Belhaven Twisted Thistle IPA (USA) (Bottle)

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

This IPA is definatley twisted. Weith the strong taste of hops hitting you off the get go.leaving almost a woody tatse in your mouth. Leaving you just wanting more!!!!!

This is a great IPA. It’s copper-amber with a big, off-white heard slowly shrinking to leave a small permanent top and some lacing. The aroma is citrus (pineapple with some grapefruit, lemon), caramel, toasted bread, hay, grapes, fruit. The tatset is earthy leaves, raisins and grapes, citrus (mostly lemon and grapefruit), caramel, bread cruast, some hay, and a light wine quality. It is nicely sweet with a hoppy bitterness that just dominates and it has a lot of good, full flavour that holds up very well to food. It’s highly drinkable.

Glorious, Glorious beer. Probably the best pint I’ve had this year. Poured out of 500ml bottle into warm Nonik. Gorgeous amber color with a sturdy head afloat. Intriguing aromas of citrus hop, earthy hop, and apparantly peat smoke. All of these elements in are in a perfect balance. I like IPA’s, but it doesn’t take a genius to dump a bunch of hops inthe brew kettle. These guys have figured something out and I will be making this a case purchase.

Lets get this out of the way right off the bat, this is not an American IPA. Furthermore, it is a Scottish brew and the delicious subtle smokiness, which can be found in all of Belhavens brews, is present in this one as well. That having been said, I will acknowledge that this is not a huge beer, perhaps closer to an ESB in style, but none the less a deliciously malty brew. The balance is excellent with both a carmely sweetness along with the floral aroma of English hops. Fans of English Ales, not American hop heads need to give this one a try, and hopefully then it will be appreciated for the fine beer that it is.

this was a great IPA. this is a good example that american IPA’s dont have to be uber hoppy to be hoppy and flavourful. great hoppy nose, but its not insanely bitter. a really refreshing beer, very well made, one of my favorites.

This had a nice head.Aroma was aromatic of hops.Color typical.Tatsed full-bodied with a strong bitterness.I liked this.will go back for more!!

Poured from the bottle with a towering fortress of airy foam over a light orange brew. Nice little woodsy aroma of pine needles. Big smokiness comes out in the first swallow ... wow, this is a perfect fall beer for the fireplace ... outdoorsy ... pine, smoke, and a sweet maltiness. Nice!!

500 mL. No date, but the bottle says 6.1% ABV (instead of 5.3% change indicated for 2007). Slightly cloudy burnt orange-gold with a large, beautifully creamy, and lasting head. Aroma is metallic-spicy, citrus fruit and caramel. Flavor is first rich malt and caramel, slowly turning to dry spices and slight smoke; then drying to a crisp fruity and herb-bitter finish. Palate is medium-heavy and smooth with a nice small hop tingle and dry finish. Not sure how this ended up in the APA category, but it is a great beer whether you call it a Scotch Ale, an APA, an IPA or whatever. Heavily underrated.