Belhaven Scottish Ale / Export (Bottle & Keg)

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

12oz - Poured red/brown with a medium lived creamy head. Good lacing throughout. Nose of wood, with a smoky rausch flavor to it. Good beer with food, specifically smoked items. Nice.

12 oz bottle poured into a tulip glass. Smells of smokey malts. Taste is nice, though alcohol never comes through...

Fruity esters, caramel and toasty malts along with a herbal note to the aroma. Clear burnished copper coloured body is topped by a low but lasting cover of cream coloured head. Caramel malts and chocolates are strong up front followed by an ashy, smokey and bitter flavour with grape, raisin, prune and fig fruitiness in the back end. Medium body is quite dry with fairly lively carbonation that engages the tongue and cheeks. Tumbler. Cellar temperature. Bottle (BCLS at Commercial, Sep-06).

Pours a brownish amber color, and has a medium head, I had the bottle form. It has a real nice fruity smell. It has a light burnt/smokey flavor that mixes well and makes it have a slight chocolate taste, It also has a slightly fruity taste. When I think of ale, I think of something different then this flavor, I liked it a lot.

(500 ml bottle: $2.79 at BevMo in La Jolla, CA) and (440 ml widget can: BevMo in La Jolla, CA) Having unintentionally been away from Belhaven Scottish Ale for nearly a decade, I’ve totally forgotten how smoky this beer tastes. From the bottle, this is wonderful! It’s lightly fruity with a touch of sweetness at the beginning of each sip, but it soon becomes mildly nutty and fairly dry by the mid-palate, and finishes with a moderate bitterness. But the smoke is ever-present right from the first sip. In contrast, the canned version is less fruity and sweet initially, starting off with and maintaining a drier, more nutty, more consistent flavor, and if anything, the smoke is even more prominent with the Draught can. Body is medium, and predictably, it’s creamier and smoother from the can, but more interesting to me from the bottle. Dry, nutty, but only lightly smoky in the nose, and in general, it’s just not that interesting an aroma. Straight-up amber colored body shows only a hint of haze, but of course the cascading is present only from the Draught can, and it cascades in a wavy fashion. Heading on the bottled version is mediocre at best, fading quickly to a ring, but there can be no doubt that the creamy, dense, beige head from the can shows exceptional retention. So while the cascading effect of the Draught can is much more visually appealing, I think I prefer the flavor of the standard bottle.

A great tasting Scottish Ale. Found it in a beer store in Boone, NC. It goes down smooth and does not leave a strong aftertaste. It’s worth every penny.

A good smooth beer with strong hints of malt, with a slightly nutty aftertaste. Will definitely buy again.

Bottle. Clear copper brown colored body, with bright trails of bubbles rising throughout the glass. Has a thin creamy tan head. Nose is brown ale-like malts, some butter, toast and a not-so-pleasing spoiled mold scent, and even some apparent alcohol noticed, suggesting the bottle may be a bit old and affected. Texture is bubbly, frothy and somewhat crisp. Light dough and brown sugar yeast flavors are present, with an unmistakable flavor of brown sugar pancakes, even some light bourbon and tobacco notes as well. Ok beer, but lacks complexity, to say the least.