Belhaven Brewery's Scottish Stout

Belhaven began brewing back in 1719, which started on a Sunday if you are into the Gregorian calendar like me; probably not. The location of the brewery was specifically set to avoid the damn Dunbar Council tax so it was impost-free; the best type of free.  They had some stiff competition in Scotland but by 2005, they were the oldest game in town and older always means better. They only had about 4 regular beers to their arsenal but now have over a dozen in their lineup.

Rumor has it they they might have started brewing beer pre-12th century by presumably some old ass monks but that isn't documented anywhere. They sold the family business in 1972 (initially started by John Johnstone) and when that shit went down, they really started pumping out some beers.

So this is their Scottish Stout hitting the scales at 7% ABV and $6.00 a pint and, between you and me, this is a great substitution to eating. This thing is a meal in itself, a delicious meal.  It has the flavor of toasted nuts and malts with a mix of coffee, chocolate and toffee. It's got a bitter aftertaste and is smoother than me after 12 Busch Lights.

It's darker than a Edgar Allan Poe short story read by Vincent Price in a coal mine in the Congo; dark.

It's got a good head on it, like your reviewer, and it's real thick, and a malty, frothy goodness. This has been labeled as "Guinness's Worst Nightmare" and is of a comparable style. It's way cooler than Guinness because it isn't Guinness.

Would I get it again? Heck yes I would. Would I drink it on a 10 mile bike ride, well, probably not. It's heavy, delicious and full flavored but not good for drinking when you are mowing the lawn. I wish I would have came across this in the winter. By stout standards this is a winner. You aren't going to be able to chug these but they aren't designed for chugging before you go to a varsity basketball game, you n00b.


Drinkability: 7/10
Taste: 9/10
Value: 6/10
Curb Appeal: 8/10

Overall: 7.5/10

Williams Brothers Brewery's Midnight Sun Dark Porter Ale

Williams Brothers Brewery is located in the New Alloa Brewery in Alloa, Scotland. It was started by Bruce and Scott Williams in 1992. They have about a dozen beers and the Midnight Sun Porter is the strongest at 5.6% ABV. This bottle first grabbed my eye because of the badass label; black, white, and reflective gold. You know if you see a guy drinking this not to mess with him. He's a loner Dottie, a rebel.

The beer has won a shitload of award for probably being really good. I didn't really read what they were because that is irrelevant in this review. The have a beer called the "Heather Ale" which was their first and flagship style beer at their brewery, initially called Heather Brewery. So long story short, some old lady came up to the Williams Brothers and said she has a rough beer recipe written in gaelic. She had claimed it came from the 17th century based off of some story. The story basically goes this Scottish King wanted a beer recipe to he captured a Pictish prince and beat the shit out of him in order to get it. The princes dad, Pictish king, was pissed and jumped off a cliff; reasonable. So if you want to believe that story, go ahead. Again, irrelevant.

Behind that badass exterior lies a fantastic beer. This porter is thicker than your average porter. The head has a strong, brown coloring than most and the beer has a aroma of thick accents of cocoa and coffee. The taste is similar but not as bitter as some other porters reviewed. They claim to add a little ginger to the mix but I don't taste it for one, and I hate ginger.

This is easily complimented with a chocolate chip cookie, as I am doing right now. I actually made a special trip to the kitchen to get one. You can't exactly slam a bunch of these in one sitting but it's a great beer to sip on...with cookies.

This beer is a pretty good bargain. It was $4 a bottle and that's about how much gasoline would cost to pick it up from Scotland yourself, give or take.

Drinkability: 6/10

Taste: 8/10

Value: 7/10
Curb Appeal: 8/10

Overall: 7.25/10