Borve Ale

Formerly brewed at Borve
Style: Bitter
Aberdeenshire, Scotland

Serve in English pint

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First tasted this at the Paisley Beer Festival in April 1994. Cask, handpump dispense. Clear copper red in colour with a thin loose white head. Tart redcurant fruit in the malty aroma. Thin mouthfeel and poor lacing. Pale malts give a slight maltloaf base laced with cherries and hedgerow fruit. Metallic tang from the hops and boiled vegetable note give a bitter bite to the aftertaste. Finish is slightly sweet with dry woody notes. An ok session ale that you can tell from the malt profile it hails from Scotland.

Vintage bottle, consumed at GBBF, day 5 on 5 August 2006. Wasn’t immediately apparent which version this was as there was no ABV on the label. Dead and buried. An ex-beer. Shuffled off this mortal coil etc etc. Indeterminate age. Woody with balsamic vinegar. Nothing else left.

[Bottled at GBBF, old vintage bottle] Muddy dark amber, no head. Vinegar sadly dominates. Beneath lies some honey and wood, the malt has turned papery. It’s alwats been a dream to sample this brewery’s products, and I can only hope I get to find their Extra Strong before that one too expires.

Bottle conditioned. GBBF. Balsamic vinegar and chocolate. Woody and with a depth of chocolate. Quite fascinating.