And boy, am I glad I did!
Let's face it the bottle is appealing anyway with a cross wee mouse staring out at you and words such as 'Craft Brewed', 'Spicy', 'Aromatic' and 'Zesty' jumping off the bottle. I had been caught out by clever marketing before so I opened it with a bit of trepidation.
One sniff told me I would like it.
It poured out with a lovely fine head and a paler colour than I thought it would have, but then again it says it's a blond beer on the label. I had also read that it uses less CO2 than normal bottle production but I wasn't prepared for the fantastic smooth, almost cask beer,texture it had. Not that I've had loads of cask beer yet mind!
Then the taste. Well it's hard to do it justice but I'll try. There's a spiciness there of maybe cinnamon or clove as well as a full flavoured, seriously hoppy taste. I got a citrus taste too, perhaps not lemon more like lime? The taste is both bitter and sweet if that makes ANY sense, kind of bitter to start and a sweetness after. This beer has a lot going on and is certainly one of the best I have had. More correctly, I suppose, it's one that really suits my palate. I can't get over how smooth it is for a bottle......
The Verdict
Wow, this is the business. I will have to talk nice to the guys in The Wine Centre in Kilkenny and see if they can get in some of the others in the range. I checked the brewery website and they all sound good.
Harviestoun Bitter & Twisted - 50cl - 4.2% alcohol - Scotland
2 comments:
I'm also a big fan of this beer. They do a cask version which comes in at a lower abv which I have not tried but have also heard many good things about. I understand the bottled version is actually contracted out to Bellhaven as Harviestoun's don't have enough capacity to meet demand.
That's interesting. Quality does not seem to have suffered although I haven't had the cask or tried it before in bottle. As I say, I will keep my eyes peeled for the other beers in their stable.
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