Belhaven

Commercial Brewery in Dunbar, East Lothian, Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
Owned by Greene King
Associated with 6 Venues

Established in 1719

Contact
Brewery Lane, Dunbar, EH42 1PE, Scotland
Description
Established in 1719, Belhaven is Scotland’s oldest working brewery. With abundant local barley, fine water from the brewery well and access to markets up and down the coast, Belhaven was the perfect place for a brewery back then, and it still is today. In 1719, Dunbar market gardener John Johnstone erected a brewery close to Belhaven Bay and founded a brewing dynasty which was to last for 250 years and a brewery which would last much longer. The brewery and maltings persevered through the wars and upheavals of the early 20th Century and was eventually sold by John Johnstone’s descendants in 1972. In 2005 is was taken over by Greene King who kept the Brewery open in Scotland.

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6.9/10 Appearance 10 Aroma 6 Flavor 7 Texture 6 Overall 6.5
Beautiful amber color; persistent perlage; thick head. Light aroma of bread and vanilla. Smooth malty taste, quite sweet, caramel. Also the finish is sweet. Simple but nice to drink. Thanks Jens (Ungstrup).
Tried on 09 Jan 2004 at 09:12

7.5/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 8 Overall 8
Burnt orange/rust in color, with respectable lacing - quite malty aroma, with some smoke, bread, yeast - smokiness in the flavor hides timidly behind the sweet caramel, biscuit and subtle fruit flavors, but still makes its presence known - medium-bodied but quite creamy, with a wonderfully silky mouthfeel - impressive brew.
Tried on 05 Jan 2004 at 19:16

3.4/10 Appearance 4 Aroma 4 Flavor 3 Texture 2 Overall 3.5
Slightly flourescent yellow colour. Hmmmm. Grassy, slightly herbal aroma. Toasty flavours with some sultana notes, uric acid and hay. Conjures up a scene in provincial Afghanistan where the villagers are making a spiceless plov by burning dung while a little boy takes a leak in the corner. It's that unclean.
Tried on 25 Dec 2003 at 22:55

5.2/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 7 Flavor 4 Texture 6 Overall 4
The aroma is sweet, malty, and yeasty with notes of berries. The color is dark orange and it has a fine but fast disappearing head. The flavor is sweet and dominated by a myriad of berry notes - as if it is a drinkable version of a mixed marmelade - on my tastebuds it doesn't fit that well with a beer. I detect strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries combined with very weak malt notes. There is no bitterness to balance the sweetness from the berries. This beer is more special, than it is good.
Tried on 16 Oct 2003 at 15:55

6.9/10 Appearance 10 Aroma 7 Flavor 6 Texture 6 Overall 6.5
Mild aroma of yeast. Nice red color with a thick white head. Flavor of malt. Overall the beer is mild and very drinkable. A session beer.
Tried on 05 Oct 2003 at 18:14

7.1/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 8 Flavor 7 Texture 8 Overall 6.5
Dark amber colour with some red highlights and a frothy white head. Smells of apples and smoke dominate the aroma which is a pretty unique smell! Very carbonated taste, and a very strong smokey flavour. This has more of a smokey finish than some of the 'smoked' STYLED beers that i've had! Since no one listed these flavours in their review, maybe I had an off bottle? Either way, what I drank was pretty unique, especially for this style. I'll probably try again later! I bought this in a 50 cL bottle from Southtown Beverage in Rochester, New York.
Tried from Bottle on 12 Jul 2003 at 20:22

6.9/10 Appearance 10 Aroma 8 Flavor 6 Texture 4 Overall 6.5
Amber colour if I could ever describe one. Nice frothy white head, which is almost the best factor of buying a beer in the draught can. I love these beers!!! The beer looks great and is always a 'good pour'. The smell is almost purely of Raisins. A bit subtle, but definately raisiny. The taste is also very subtle and also very sour. The aftertaste is completely bland and if I had to guess...I'd say this is non-alcoholic. The 3.5% is hidden very well, because I noticed none. A pretty good beer, and when I see a Nitro can that I haven't had, I cannot refuse!
Tried from Can on 09 Jul 2003 at 20:04

6.6/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 5 Flavor 7 Texture 8 Overall 6.5
Keg
Amber color, creamy head. Light malt aroma. Better taste, well malty with a good hop balance.
Tried on 02 Jul 2003 at 00:55

6.4/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 6 Flavor 6 Texture 6 Overall 6.5
Keg
Dark amber color. Caramel nose, malt. Sweet malt taste and rather poor hop. Not a stout, more like an unfermented wort.
Tried on 02 Jul 2003 at 00:54

5.6/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 5 Flavor 6 Texture 6 Overall 5.5
Keg
Blond color. Light aroma, with some nice notes (honey, straw, hop). Pleasant taste, not very strong, some malt; fresh. Correct bitterness.
Tried on 02 Jul 2003 at 00:53