Harviestoun Tryd & Tested

500ml bottle from Sainsbury. Very deep chestnut colour with thick lasting beige head. Quite a good malty hop aroma, nice grainyness in mouth and then peppery hop towards the end. Dry malt throughout. Hey, I liked it. Hop on end was good.

Good cream-coloured, fluffy head, pretty persistent over dark chestnut-coloured beer. Strange woodstainer aroma, fleetingly, then more wood and coffee. Finally dry hops and faint cardemom. All in all a pretty complex and layered nose. Hops, my good Doctor, hops! Noble English ones caress the yearning WoostePattyn palate, as well as some dark malts, just enough to sustain. Faint black cardemom remains, but the beer is too weak - I was going to say "too British" - to have an as complex layered taste as its nose. Still pretty good! Light bodied, but nowhere empty. Harviestoun, undeniably amongst the best on the isles. Póg mo thóin, it has balls - Jezza, you knew!

Bottled, 500ml, pasteurised from Sainsburys, Banbury. Dark chestnut with white head. Deep dark malts that give a heavy fruity flavour without going into porter territory. Remaining bitter and dryish throughout there is a touch of hop on the finish to round the beer off. Quite reasonable methinks.

Bottled. A dark mahogony coloured beer with an off-white long-lasting head. The aroma is dry and bready. Some oats and a little fruit. More bread in the flavour together with toast and a touch of coffee. Pretty good.

Bottle. Bronze with a large off-white foam. Aromas are toffee malts with lots of grapefruit bitterness. Nutty with earthy, spicy hops. Flavours are mainly fruity and hoppy with some chocolate malts. Spicy and prickly with hints of pine. Pretty good.