Bitter & Twisted
Harviestoun Brewery Ltd.

Bitter & TwistedBitter & Twisted
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From:
Harviestoun Brewery Ltd.
 
Scotland, United Kingdom
Style:
English Pale Ale
Ranked #38
ABV:
4.2%
Score:
84
Ranked #22,961
Avg:
3.71 | pDev: 12.67%
Reviews:
286
Ratings:
470
Status:
Active
Rated:
Jun 18, 2023
Added:
Jul 22, 2002
Wants:
  23
Gots:
  44
English Golden Ale

Bitter & Twisted is a superbly-balanced, refreshingly-lively beer. It has a malty-sweet aroma with a floral, fruity hoppiness and a zingy, zesty flavour. Complex, rounded, sweet and dry; this is the connoisseurs' session beer par excellence!

HOPS: Hersbruker, Celeia, Perle, Bobek
MALTS: Lager malt, crystal malt, malted wheat & oats

34 IBU
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Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by damndirtyape:
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Reviewed by damndirtyape from Ohio

3.83/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Single bottle (there is a batch code, but no date I can decipher) poured into a nonic glass.

Appearance: Slightly hazy gold-orange color with an initial 1/4" white head that dies down to a thin foam across the top of the beer. Islands of lacing here and there.

Smell: Upon first pouring there is a skunky-type hop smell, but that goes away pretty quickly and is replaced with citrus mostly. As it warms up the citrus gets a bit more sweet and some malts start to shine through. Almost lemon tea-like at times.

Taste: When cold (recommended drinking temp on the bottle) the beer is citrus/lemon up front followed immediately by a classic English bitter finish. The malt cannot be detected at all when cold, but they show up a bit in the middle once the beer warms up more. It's tasty.

Mouthfeel: Mild carbonation and slick. Goes down easy. I almost think it gets thicker as it warms up and the carbonation starts to die down.

Drinkability: I suppose this could be an English IPA, but I almost think it fits the category of an English Bitter as a better fit. Regardless, it's a refreshing beer on a hot day - the lemon/citrus gives it a nice zing. It went well with a meal (Asian fish an broccoli over ramen noodles) and I could drink it by itself with no problem.
Aug 11, 2010
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.48 by Mr_Rocca from Canada (QC)

Jun 18, 2023
Photo of James94
Reviewed by James94 from England

4.04/5  rDev +8.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
L: Dark gold colour, good lacing
S: Malts, malt loaf, vanilla, orange
T: Herbs, green vegetables, bread
F: Slightly overcarbonated, medium-bodied

O: 4
Jan 19, 2022
Photo of cheeseheadinMinneapolis
Rated by cheeseheadinMinneapolis from Wisconsin

4.16/5  rDev +12.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
16.9oz bottle, Didn't find a date code. tastes very fresh
it is as advertised, lemon zest on the finish. good hot weather beer
Nov 09, 2021
 
Rated: 3.63 by Daneve76 from Australia

Jun 07, 2021
Photo of Pmicdee
Rated by Pmicdee from Canada (ON)

3.99/5  rDev +7.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Sept 24 2023
Feb 05, 2021
 
Rated: 3.85 by polloenfuego from Canada (NB)

Jan 26, 2021
Photo of GreesyFizeek
Reviewed by GreesyFizeek from New York

3.61/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
This one pours a very slightly hazy golden yellow color, with a small head and lots of lacing.

This smells like biscuits, tea like hops, honey, and lemon.

This is probably a bit more solid in a can rather than (likely very) old bottles on a shelf. It’s still a little sweet and boring for me. The honey and biscuit malt character is nice, but i want a bit more crispness from the hop character or anything else.

This is light bodied, and not crisp enough, with a good enough drinkability.

Given the name, I expected something less sweet and more bitter or hoppy.
Oct 22, 2020
 
Rated: 3.4 by stephenlee93 from England

Jul 17, 2020
Photo of JonnoWillsteed
Reviewed by JonnoWillsteed from England

3.14/5  rDev -15.4%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3
L- Pours a clear bright amber with a 3mm white head.
S- Mild for me, just some graininess.
T- Mild flavour, reminds me of a lower ABV% trad British pale ale, with a gentle hop flourish into the finish. I don't register the citrus facet that the lable notes.
F- It's 4.2% and feels it. It's pretty low-impact on the feel, though the dry/hoppy aspect makes it pretty refreshing.
O- It's pleasant enough with nothing egregiously wrong/out of balance. On the flip-side it's not ticking any 'special or different+good' boxes either, so no reason to pay £2.20/330ml to drink it again.
Bought from Nicolas (wines) London W11. BB: 28/05/21
Jun 11, 2020
Photo of Ssweeney961
Reviewed by Ssweeney961 from Maryland

4.3/5  rDev +15.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
One of my all time favorites. Not to heavy and the beer pleasantly changes with the temperature. I put a lot of effort in obtaining a case (or two) in Maryland every Summer. After a long day on a hot summer afternoon I have actually poured a pint and everything was right in the world. Cheers
Jun 24, 2019
 
Rated: 3.59 by Macamah from England

Mar 15, 2019
Photo of Bouleboubier
Reviewed by Bouleboubier from New Jersey

3.97/5  rDev +7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
(1 pint, simple silver can with wrap-around sticker label, no packaging info/dates... poured into a Belhaven pub pint)

L: pale, yellow-amber liquid, slight haze; huge, tall, loose, sudsy head... haze kicks up a bit when final 1-2 oz poured into glass once head receded, added a little bit of speckled sediment... foam retains in craggy slopes... looks like a live beer

S: ruby grapefruit flesh, orange; prominent spicy/floral pungency, with a mildly soapy quality... very subtle honeyish pale malt in the back; nose is predominantly hops, overall intensity moderate

T: dry malt background up front with a swell of flowery and bitter citrus peel hop flavors, which give way to a brief swell of lightly-toasty cookie and cereal malt in the finish, before charging back to the front in the aftertaste, leaving a lingering pungent fruity spice... in subsequent sips the malt trades pops with the hops, but mostly maintains a pleasant subtle background nuttiness supporting the bright grapefruity hops... little sweetness, but far from bone dry; bitterness mild... flavors becomes more balanced as it goes; great overall flavor intensity for its abv

F: light, but not thin or dry; relatively resiny-oily with a touch of plushness; little bit of a sudsy wash on the edges... hop spice seems to ignite a mild warmth at the back of the palate... has a bit of substance, lightly filling

O: purchased cold from Top Hops in NYC (didn't maintain chill on transit back home); haven't seen fresh bottles in PHL area for awhile... haven't had this in years, first time from can and it seems to have been good quality... a nice treat, but pricey
Oct 30, 2018
 
Rated: 3.67 by Brycezawada from Canada (AB)

Aug 01, 2018
Photo of JonnyGoldsbrough
Reviewed by JonnyGoldsbrough from England

3.9/5  rDev +5.1%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Harviestoun Bitter & Twisted Golden Ale | bottle | 4.2%

L3.25 nice golden. Not a bad head for a bottle.
S3.75 good nose - promising!
T4.0 big flavor. No distinguishable notes particularly but nice.
F4.0 perfect fizz
O4.0 very pleasing. Golden ales work much better in a bottle than a bitter.
May 08, 2018
 
Rated: 3.75 by paulish from New York

Apr 25, 2018
Photo of SlainteAlbanyNY
Reviewed by SlainteAlbanyNY from New York

3.91/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
On cask at the Allen Street in Albany, NY. One of the only bars in the Albany area to serve cask. Love his beer on cask. It's called Bitter and Twisted, but it's neither. A nice smooth English beer!
Apr 21, 2018
 
Rated: 3.25 by tottel from Netherlands

Feb 16, 2018
 
Rated: 3.57 by TheCrowsEye from California

Dec 18, 2017
 
Rated: 3.91 by John_Beeryman from Virginia

Dec 10, 2017
Bitter & Twisted from Harviestoun Brewery Ltd.
Beer rating: 84 out of 100 with 470 ratings