed.

I do very much love the wonderful smokiness of this beer, and would buy it again just for that. On surface I would award 4 ½ stars here for style and hedonistic enjoyment, with a ½ star demerit for the 4-packs.

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