Belhaven Wee Heavy

[kujo]

I tried this for the first time yesterday. There's a liquor store near me where you can by a .5L bottle of it for $3. My brewmate talks about brewing scotch ales all the time, and I had only ever tried one, and it was horrible, so I never looked back. Also, these are generally big beers, with big malt flavor, and I'm a hophead, so I kept my distance.

Well, turns out I really like this beer! A lot! I want to brew one of these!

It *is* malty, but it's not syrupy-sweet-malty. It's well balanced and even has a bit of a dry finish. It's not hoppy - there's a bit of hops on the nose, but the malt is what leaps out at you. That said, it *is* actually pretty balanced, and there's enough bitterness that it doesn't scream "Aunt Jemima" at you. Some of that bitterness, I believe, comes from some of the effects of the yeast rather than hops.

I recommend this beer. Very good stuff. I'll buy it again, but only until I get around to brewing it for myself.

[S.F.B.]

I don't ever recall seeing any Belhaven beers in the stores out here. I will look for it. I love Scotch Ales.

[Bluebottle]

In the early '90s, I worked an assignment near Edinburgh, Scotland. The local served Bellhaven, and I enjoyed many a pint there. Now in Houston, I can buy it at our local liquor store, Spec's. I usually get the 16oz bottles.

[dparsons]

They've recently started distributing it in cans with a little plastic ball inside like Guiness. It seems they are making an effort to distribute their beer in a consumable form. I had a few recently and they were quite tasty.