Strathaven Ales

Microbrewery in Strathaven, South Lanarkshire, Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Established in 2005

Closed in 2022

Contact
Sandford Road, Craigmill Strathaven ML10 6PB, Strathaven, Scotland
Description
Strathaven Ales is the pinnacle of traditional real ale brewing with our stone clad brewing kettle and well used brew-house based in an old mill dating back to the early 1800s. The mill originally manufactured crushed barley for the brewery trade and flour for the local artisan bakers and it sits next to the river Avon near the market town of Strathaven.

We consider our beers to be very traditional, our brewing, unlike modern facilities is a hands-on labour intensive process crafted by three generations of the same family.

Manufacturing in an old building brings its challenges and we have retained many of the original mill features and a large part of the original gearing. Although this often gets in the way we feel it is part of what ensures the beer has a character not achieved in modern production units.

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6.8/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 6 Flavor 7 Texture 8 Overall 7
bottle at home ... golden amber ... small white head ... soft floral fruits ... pears ... odd nose ... sweet pears ... Its the juice from a tin of fruit cocktail aged in a bourbon barrel ... not my thing at all 2.6cask at cloister... ligth amber ... thin whoite lacing ... soft sweet toffe nose ... big alcohol ... sweet fruits ../. soft toffee fruits 3.4
Tried from Bottle on 09 Feb 2013 at 12:14

5.2/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 5 Flavor 6 Texture 4 Overall 5

Cask @ JDW Elgin [120313]
Aroma of soft light fruity malt
Taste of light caramel malt, touch earthy, cereal malts, light hay, hint of honey
Palate - Medium body, quite oily, smooth. Finish as main flavour, rather oily residue that i’m not keen on
Overall - Far better than last time, but it’s still not great - below average beer

Cask @ JDW Elgin [030213]
Amber, clear, dense white head. Aroma of earthy malts, farmyard, wet hay. Taste of earthy malts, farmyard damp hay, dab of manure, touch of smoke, wet floorcloth, very poor flavour. Palate - thinnish body, bit oily, well the main flavour wrecks the finish.
Overall - Didn’t finish the half. Very poor tasting beer - hopefully it’s just an off batch
Tried from Cask on 04 Feb 2013 at 03:57

5.4/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 5 Flavor 5 Texture 6 Overall 5.5
Bottle. Golden colour with an off-white head. Aroma is ginger, lemon, malt, fruit. Flavour is ginger, lemon, malt, fruit, hop. Medium body. Ordinary beer.
Tried from Bottle on 02 Jan 2013 at 21:23

4.8/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 4 Flavor 4 Texture 6 Overall 5
Bottle. Golden colour with a white head. Aroma is malt, hay, hop, floral. Flavour is malt, hop, yeast, hop, floral. Medium body. Ordinary beer.
Tried from Bottle on 01 Jan 2013 at 20:58

5.6/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 6 Flavor 5 Texture 6 Overall 5.5
Bottle from Dunnottar Wines, Stonehaven. It pours clear amber with a small white head. The nose is wood, leather, berry and subtle jam. The taste is upfront berry, wood, light tartness, leather and some astringencey with a very dry finish. Light body and low carbonation. A bit thin, but not bad.
Tried from Bottle on 23 Dec 2012 at 11:56

6.5/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 6 Flavor 6 Texture 8 Overall 7
cask at SOrder ... copper ... thin tan head ... soft toffee malt nose ... sweet caramel toffee roast ... soft dull toffee malts ... ok
Tried from Cask on 07 Dec 2012 at 09:30

6.6/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 6 Overall 6.5
500 ml bottle. A reddish amber body with a thin beige head. Aroma of burnt sugar, malt and ginger. Flavor is smooth, sweet malty, caramel, ginger and a kind of bitterness. Medium body and an aftertaste dominated by sweet malt and ginger. Not particular elegant, neither really original, but I find it rather pleasant anyway even if it tend to be one-dimensional and anonymous.
Tried from Bottle on 19 Nov 2012 at 05:14

5.5/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 5 Flavor 6 Texture 6 Overall 5
Cask @ Diggers, Edinburgh 11/11/12
Golden amber, clear head, dense white head, good lacing
Aroma - soft fruity light caramel malts, light fruits, bit of a dull nose
Taste - touch of smoke, as aroma, light caramel, bit of apricot fruity malt, not fantastic
Palate - light body, bit oily. Finish - light oily caramel malts with a bit of smokiness, bitter
Overall - Very average....meh
Tried from Cask on 12 Nov 2012 at 12:52

4.5/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 4 Flavor 4 Texture 6 Overall 4
Bottle 500ml @ fonefan
Pours clear dark amber with a off-white head. Aroma has notes of malt, caramel and floral hops. Taste is medium sweet and light bitter. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is soft.
Tried from Bottle on 10 Nov 2012 at 14:06

4.1/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 4 Flavor 4 Texture 4 Overall 3.5
Bottle. It pours a clear, brown body under a small, dense, off-white head. The aroma has caramel and a roasted touch, dried fruits and some generic fruityness. Some cellar too. Very thin and watery on the palate, quite dry, and low on carbonation. Roasted malts and caramel, some dried fruits and a faint bitterness. Roasted, caramel finish. Not a very pleasant one, and way, way too thin. 121110
Tried from Bottle on 10 Nov 2012 at 14:02