Belhaven St Andrews Ale (Bottle)

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

Serve in English pint

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Certainly an acquired taste. Not for the Budweiser crowd (who will be hugely disappointed) by a beer with flavor and not--not decidedly--the color of a child’s pee. As with US imbibers of Scotch who disparage the single malt Laphroig for not tasting more like the blended (and nearly undrinkable) Johnny Walker, this beer requires an open mind, a cultivated palate, and--frankly--a few extra dollars at the checkout counter. As regards the disitinction of Belhaven’s St Andrew’s from its (plain) Scottish ale, there are several notes of oak and peat among the medley of usual favorites associated with the regular ale. Not a very big step away from the original, but a nice, subtle variation on a proven theme.

Tap (Hell Hunt, Tallinn) at 4.6%
Messy bland dirty mash aroma, old carpet, never hoovered. Only nice thing is the sweet black tea aspect. Tastes even more of the freshly-walked-upon-with-we-boots carpet. Yeugh! Smooth and keggy in the mouth. Alas not bland enough, at least the Best Ale was super-bland yesterday. This only has dirty muddy nastiness. Blessedly watery, doesn’t hang around too long. This is everything that CAMRA was created to campaign against.

Bouteille claire 500ml. De couleur cuivrée et légèrement voilée. Nez de grains de malt sucré aux notes rôties, de caramel doux aux notes terreuses avec des traces de noix rôti, de houblon herbeux et de fumée de cigarette. Moyenne-mince en bouche avec un pétillement moyen-bas et une texture moyennement crémeuse. Goût très légèrement fruité (notes d’agrumes, faibles traces d’abricots) avec des petites traces fumées (tourbe et cigarette) lors de l’entrée en bouche suivi d’un goût de grains de malt sucrés avec un léger goût de caramel doux aux notes terreuses et auquel ressortent progressivement quelques notes rôties. Parallèlement l’on retrouve un goût très légèrement amer de houblon herbeux jusqu’en finale. Post-goût moyen, légèrement amer de houblon herbeux avec des petites notes rôties et fruitées. (2006)

Bottle at home. Clear amber brown color, smooth white head. Aroma is malty, suryp. Malty and sweet taste, medium body, maybe little watery.

Bottle. Clear amber with a dark reddish hue and a small beige head. Deep malty nose with light bready notes and hints of fruit and toffee. Light body, soft smooth texture, lightly sweet flavor with some notes of wood and citrus tea. Dry, light woody, light bitter finish. Better tha expected from a beer in a transparent bottle.

50 cl, bottled. Pours clear orange with a small white head. Aroma: Pale malt, fruity and herby hops. Taste: Mildly sweet, noticeable bitterness. Palate: Medium body, noticeable carbonation. Decent bitter.

Bottle. Pours clear heather honey with small white head. Aroma is very malty either notes of grain, ground coffee, bread and cooked vegetables. Taste is medium bitter and light sweet. Body is watery to light oily with good carbonation. Finish is medium long with notes of malt, grain, dried fruits, coffee and hints of citrus. Nice, refreshing and quenching.

This review is exported from olutopas.info with no comment. Original rating date 17.6.2011

Bottle 50 cl. Pours copper golden with a nice big smooth creamy head. Good notes of malts, some caramel, bread, hops and citrus. As advertised the texture is creamy and smooth. An nice balanced beer with refreshing taste. Small bitter finish which suits it. Very drinkable.

Bottle from Rema1000, Hammel DK. Pours clear golden with a low white head. Aroma of malts with a note of caramel. Taste is mostly malts with a little note of caramel and hops. Finish is a little bitter.