Beerspotter: Mad Fox Wee Heavy Spotted at Mad Fox, a malty brew

Where Spotted: Mad Fox Brewing Company, 444 W. Broad St., Falls Church

Price: $5.50 per pint

Call Him Ishmael: Bill Madden’s beer is my white whale. Before the brewmaster opened Mad Fox in July, he manned the tanks at Vintage 50 in Leesburg, which meant that vehicle-challenged drinkers like me had to settle for Oliver Twist-sized samples at the occasional beer fest. Falls Church isn’t exactly in my backyard either, but I’d walk to the Beltway for a pint of this rich, viscous scotch ale.

This One Goes to 11: The epitome of malty, scotch ales are boiled twice as long as ordinary beer, caramelizing the sugars to build these deep flavors of maple and molasses. Served on cask, Wee Heavy benefits from an elevated temperature that unlocks rousing cherry aromas, while the faint carbonation helps each sip go down with the glide of cold-brewed coffee. Everything is amplified; if Wee Heavy is a symphony, the cask version is front row at the Kennedy Center with the PA cranked to 11.