Belhaven Wee Heavy / 90 Shilling (Bottle)

Brewed by Belhaven (Greene King)
Style: English Strong Ale
Dunbar, East Lothian, Scotland

If I had to sum up this beer in one word, it would be "pungent". But that’s not the point of this site, so here goes: Pours with the consistency of molasses and a deep mahogany color. Aroma is malty, nutty, sweet. Flavor is incredibly complex with hints of molasses, raisins, chocolate, caramel, and lots of malt. Mouthfeel is unusual, almost stringent, but in a good way (like I said, pungent). Overall a very enjoyable beer for a very reasonable price!

Poured a cloudy reddish brown. Aroma of malt, chocolate, spice/pepper, some sweetness and caramel. Initial flavor of sweet malt, cherry and some roasted and smoky elements. Finish of chocolate and spice. Medium palate, very, very slight throat warming. Loved the lingering aftertaste of sweet chocolate. Found flavors blended to form a subtle complexity.

Color, aroma, appearance all very inviting but the payoff just never arrives. I can taste the cherries at the start but later the rasin-y, peppery flavors are a bit disquieting. Sometimes ’complex’ ales just try to do too much.

Cherries, caramel and hoppy nose. Gorgeous glowing deep and cloudy red colour. Taste was not what I had hoped, starts great with sweet cherries and lively bell peppers but the palate and finish was skunky and sour.

Bottle poured beautiful red coffee color with a thinnish tan head. Nice lacing. Very matly, chocolatey aroma. The flavor is very roasted. Palate’s a bit thin, but it tastes good with mild sweetness.

Bottle. Deep red copper with a very nice, mousse-like khaki head. Malty and nutty aroma with a hint of raisins. Raisiny flavours with a good nutty aftertaste. Medium body, slightly light for the style. Quite nice, almost a bit bock-like.

Smoky brown color, more of a fruity flavor than I expected from the look of it after the pour. Nice malt flavor, with some honey. Medium body, felt soft on the tongue, and with a slight warming sensation, although it isn’t the highest alcohol content beer I’ve had. Well balanced, definitely one of the better beers out there.

[121-20061201] 500mL. Light chocolate with vegetable base aroma, some alcohol. Clear, red ruby body with lots of slow floating bubbles and a medium-lasting off-white head. Tastes of medium alcohol with medium sweet malted notes. Medium body, nice creamy mouthfeel, good togetherness. Overall, good feeling.