Belhaven Scottish Ale / Export (Bottle & Keg)

Brewed by Belhaven (Greene King)
Style: Bitter
Dunbar, East Lothian, Scotland

Spicy malt aroma with hints of fruit like peaches or apricot. Light amber color with a medium tan head that fades. Coffee malt taste. Finishes smooth. Stick and chewy palate.

Bottle -- A light reddish brown with a large beige head with the same texture as beaten egg whites. Great retention and lots of lacing. Aroma is sweetish and a little smoky. Palate is creamy but a little thin. Flavour is smooth and reflects the aroma with not a lot of bitterness. Disappointingly thin and watery aftertaste. A thoroughly enjoyable drop just the same.

Pours a dark amber with a creamy head and minimal lace. Aroma of sweet malt - dark crystal - plums, raisins. Tastes like a scotch ale for a moment, then plunges into something a little less than fresh. Strange milky off-flavour, some hops but a very brief aftertaste. Nice creamy body, decent carb. This is clearly a scotch ale - I don’t understand why it’s considered a bitter. Maybe it’s supposed to be a bitter among scotch ales? Can’t quite wrap my taste buds around it.

Like most nitros it sure looks nice filling up that glass. A pure white slowly turns to a amber red and keeps its head throughout. A sweet and smoky aroma gives way to the milkshake like palate. Pretty good beer, but I guess I’m not huge on the style.

In nitro can at Zeno’s, Penn State. Poured copper with thick khaki head. Thick, creamy mouthfeel. Decent.

Draft; not much aroma some cream, some sweetness. Very creamy appearance. Creamy palate as well. Flavor was pretty much what was expected in a bitter. Pretty good style; probably because of the very good mouthfeel.

Not looking forward to this, the last two bitters I had did not impress me. I’m thinking I don’t care for this style. Nice 12 classy bottle, not your norm. Pour is definately darker than the ubiquitous american beers. Very nice aroma, like candy or something. No head on the pour just a ring around the inside edge of the glass. The taste is gentlemanlike and friendly, a very acceptable brew! This really had much better carbonation that the other bitters I’ve tried. Has a roasty laid back flavor that is not too harsh on the taste buds. With each drink there is a mild to medium bitterness that builds on the back of the throat. This is in no way like the more oppressive bitterness I have detected in other bitters. Just goes to show, don’t judge a beer by it’s style! Much better than Tetleys English Ale and Boddingtons Pub Ale. This beer is leaps and bound better than those two! If I didn’t know better, I would have classified this as an american lager because of it’s smoothness and tingly carbonation!

Hoppy aroma. Pours tea colored with a fluffy head. Well hopped and moderately bitter with lightly roasted malts., not very complex. Unremarkable finish.