Harviestoun Schiehallion (Bottle)

Perhaps the most unusual beer in Scotland. Deep amber colour, huge white thick head. Citric lemony aroma with hints of honey and pale malt. Intense fruity, hoppy and grapey flavour. No carbonation. Delicious.

Tasted 05/03/2006. 500ml bottle from Rumble’s, Wellington. Pours a very pale straw-gold, almost green-hued, that hints of wheat malt. Thin white head diminishes quickly but leaves a thick lacing. Lines of tiny effervescent tiny bubbles trail up the side of the glass. First sniff reveals a minerally lager yeast. The nose then opens up into a lovely hop dominated bouquet of passionfruit and lychees, with a faint, underlying, grainy sweetness. Mildly sweet lager malt hits the mouth first and lingers all the way through. It’s followed closely by more of the hop hits - more tropical fruit, with a citrus edge, and a cedary bitterness through the middle to the clean finish. Some slight yeasty notes near the end are the only negative but these are very faint. Medium weight and carbonation lead to a slightly creamy mouthfeel. Superb balance. This lager is right up there with Emerson’s Pilsner. I’d certainly love to try it on cask.

Wonderful hoppy kick - creates a full grassy aroma that belies its low alcohol content. Wonderful!

Rich amber colour. Smells and tastes citrusy (grapefruit is prominent, like the label suggests) and is aggressively hopped. Sharp, refreshing, classic taste. This is an underrated beer.

These guys really know what they’re doing! Bright golden pour with big, long-lasting, rocky off-white head. Wonderfully aromatic: fruity (citrus mainly) especially grapefruit! Great creamy-smooth mouthfeel, almost like a cream ale! really very fresh tasting, right out of the bottle, yet. Front-heavy hop bitterness, both floral and grapefruit (Challenger). I LOVE this beer...great session beer! My one regret: I neglected to save some for my buddy Cornfield...just wasn’t thinking (or expecting something so great!)