Belhaven Scottish Ale / Export (Bottle & Keg)

Brewed by Belhaven (Greene King)
Style: Bitter
Dunbar, East Lothian, Scotland

12oz in bordeaux glass. Dark amber with off-white head. Malty, toasty nose with some light fresh grape esters. Rich and sweet without a hint of cloying! Very clean finish, more tangy than bitter. Much drier than its color, ABV, and flavors would indicate. Beautifully drinkable and flavorful. Dig it.

Golden amber, sweet, smokey, smooth and creamy, malty, caramel, nutty, nice bitter finish.

On tap at Macnivens in Indy. Malty and smooth. I was hoping for more fullness, but this was a decent smooth ale. Red more than anything in color. Very drinkable.

Malty and a bit smoky, with a sweet start and bitter finish. A little thinner than I expected, but still flavorful.

Starts somewhat sweet with a little bite at the end. Somewhat heavy, but very drinkable. I really like this one!

Tesco, Helensburgh. Poured a golden brown with an off white head. Aroma was malty with a vague smokiness, but not saying much really. Thin mouthfeel. Slightly metallic twang, some bitterness. Deeply average.

Amber with a large off-white head. Malt aroma with earthy notes. Sweet with a clean finish. Nice.

355ml bottle, BB Jan 09. Pours an oddly appealing murky, chunk-laden, dirty bronze body, leaving whispy off-white lace on my glass. Grainy nose, reminds of a dark beer ’mash’; sweet caramel, roasted nuts, mollasses, burnt malt, and floral hops. Excellent body considering strength, smooth textured almost milky, moderate carbonation, touch of grainy astrigency. Particularly grainy malt flavour to the body, reminisant of eating crystal malt lending an overall sweetness, touch of burnt and nutty flavours, a hint of floral hopiness and subtle dark fruits in the background. Finishes quite abruptly, reasonably bitter, drying but somewhat quenching. Could easily see myself drinking many of these, a style i’m not very familiar with at all, but I must look into further!