Category: review

From the label:

The Belhaven Brewery is one of Scotland’s oldest regional breweries, dating back to 1719. Belhaven Scottish Ale is a fully rounded ale, a complex mix of malt and hop producing Belhaven’s easily recognized malted and nutty flavour.

From my notes:

Beautiful strawberry blonde color with a thick (two inch), large bubbled head that quickly dissipated. Smells of butterscotch and yeast. Flavor delivers on the smell. Nicely balanced. Smooth with a slight bitterness at the end.

Confession time. Sometimes when I’m preparing to review a beer for F(b)l and I’m sniffing the beer and swilling it around in my mouth I worry. I worry that I’m missing subtle aromas or flavors. Or I’ve smelled or tasted something but I don’t have the vocabulary to describe it to another person. Sometimes I think I’m smelling or tasting things that aren’t even there because I’m so anxious to make sure I cover the beer properly. This was the case with Belhaven. It seemed so fancy that while I was drinking it I kept thinking to myself there must be more going on here. I must be missing something. I sat there swilling the stuff around in my mouth long after I could taste anything. Thinking back on it and having had the opportunity to do some more drinking of it I know longer think it’s the case but… That doesn’t always help when it comes time to review the next beer. And, isn’t that what you really come here for? To learn about the anxieties and neuroses of an internet stranger?

Rating (out of five):

From the label:

Ruthless Rye IPA is brewed with this rustic grain for refined flavors – combining the peppery spice of rye and the bright citrusy flavors of whole-cone hops to create a complex ale for the tumultuous transition to Spring.

From my notes:

 Dark amber color, one inch thick tan head, good amount of lacing. Pine and spice on the nose, I think I detect the barest hint of citrus. Taste is hops with a kick of pepper as it goes down, very unique combination. Mild bitter finish. The rye helps to mellow out the hops in this.

Regular readers already know that hoppy beers aren’t my preferred beverage. I picked up this rye IPA in the hopes of finding something a little more mild to ease into these type of brew. Unlike most of the IPAs I’ve had though Ruthless didn’t complete overwhelm my taste buds and leave me coughing, or gagging, or looking desperately around for something else to drink. It was hoppy and there was some bitterness but the rye toned it down enough so that I could continue to enjoy the beer. One of the problems with these type of strong hopped beers though is that the hops are so overwhelming to my palate that it is hard for me to pick out any other flavors in the beer.

Rating (out of five):

From the label:

La MAUDITE (Damned), refermented on yeast base in the bottle, goes down uncommonly smooth. One taste of this excellent malt beverage will instill in you the highest respect.

From my notes:

 Smells of yeast, stone fruit, and bananas… Reddish brown color with a quickly dissipating, light tan head of fine bubbles. Flavor hits you at first with the stone fruit, almost sour mellows into a bready, spiced flavor. Flavor delivers on the promise of the smell. Complexities here that my palate is refined enough to recognize but not so much so as to describe. No lacing.

I didn’t know what a Belgian Strong Dark Ale (BSDA) was until I did some research on Maudite… Turns out this isn’t Unibroue’s only BSDA they have an even darker, stronger one, Trois Pistoles which you are sure to see here in the future. So, what is a Belgian Strong Dark Ale? It’s like your regular dark (brown) ale but with a lot more alcohol (anywhere from 7 to 15% ABV!) Generally, they’re going to be complexities in the flavor profile, they’re going to be fruity and they’re might be some dark malt flavors, spices are also used. The alcoholic content is sometimes hidden by the sugars used in the brewing process. Don’t expect much bitterness or hop flavor in these beers.

Turns out that I like BSDAs and I imagine most of my readers will as well, I found Maudite’s flavor and finish a perfect match that made for an excellent beer, since the beer is so dark and bold I might pair it with lighter food fare…

Rating (out of five):

From their website:

Boasting a ruby hue and an exquisite floral aroma, Red Nectar is a robust yet elegant brew with distinctive accents of toasted malt, caramel, spice and residual sweetness.

From my notes:

Beautiful dark amber-rose color. Citrus and malts with a hint of hops. very little head that quickly dissipates, no lacing,  medium bodied. Tastes of citrus and honeysuckle with some piney notes.  Finishes with hops.

Red Nectar is a  nice, though strong, session beer: enjoyable, drinkable , and sure to win over your friends. I know that ‘inoffensive’ isn’t considered a compliment but when you have a group of friends over with different tastes it’s hard to please everyone. Red Nectar though? It’s hard to find a complaint against Red Nectar. Now you want to know what a session beer is don’t you? It’s killing you isn’t it? You’ve heard the phrase before you might have been drank a session beer before but you were too embarrassed to ask weren’t you? First, a session is a dedicated block of time for drinking, but not getting drunk. A session beer therefore is a low alcohol beer (4.0%-5.1% ABV) that can be drunk in fairly large quantities.

Rating (out of five):