Brewdog Trashy Blonde

I knew a Scottish blonde once. But she wasn't a lot like this.

Indeed, her body was strengthier than this rather cooperative drop and she lacked the sort of lemon honey flavours this thing has going on. But then she wasn't as artificial either. This tastes a little of manufactured sugar.

Still, in both cases, you could do a lot worse. 6.5

Harviestoun Bitter & Twisted

I was oddly not looking forward to this one despite loving Harviestoun's first one.. a 4.2% blond beer doesn't usually set my world alight.

What a pleasant surprise then when this too turned out to be an excellent beer. Again this is true to the label in an impressive display of scottish truth in advertising: it is indeed zesty, spicy, and

The key is in the balance here - malt melds beautifully with the zingy bitterness. It's very well crafted. And very gently aerated as a deliberate measure to boot.

Looking forward to some further testing of this one, particularly given the attractive price point. 8.0

Temple Brewing Bicycle Beer

Took the chance last time I was in town to visit the newly established Temple brewing, in its new premises now for just a couple of months. As I was there with time to spare I opted for the man-size tasting paddle, ie a middy of everything. And then a bit more. So it can't have been all bad.

First up the Bicycle Beer, finding its way into a few venues locally by the sounds.

Pretty low head on this, gently carbonated, nice for a beer of this character. At just 4.2% this is pretty lightweight but calls itself a tart ale, boasting salt (?) and 7 types of hops. Nice hoppy nose, quite grassy. Agreeable first bite, quite refreshing in the mouthfeel, reminds me of Hop Rocker more than anything.

The wheels fall off this particular bicycle a bit with the aftertaste.. little too sweet. Not a bad start. 6.5