Scottish Ale
Belhaven Brewery Company Ltd.
- From:
- Belhaven Brewery Company Ltd.
- Scotland, United Kingdom
- Style:
- Scottish Ale
Ranked #16 - ABV:
- 5.2%
- Score:
- 86
Ranked #25,105 - Avg:
- 3.83 | pDev: 13.05%
- Reviews:
- 1,004
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Sunday at 04:26 AM
- Added:
- Aug 07, 2001
- Wants:
- 90
- Gots:
- 436
SCORE
86
Very Good
86
Very Good
Our signature Scottish Ale is the beer we've brewed the longest and is our best-selling bottle world-wide. We brew it from 100% Scottish Optic and Crystal barley malts for a nutty, biscuit character, balanced with a subtle spiciness from Challenger and Goldings hops for an all-around satisfying beer.
George Howell - Master Brewer, Belhaven
George Howell - Master Brewer, Belhaven
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Reviewed by MonDak_Joe1953 from Minnesota
3.79/5 rDev -1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.79/5 rDev -1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
330ml bottle. Etched on bottle neck is 'JAN2026 T5 24299 0831'.
Clear, deep amber colored body. Thin off white head quickly disappears, leaving a quiet surface and interrupted ring. No lacing.
Aroma is faint but is nutty with plum stone fruit.
Taste is malty and a long lasting nutty flavor. A little stone fruit sweetness from plum. Minor aftertaste with a nutty flavor.
Medium mouthfeel. Slight tongue sting but the bitterness is low. Quiet carbonation.
Easy to imbibe and a good pairing with high protein foods. Pleasing body color.
Apr 02, 2025Clear, deep amber colored body. Thin off white head quickly disappears, leaving a quiet surface and interrupted ring. No lacing.
Aroma is faint but is nutty with plum stone fruit.
Taste is malty and a long lasting nutty flavor. A little stone fruit sweetness from plum. Minor aftertaste with a nutty flavor.
Medium mouthfeel. Slight tongue sting but the bitterness is low. Quiet carbonation.
Easy to imbibe and a good pairing with high protein foods. Pleasing body color.
Rated by DonBowman from Pennsylvania
4.48/5 rDev +17%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
4.48/5 rDev +17%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Ruby color, decent gravity (not too thick or thin), nutty yet smooth taste that is quite pleasing. Impressed with how much taste with 5.2 ABV!
Mar 20, 2025
Reviewed by TheAncientSwiller from New Jersey
2.8/5 rDev -26.9%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 3
2.8/5 rDev -26.9%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 3
Haven’t has this old classic, in quite awhile. So, i picked up a 6er of 11.2oz bottles, and am revisiting a world staple, on this windy af Winter day. Rarely, do my scores for a beer, go high & low, high & low. But this one? Looks a helluva lot better than the experience. It’s fresh all right. But there is chocolate-y taste, that is piercing thru - along with the toffee/red stone fruit taste. Possibly chocolate malt? Either way, it’s a Scotch ale, so the hops/ibu will be tame. I don’t know. The feel, is thin…the taste, is ok. Maybe more heft. Like, not love this beer. Probably, why I haven’t revisited in so long. Makes sense.
Feb 17, 2025Rated by Sinfull from New York
3.68/5 rDev -3.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.68/5 rDev -3.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Clear amber color. Medium-sized, white head. Malt, grass, nuts, and wood in aroma. Moderate sweetness in taste. Creamy and smooth mouthfeel.
Jan 16, 2025
Reviewed by Weisenbeer from Ohio
4.22/5 rDev +10.2%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.22/5 rDev +10.2%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Picked this up on a whim at Whole Foods and was quite surprised .... Beautiful cascade when pouring from the nitro can .... Smooth and definitely getting the" nuttyness" ... Big thumbs up
Dec 31, 2024
Reviewed by TerryMills from Tennessee
4.37/5 rDev +14.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
4.37/5 rDev +14.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Haven’t had many Scottish ale so I can’t speak to it fitting the style but I can say this is a great beer.. I excepted it to be mediocre coming from a 6pack and lower abv but this beer has lots of flavor and it’s balanced perfectly .
Will be a regular ,when I can find it .
Dec 23, 2024Will be a regular ,when I can find it .
Reviewed by colts9016 from Idaho
3.93/5 rDev +2.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
3.93/5 rDev +2.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Review: 2207
Name: Scottish Ale
Brewery: Belhaven Brewery
Location: Dunbar East Scotland
Style: Scottish Ale
A.B.V.: 5.2%
Canned: Best Before 09/24/2025
Date: 24 Sept 2024
I am sipping a Belhaven Scottish Ale but have never had anything from this brewery. I want to visit Scotland and sip beer and whiskey. I was prying the tab, and as soon as I broke the seal, it sounded like it had one of those nitro balls. Lots of gases escaped the can. I poured the beer into a tulip glass at 42 degrees, but it did not create a head. The fast dissipation of the head left no lacing on the glass. The beer's color is SRM 15, dark amber with mahogany hues. The clarity is clear to brilliant, with a few carbonations floating lazily to the top of the glass. The appearance is below average.
Nosing the glass, I smell a nutty caramel, ladyfingers, and a light, earthy note. I noticed a light phenolic note, bready, doughy biscuit, citrus, and light floral esters off the nose.
The flavors start with caramel, ladyfingers, nuttiness, earthy, phenolic, bready, citrus, floral esters, and doughy biscuits. They are straightforward.
The mouthfeel is flat and slick, finishing smooth. The body is medium, and the carbonation is none.
After prying the cap, I would have stopped if I had known that would have made the beer flat. The beer has lovely Scottish ale flavors and aromas, but I prefer a bit of carbonation. Other than the carbonation issues, I enjoyed the beer.
Sep 25, 2024Name: Scottish Ale
Brewery: Belhaven Brewery
Location: Dunbar East Scotland
Style: Scottish Ale
A.B.V.: 5.2%
Canned: Best Before 09/24/2025
Date: 24 Sept 2024
I am sipping a Belhaven Scottish Ale but have never had anything from this brewery. I want to visit Scotland and sip beer and whiskey. I was prying the tab, and as soon as I broke the seal, it sounded like it had one of those nitro balls. Lots of gases escaped the can. I poured the beer into a tulip glass at 42 degrees, but it did not create a head. The fast dissipation of the head left no lacing on the glass. The beer's color is SRM 15, dark amber with mahogany hues. The clarity is clear to brilliant, with a few carbonations floating lazily to the top of the glass. The appearance is below average.
Nosing the glass, I smell a nutty caramel, ladyfingers, and a light, earthy note. I noticed a light phenolic note, bready, doughy biscuit, citrus, and light floral esters off the nose.
The flavors start with caramel, ladyfingers, nuttiness, earthy, phenolic, bready, citrus, floral esters, and doughy biscuits. They are straightforward.
The mouthfeel is flat and slick, finishing smooth. The body is medium, and the carbonation is none.
After prying the cap, I would have stopped if I had known that would have made the beer flat. The beer has lovely Scottish ale flavors and aromas, but I prefer a bit of carbonation. Other than the carbonation issues, I enjoyed the beer.
Rated by mpk2020 from Illinois
4.25/5 rDev +11%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.25/5 rDev +11%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Nitro at Columbus Bar in Columbus, IN!
Jun 21, 2024
Reviewed by GreesyFizeek from New York
3.62/5 rDev -5.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.62/5 rDev -5.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
On tap at Brass Tap in Richmond, VA.
This one pours a medium dark brown color, with a small head, and a bit of lacing.
This smells like caramel, and kind of buttery, unfortunately, with some dried dark fruit, some tea, and breadiness.
There’s the bones of a good beer here, and I really liked the stout from Belhaven, but this didn’t quite hit for me, unfortunately. It’s got a slick buttery character to it – not sure if it’s diacetyl, as I’m not super sensitive to that, but it definitely feels like it. There’s caramel, breadiness, and some stale fruitiness as well.
This is lighter bodied, slightly creamy, with not enough of a crisp bite or snappiness on the back end.
I expected more out of this one, as I think it’s generally recognized as a classic.
May 21, 2024This one pours a medium dark brown color, with a small head, and a bit of lacing.
This smells like caramel, and kind of buttery, unfortunately, with some dried dark fruit, some tea, and breadiness.
There’s the bones of a good beer here, and I really liked the stout from Belhaven, but this didn’t quite hit for me, unfortunately. It’s got a slick buttery character to it – not sure if it’s diacetyl, as I’m not super sensitive to that, but it definitely feels like it. There’s caramel, breadiness, and some stale fruitiness as well.
This is lighter bodied, slightly creamy, with not enough of a crisp bite or snappiness on the back end.
I expected more out of this one, as I think it’s generally recognized as a classic.
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