Belhaven Twisted Thistle IPA (USA) (Bottle)

Brewed by Belhaven (Greene King)
Style: American Pale Ale
Dunbar, East Lothian, Scotland

Bottle. Pours a light golden with a big creamy off-white head. Some suspended yeast or floaties. Laces well. Grassy and caramel aroma. Toasted caramel malt boddy with slight grassy hops. Medium bodied, highly carbonated.

Draught. Poured medium broen with thick beige head. Floral aroma. hoppy flavour but more subdued, with much caramel. At times, it was more like a Scotch ale than the English IPA it was billed as. Lasting bitter-dry finish.

A blast of prickly hops coats the tongue settling into persistent somewhat tart lingering finish. Topped with a small and quickly dissipating head, but leaving an appealing light lace, this cloudy amber brew is an interesting take on the IPA style. Hoppy, but not biting, with a solid malty backbone this brew treads the line between a light bodied English style IPA and a full bodied Pacific Northwest IPA. The Challeger hops add a character that would be otherwise lacking in most Cascade-based IPAs. Solid.

Pours a rich dark gold with a big white small beaded head. Nose is a nice mix of cedar and fresh cut grass, with a little bit of pizza dough sweet yeast scent in the back. Flavours are quite clean and is somewhat more aggressive than the usual british ipa. Certainly a mix of U.K. and what is going on in the States. Good flavour all round. Well balanced with Hops in the forefront above stable semi sweet malts. Hard to find any real faults in this unassuming beer.

Orange-amber haze into the glass with a decent head. Lot of yeasty particles abound. Aromas of Cascade hops, some spiced grapefruit and caramel as it warms. Hop flavor isn’t over the top, and it’s balanced nicely with some caramel malt and floral accents. Floral opens up a bit against a crisp finish to provide a nice bitter back. Mouthfeel is in direct proportion to the rest of the brew, filling but not thick. Very drinkable... I was nicely surprised by how much I enjoyed it.

aroma of fruit, butter, and grass; tiny floaties--otherwise average body with average white head, but with practically no lacing; overall flavor of earthy and metallic water with some fruit notes; it feels too spritzy; it’s okay.

English IPA’s should have a different category than American IPA’s. Heck, even within the USA the IPA’s differ based on the location. This is a good, decent, ENGLISH IPA. Nose is slightly sour malt, and a little bit of hop aroma. This stuff does have excellent mouthfeel, however - so it’s not a bad APA. Very creamy to the tongue. Poured amber with biscuit head. A quick note - drink this at cellar, not refrigerator. At cellar it is a very complex beer with notes of wood, elm, and even manzanita.

Bottle. Pours a hazy amber color with a decent sized off white head that lingers. Aroma is floral hops, citrus. Flavor is floral hops, malt, some crisp citrus notes. Palate is medium light, medium carbonation, bitter finish. Rather surprised, in a good way, with this one.