Harviestoun Tryd & Tested

Brewed by Harviestoun
Style: Irish Ale
Alva, Central, Scotland

Bottle from Sainsbury’s. I don’t get excited at seeing a new Harviestoun, yet I enjoy their beers when I have them. I think I associate the brewery too much with the lackluster and over-rated Schiehallion and Bitter & Twisted, and forget that they are capable of also making some dark and tasty beers with balls. Harviestoun call this a Dark Beer, and while it looks amber, it certainly has the roasted notes of a stout, making this a Red Ale (sometimes also called an Irish Ale as that’s where it was first identified). This is a spanking tasty beer with lots of roasted malts and a healthy dose of bittering hops. Satisfying and delicious. A good one.

Bottle. Reddish dark brown beer with a strong head. The aroma is very dry with a roasted and chocolate malty finish. The flavour is very bitter, very dry and very well hopped. Overall a reasonable well hopped beer.

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.

Bottle. Dark Brown with a full head.Malty with some bitterness and a trace of fruit. Full bodied and very refreshing. Another excellent bottled beer from this brewery.

Bottled. This is a fantastic beer, pasteurised or not. Earthy, sourish and uncompromisingly hopped. Slightly nutty caramel hints in the nose backed up with sourish citrussy hop. Loads of lemony hops in the mouth with fizzing red apple peel, offset with sneaking chocolatey malt. Unusually hoppy/citrussy character for a beer so dark and reddish- reminds me of Stary Krakow Dark. Quite possibly the same spiky Galena hoppiness as Tunnel Linda Lear. Leaning towards America. Yellowy froth clinging to the glass. Really, really impressed. One I couldn’t put down, and wouldn’t hesitate to resample.

Bottle. Pours brown / red with disappearing head. Aroma is dark fruits / malts / nutty. Taste is hoppy with lots of carbonation. Would drink this again.

Nice to see a special edition RWC beer that isn’t predictable and golden. Dark brown with an off white head. Faint sweet chocolate malt aroma. Thick, earthy malt taste with a bitter finish. Good enough to become a regular.

Creamy nose with malts and hops. Small disappearing head. Red mahogany hue. Some carbonation. A Highly hopped beer. With a long dry then malty finish. Soe caramel and minerals are noted. An accomplished beer from a good outfit.