Belhaven Twisted Thistle IPA (USA) (Bottle)

Poured a hazy orangish amber with frothy off white head. Aroma of very light hops with some earth also. Flavor was bitter and astringent with not enough hops for an IPA.

bottle . . pours amber/slightly cloudy with a thick white head . . aroma is pine, sweet, malty . . not much aroma . . taste is slightly pine, alcohol and citrus and then all of a sudden you get the flavor of a tripel . . strange IPA, but ok . . a little too sweet and alcoholy . .

"overly astringent/grainy malt element that ruins the experience" - I don’t even know what this means. But I sorta liked it. Have found that I egenerally prefer American IPAs over European ones. Thanks to Piscator for the sample.

Bottled sample from gregclow. Pale amber in colour with medium carbonation. Aromas of wildflowers, mild citrus, and a bit of earth. A good whack of bitterness upfront in the mouth, followed by some grassy hop flavors meshing with some slightly sweet crystal malt and a bit of salt. There’s a bit of a British ale yeast fruit component as well. Unfortunately, it gets too dry on the finish and there’s an odd spent hop or maybe overly astringent/grainy malt element that ruins the experience. I would rate this one higher if it wasn’t for the finish.

Amber,huge rock off white head.Salty astringent nose. Light malt,medium hops, long finish. Light body, somewhat gassy Not much here

50 cl bottle. Amber with an off white medium head that shows some good lace and settles to a thin layer. There’s a lot of small particles in suspension. Primarily malt based aromas of light caramel and toffee, but no detectable hop aroma that I can appreciate. I do get a faint hint of diacetyl. Medium body and carbonation, mouthfeel is pretty good. There is certainly a smoky, roasted, earthy flavor that dominates everything else. Maybe my mind is playing games with me, knowing this is from Scotland, but I swear it tastes like it’s been smoked with peat or something. Finishes barely dry, but this certainly has a malt dominant character, and lacks the refreshing bitterness of a good IPA. In fact, this seems like a totally different beer than what Papsoe describes in his rating of a few days ago. There is no bottling date, and I’m wondering about the age of this.

Bouteille de 500 ml achetée à la LCBO d’Ottawa (ONT). Arôme: Odeur de caramel fruité. Apparence: La couleur est cuivrée avec une moyenne densité de bulle. Présence d’un moyen col mousseux et d’une large dentelle sur le verre. Saveur: Goût d’orange et d’écorce de citron. Durée moyenne de l’arrière goût. Palette: Le corps est moyen avec une texture légèrement crémeuse. Moyenne effervescence en bouche. Présence d’agrume en arrière goût. (Rating #844)

Strange sour honey aroma is generally more pleasant than the smokey bitter beef jerky flavor on this brew. I know the british invented the style, but they are not to be trusted with an IPA.