Belhaven Scottish Ale - Belhaven Brewery

Don yer best tartan kits, because today we're heading across the pond. Belhaven brewery has bestowed upon Floridian beverage distributors a number of it's sundry sauces, direct from Scotland. It's assured that this is the first, and a safe bet that it will remain the only, brewery from East Lothian to come across my humble beer review. There are a handful of tempting brews from Belhaven, and the first I've chosen to take a crack at is their Scottish Ale.

ABV: 5.2%
Serving Type: 12oz. bottle

Appearance: Golden brown in color leaning toward the red end. Medium-thin looking body on a delicate pour. A crisp, bubbly, and surprisingly firm off-white head hangs around the glass nicely.

Smell: Very creamy malt nose with sugary sweet and caramel tones heavy. There is also noticeable grain note. Overall fairly clean, but with no bitterness or hops discernible.

Taste: Tastes almost identical to the smell. Creamy malt in the front, sweet, caramel, maybe some toffee, very light hops. No bitterness at all. Smooth but not buttery, some crisp cleanliness about the flavor.

Mouthfeel: Thicker than expected. The pour looked a little on the thin side, but it coats the mouth and hangs nicely on the palette.

Drinkability: If I were in Scotland more often I think I'd be happy to have dram upon dram (I know that term is for Scotch, but I don't have a Scotch review, so I'm going with it). As with most of the beers that have graced the review so far, it's tasty and very drinkable for the sweet-toothed kind. Weighing in at 5.2%, it's not terribly strong. I'd prefer it a bit bigger, because it seems to me like this type of flavor profile handles high ABV pretty well. Also I'm a more swerve for my coin type of guy. The price point is fairly friendly for a beer of this level, at around $10/six pack. It's definitely worth a try and I look forward to having another go at it.
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Links:
Belhaven Brewery Website
Beeradvocate Page
ratebeer Page

Retro Red - Ft. Collins Brewery

Ft. Collins Brewery! Welcome to the blogosphere, lad. We're happy to have you here today to help us tap into the beloved red ale style. We've been looking forward to kicking this one off with a bang and we're lucky to have you here with us. What's that you say? You've got a tasty red in the back, held out for just such an occasion? Well played, boy! Let's get to it then!

Appearance: Ruby red and crystal clear, without the head I'd have thought it to be cranberry juice. Three-finger St. Augustine sand colored head that went as fast as it came and left no lacing behind.

Smell: Caramel malt, sliiiiiiight foot skunkiness (I'll disclaim that my sinus congestion may have handicapped me here).

Taste: Kind of citrusy, crisp and present hops. Sweet malt finish and lingering aftertaste. Fuller flavor than expected. Extremely well balanced.

Mouthfeel: Light body, bordering on thin. Good low amount of carbonation that met my desire nicely.

Drinkability: This one is juicy and refreshing. It's not the best red I've ever had, mostly because I'm not keen on citrus, but it's very nice. The balance is better than most reds that I've tried by keeping the malt flavor from weighing down everything else. As the brewery is re-introducing this beer in 2011 as the Red Banshee, I'm certain I'll be trying it again soon and wouldn't stray away from it on tap.
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Links:
Ft. Collins Brewery Retro Red Page
Beeradvocate Page
ratebeer Page

Ol' Red Cease & Desist - Erie Brewing Company

Another Erie Brewing Co. flavor is my feature flavor today. The beer journal proudly welcomes the Scotch Ale, specifically a Wee Heavy for today. Erie comes at you with Ol' Red - Cease & Desist. I selected this one because I tried a taste on tap last week at Stubbies and wanted to get deeper.

*As a sidenote, for the sake of my readership I'm going to try to write my reviews with more brevity and less filler. Maybe I'll take up novel writing to get out my suppressed Hemmingway, but the b.j. will be more brief for at least a hot minute.

Appearance: Poured glistening golden amber. Thin ale-y beige head came and went in a blink, with just a tiny remainder holding on for the duration.

Smell: Light nose of mostly caramel malt and a little alcoholic sting.

Taste: Surprisingly rich creamy caramel malt flavor. Tiny bitterness hidden by mild caramely sweetness. A fairly simple flavor hangs nicely with some alcoholic warming effect from the 10.1% ABV. Somewhat dry finish for the style, leaves on a refreshing note.

Mouthfeel: Creamier than it looked on the pour. It has the thinness of an ale but sticks nicely around the palette. 

Drinkability: I rather enjoyed this one. For 10.1% Ol' Red is very smooth. It's still not a chugger, but I found myself going through it with pace. I give a thumbs up, and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys the sweetness and malty taste of a British brown ale.

**I'll try to hit this one with an update if I have another shot at the tap at Stubbies.
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Links:
Ol' Red Cease & Desist Page
Beeradvocate Page
ratebeer Page