Belhaven “Wee Heavy” Scottish Ale
Posted by jjdavis on 26 Apr 2008 at 11:11 am | Tagged as: Beer Reviews, Holy Beer Contenders
Come on, how can you resist a brew called "Wee Heavy?" I just looked at the bottle and heard Scotty’s voice saying the name.
"Aye, Captain, and I might say we’re a wee heavy!"
For those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about, go watch some old original Star Trek episodes. M’kay?
Moving right along. I’ve cheated on this one, it’s already open and I have been freely imbibing. Also — I’m already feeling it. So I need to rush this before I lose my coherence.
Popping the top, I sniffed, snorted, and sucked on the open bottle, with no result. This beer has no scent. It must be too heavy, or something?
Hmm.
Raising it to my lips I took that first sip and almost, but not quite, had to sound the gulp alert. This ale has a complex and busy flavor, all of it good, but I’m not sure how well balanced.
The first impression is that the beer is rather mild, then there’s a sudden surge. A deceptively light hoppiness emerges, lasting for about 6 seconds before it is overtaken by a wonderfully aggressive wave of light brown malt, and from that crests deep, sweet notes of butterscotch. That in turn fades to reveal another, different hoppiness, lightly bitter and hinting at citrus rind.
All this in about 20 seconds, after which it fades almost completely, leaving you with a strong desire to do it all over again.
I’m impressed by Wee Heavy’s overall smoothness and body, and am quite pleased by the buzz it’s provided. I like it so much, in fact, that I hereby proclaim it to be a Holy Beer Contender and rate it at a respectable 6.3 on the Holy Grail Scale.
Comments Off on Belhaven “Wee Heavy” Scottish Ale