Unforbidden Fruit! (Belhaven Fruit Beer)

Member Name: tange

Product:	Belhaven Fruit Beer
Date:	26/10/05 (160 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fruity, tasty and light.

Disadvantages: Not for those who don't have a sweet tooth.

At the beginning of August we nipped down to London to visit the Great British Beer Festival at Olympia. There were loads of beer on offer arranged into regional sections, a new beers bar and special brewery sections. We tried a few different ones and, on the train home, we discussed what our personal "Beer of the Festival" would have been. For me it was a toss up between two ~ Greene King Ale Fresco and Belhaven Fruit Beer. Of these two I have since tried Belhaven Fruit Beer in a couple of local pubs, so this is the first one of my favourite choices that I have decided to review.

~~~THE BREWERY.

Belhaven claim to be one of Scotland's oldest breweries. Brewing commenced on the site in Dunbar, East Lothian, in 1719. It has changed names and ownership over the years, but still remains as a producer of Cask and bottled ales and lagers. They supply their beer to Pubs and free trade outlets and also bottled beers to supermarkets and off licenses, throughout the UK.

Among the beers you may come across are Belhaven 80/- (a full bodied beer at 3.9% ABV), St Andrews Ale (a malty, amber coloured beer also at 3.9% ABV) and Belhaven Best (a honey coloured session ale at 3.2% ABV).

~~~THE BEER.

***A Bit of Background***

Fruit Beer is part of Belhaven Brewery's Classic Choice Range and is available both bottled and as a Cask conditioned beer. As well as this one the range includes a Wheat Beer and an IPA. This beer was voted the Young Adult's Champion Beer of the Year at the Great British Beer Festival, held at Olympia in London, in 2004. Fruit has been used for many years to flavour beers and the intention of Belhaven Fruit Beer is produce a classic Fruit Beer that is reminiscent of a Belgian beer, but which is light, fresh and traditional.

***Vital Stats***

Belhaven Fruit Beer weighs in at 4.6% ABV and is brewed using a variety of fruits ~ such as raspberries, apples, strawberries and blackcurrants. The style of beer is a Classic Fruit Beer. This definition applies to any classic style of lager or ale that has had fruit added to it during brewing.

***Look, Aroma & Texture***

Looks wise, my pints of Belhaven Fruit Beer were amber to dark honey in colour, with a slight head that left a very small amount of lacing on the glass as I drank. The aroma, as you probably expect is noticeably fruity ~ I detected strawberry and blackcurrant as the dominant fruit elements, but other fruits do creep in. There is also a slight malty scent, along with a hint of hops. Texture is slightly syrupy and medium bodied. It is fresh and clean on the palate and rather easy to drink.

***Tange's Taste Test***

The initial flavour of this beer is undoubtedly the fruit. I would say these are predominantly soft fruit and the ones I found came through strongest were raspberries, blackcurrants and strawberries. If I had to say which was the most strong I would have to pick the blackcurrant flavour ~ imagine a hint of Ribena!

The fruitiness is balanced out by a vanilla essence element, mixed with a maltiness that gives a slight biscuity tinge, preventing the beer from becoming too sweet and helps the flavours develop. This leads to a finish that is quite dry and with a slightly hoppy taste. The finish is also rather dry, but with the fruits (especially the berries) I mentioned in the base flavour coming through and lingering on your taste buds for a long time.

~~~WHAT TANGE THOUGHT.

I think you could probably guess that I liked this beer a lot! It is full of flavour and the fruit tastes really come through well. I also like the way that the malt and hops balance it out nicely and stop it from being too sweet or sickly. I must point out that there is a sweetness that some people who like a dryer beer may not like. This does, however, get tempered by the dry aftertaste…so give it a chance to develop before deciding you don't like it!

I think that this beer is quite a good all year round choice. It was an excellent summer beer because it was light, fresh and fruity. I also think it would make a quite palatable Christmas drink ~ the berries and forest fruit flavours would be nice with a Christmas meal! I would choose it again at any time and think it would suit most occasions.

I have sampled it three times. Once at the Beer Festival where it cost me £2.40 a pint, once at the Wellington at New Whittington where I paid £2.20 a pint and at a pub in the Derbyshire countryside (the Elm Tree at Heath) where it was £2.35 a pint ~ just shows how prices vary from place to place. On each sampling I was very impressed with the taste and quality. Out of the three pints I must say I preferred the one at the Olympia festival. Here they served the beer a little cooler than in the pubs and the flavours were slightly more crisp and fresh as a result.

So…if you are feeling a bit fruity, you really ought to try some Belhaven Fruit beer!

~~~BREWERY DETAILS.
Belhaven Brewery
Head Office
Spott Road
Dunbar
East Lothian
EH42 1RS
Tel: +44 (0)1368 862734

Web: www.belhaven.co.uk

Summary: A lovely fruity beer that looks rather nice too.