Ptarmigan Premium Ale
Harviestoun Brewery

 

The eighth beer tasted by half-pint at the Catford Beerfest., 08/06/06. Gravity-dispensed.

A: dark orangey golden hue+a thin foamy head+low carbonation. Looking quite healthy and fresh.
S: slightly sour-sweet and stinky edge of semi-rotten citrus-rind, tangerine blossom, and lots of pink grapefruit peel. Goldings or First Gold-like hops are used I suspect? Overall, richly fruity and hoppy.
T: sour-sweet maltiness, backed by a mildly "skunky" edge of honey, and a lingering, walnutty-bitter and grapefruit-zesty aftertaste; a floral touch and tangy bitterness reveal in the end.
M&D: smoothly carbonated on the mouthfeel, the aftertaste is quite thin-bodied after a (seemingly) rich fore-taste. All in all, a bitter Bitter this is, of some quality.

Cask conditioned at Charlie’s Bar, Copenhagen.
Golden / amber colour, low head. Moderate malty aroma with fruity hops. A moderate but nice and crisp hoppiness in the flavour, well balanced with the malts. Easy drinking. A nice little beer this one. And Harviestoun Brewery know how to brew "bigger" beers too! They are emerging as one of my favourite breweries.

Had on cask at Redbones. My glass was clear amber with a 1/4 inch of frothy white head. Weak tea-like aroma had some smelly feet essence as well. Low initial taste was followed by mostly grassy hops that went from the field to the barn. Thin + mouthfeel was expected. There were some sour apple notes as well.

on cask at Redbone's

Ruddy toast color with a quarter inch of lacey white head.

Faint sweet scent.

Gentle carbonation with tender mouthfeel.

Honey malt tinged with a funky herbal bite that hangs out on the lips.
Very sessionable. I had two pints and could have managed a third.

Is this really the same beer as the previous two reviews?

On cask

Pours with a typically light amber body, fluffy white head with fair retention

Smell, fresh wort, thick fresh floral hops, bit of lavender, some citrusy piney hops

Taste, strong citrus hops, nice smooth hop bitterness coming through, thin malt profile on the finish

Another tasty ale from this brewery, amazingly drinkable and very refreshing

The colour is golden yellow and the liquid is somewhat cloudy. The foam is very thin and compact.

The smell is somewhat sour and resembles of mild cheese.

The carbonation is almost absent. There is a small touch of bubbles in the finishing. Perfect for a cask-conditioned ale, IMHO.

The taste is loaded with lots of fruity malt. There are flavours of tea, redcurrant and some diacetyl and lactose. The bitter hops are firm and well balanced to the malt. The aftertaste is dominated by an almost sour bitterness that fills the whole mouth.

Great stuff. Shame about the smell, really.

Looked great in the glass. Fruity, lightly aromatic hop aroma. Bready malt flavour, with some fresh citrusy wheatyness. Quite summery, with some crisp, refreshing, lightly floral hops in the finish. decent, pleasnt cask ale, generally has a pretty soft round palate, quite tasty. (Cask- ChelmsfordBF 03')