Belhaven Twisted Thistle IPA (USA) (Bottle)

Brewed by Belhaven (Greene King)
Style: American Pale Ale
Dunbar, East Lothian, Scotland

Bouteille de 500 ml, acheté au LCBO d’Ottawa (Rideau et KIng Edward). Blonde miel, petit collet avec de la dentelle. arome d’houblon peu sucré et assez amère, note de malte floral. Goût d’houblon un peu plus sucré de caramel au beurre, douce amerturme, un peu de fruits des champs. Bien agreable!

A heavy beer for an India Pale Ale. Not very hoppy for an IPA either. Somehow it weighs you down with more volume than flavor.

bottle of the %6.1 variety. muted flavors of fruit (orange). mellow alcohol profile that is slightly pronounced. bit of a metal taste that subsides after a couple of minutes. nice malt character that stands out in front. the hop character is muted in the backround and tends to be tingly. after some time the beer rates a 3. looks like a beer with the color of orangeade. good bitter finish. although i usually prefer a lower alcohol content (around 5.5) in this instance i would think that the 5.3% variety might be less interesting.

Now this is an interesting IPA. Pours a light bronze/orange with a thicker, more long lasting head than most IPA’s. Very nice floral aroma, with a little plum up front. Much more sweet malts than expected, with heavy citrus notes and a long bitter aftertaste. Fills the mouth much more so than comparable ales. Much better than most of the boring IPA’s out there.

On-tap at Plain Kitchen, Gothenburg. Amber color with off-white head. Aroma of hops, toffee, fudge, biscuits and citrus fruits. Tastes of toffee, fudge, butter, citrus fruits, flowers and moderate bitterness. Creamy but still dry mouthfeel. Maybe a bit light on the hops for an IPA, but still a good ale.

Pours clear gold with a medium sized, low density head. Fairly ugly, actually. Decent lacing and a lasting effervescence saves the brew from visual obscenity. Nice, somewhat mild grapefruit scent with some underlying malt sugars. Taste includes pine needles, grapefruit, a small bitter bite, and a cloyingly sweet malt character. Hoppy finish. The odd sweetness seems to cause a lack of balance.

On tap at the Sharp Edge Beer Emporium. Barely detect any arom. Perhaps a bit of rootbeer but certainly not IPA, just clean and clear nose. Ubiquitous pale yellow american lager appearance. Barely any carbonation. Interesting taste, almost like a good saison with a bit of bitterness. Yes, some malt or hop bitter bite, but it lacks any of the ’in yer face’ attributes of the IPAs. Almost a friend in some ways. I even detect a little tartness with each sip. I just had a S/N Harvest that was much more offensive than this. Overall, not bad for an IPA but now I see RB classifies it as APA, no wonder,. Finish leaves you with a medium medicinal bitterness that hangs for just a little while.

Bottle from the LCBO. Amber pour with an effusive white head. Mild hop aroma. Smooth on the palate. A lot of sweet malts, but lacking a good level of bitterness to balance this out. A little bit too bland and subdued for my tastes.