Belhaven St Andrews Ale (Bottle)

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

Bootle. Clear golden with a huge foamy off white head showing good retention and minimal lacing. Aroma is very earthy with nuts, toasted malt and hops. Flavor is earthy, slightly hoppy with a toasted malt background and some tobacco. Medium body, average carbonation.

Bottle from the LCBO. Nice copper colour with a big and creamy white head. Sweet, malty aroma with hints of toasted nuts and musty pear. Soft bodied, a bit creamy, very moreish. Tasty and well-balanced flavour - malt, toasted grain, earthy hops, dryish finish. A very flavourful and very drinkable bitter.

Pours a clear amber with a moderate tan head. Aroma is malty, grainy with a bit of mustiness. Taste is a bit bitter, but not overpowering. Moderate to heavy carbonation leads to a clean finish. Overall pretty good.

Big rum and Coke nose, some citrus notes. Cloudy reddish brow, small soapy head. Salt water taffy sweetness, spicy bitterness. Big carbonation, medium body, full mouth feel, finishes unfortunately like a cola flavored “malt beverage” alcopop. Everything indicated that this would be an interesting beer, but once ingested in went downhill.

I liked the subtle earthy-mineral yeast flavor. Pours a clear ruddy brown with natural looking head that is off-white. Aroma is all yeast sweetness and a slight scrapey feel which rounds out with air. Taste is rounded fruit - tropical and apple - with some light lemon from the hops. Caramel and nutty sweetness, gorgeous. Light roast.

ambrata schiuma media buona persistenza note maltate caramelo leggero legno in bocca maltata caramello un buon amaro piacevole a bilanciare che rimane lieve nel retrogusto

Bottle into an English pint glass. The pour is muddy orange-brown with plenty of floaties and a creamy off-white head with loose bubbles that fades to a smaller head but then sticks. The aroma is a bit of sweet malts with a big dose of fruitiness and a hint of cream and sour in the background. The flavor is milder than the aroma with subtle and clean sour fruitiness followed by a nice maltiness characterized by grain, a bit of roast, and even some chocolate. There is a touch of dryness to the finish that is nice. This is honestly a pretty straightfoward, balanced, and good brew. Rather high carbonation.

Brown bottle, 500 ml, lot A, best before DEC 10, purchased at the LCBO on November 3 2009, savoured on November 9 2009; eye: copper, clear, light effervescence, tiny sheet of beige head, nice lacing; nose: grain, malt, slight caramel, light dusty; mouth: grain, malt, slight caramel, slight dusty, finale in grain where hops makes an unexpected appearance, medium-light body, rather carbonated, slight astringency, slightly bitter and sweet, lightly grainy texture, a bit thin; overall: fine FRANÇAIS Bouteille brune, 500 ml, lot A, meilleure avant DEC 10, achetée à la LCBO le 3 novembre 2009, savourée le 9 novembre 2009; œil : cuivrée, claire, légère effervescence, petite couverture de mousse beige, bonne dentelle; nez : grain, malt, très léger caramel, très léger poussière; bouche : grain, malt, très léger caramel, très léger poussière, finale en grain où apparaît un houblon inattendu, corps moyen-léger, plutôt carbonatée, très légère astringence, très légèrement amère et sucrée, texture légèrement granuleuse, un peu mince; en résumé : bien