Heather Ales Alba 3.38 634

Heather Ales Alba

	Percentile
	81
	overall

Brewed by Williams Brothers (Heather Ales)
Style: Traditional Ale
Alloa, Central, Scotland

bottled
common

on tap
unknown

Broad Distribution
Find this beer

send corrections | shelftag

Ratings	Average	Score	ABV	Style Pctl	Serve in
634	3.38/5.0	3.38/5.0	7.5%	75	Dimpled mug, English pint, Stein, Yard

Commercial Description:
Bottled. A cask version at 6% is produced in March and April.
"Scots Pine Ale"
Introduced by the Vikings, spruce and pine ales were very popular in the Scottish Highlands until the end of the 19th century. Many early explorers, including Captain Cook, used spruce ale during long sea voyages since it prevented scurvy and ill health. Shetland spruce ale was said to "stimulate animal instincts" and give you twins. Alba is a triple style ale brewed to a traditional Highland recipe from Scots pine and spruce shoots pickled during early spring.Pure malted barley, is boiled with the young sprigs of pine for several hours then the fresh shoots of the spruce are added for a short infusion before fermentation.
A tawny brown strong ale with spruce aroma, rich malt texture, complex wood flavour and lingering finish.
Best drunk at room temperature from a wine goblet as an after dinner digestive.

Please Enable Javascript

This site requires javascript enabled and/or approval of googlesyndication.com.

Most Recent

Top Raters

Highest Ratings

Who's Rated This?

miketd (686), Cleveland, Ohio, USA

3.5	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.5	7/10	3/5	7/10	3/5	15/20

Feb 6, 2008

Bottle from trade with magic dave. Thanks Tom! Pour is a honey/amber with a tiny white head. crystal clear. Smells very sweet and bready. Maybe just a hint of pine. Flavor is slightly bitter with a hint of alcohol. Mild sweetness. Medium bodied and pretty smooth.

dolemite77 (184), Maryville, Tennessee, USA

2.9	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
2.9	6/10	3/5	4/10	3/5	13/20

Feb 1, 2008

Lower ranking than most of my beers... maybe because I’m a bit confused. Smells like blackberry or blueberry pie. Which is probably much better than my rating, but just not what I expect a beer to smell like. Don’t really taste the pine in in... which is probably good... a little too sweet for me. Worth a rate though... if you can find it.

JohnnyOS (646), Golden, Wisconsin, USA

3.7	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.7	7/10	4/5	7/10	4/5	15/20

Jan 25, 2008

Pours dark amber with minimal head. Aroma of dark fruit, citrus and pine-sol. Flavor matches aroma nicely. Nicely done.

Immy (1912), Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA

3.6	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.6	8/10	3/5	7/10	3/5	15/20

Jan 23, 2008

330ml bottle, best by April 09. Clear dark amber with no head. Nose is blackberry and raspberry over sweet malt with mild pine and a touch of citrus. Flavors are more berry, some herbal bitterness and a bit of pine. Rather dry finish, spicy and earthy. Damned interesting beer, and pretty drinkable.

WeeHeavySD (3042), San Diego (Hillcrest), California, USA

3.3	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.3	6/10	3/5	6/10	3/5	15/20

Jan 22, 2008

12oz bottle from Cyn and shared with her as well. Pours orange with a tan ring. Hoppy citrus nose. Taste is strangely sweet and piney. Its hard to describe, its pleasent though and the abv is pretty nicely hidden. Nice brew.

MrRain (439), O’Fallon, Illinois, USA

3.8	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.8	8/10	4/5	7/10	4/5	15/20

Jan 21, 2008

I haven’t really been too impressed with Heather Ale Ltd. beers but his is one of their better ones. It’s interesting and tasty.

McGarnigle (320), Rochester, New York, USA

3.5	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.5	7/10	4/5	7/10	4/5	13/20

Jan 19, 2008

Bottle best before 2009; drank close to room temperature. Pours clear dark red/orange/brown. Fruity aroma. Full-ish body with low carbonation. Almost syrupy. No hops? It’s mostly malty anyway. Sweet, fruity and slightly spicy. I can’t really taste the twigs. Good beer.

Acarotibia (57), Santiago de Compostela, Spain

3.5	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.5	6/10	4/5	7/10	3/5	15/20

Jan 15, 2008

Sweet pine aroma. Soft red/orange colour with soft foam. Original bitter flavor with sweet fruits in palate. Strong beer with a strong sweet palate. Take care if you drink with meal (you can kill food taste).

We Want To Hear From You

Join us! RateBeer is made by beer enthusiasts for the craft beer community. Your basic membership is free and allows you to read all beer ratings. Click here to create your account... and give your opinion!

Join Us »

View Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64

Share Your Opinion!

More Traditional Ales By Style
Hair of the Dog Adam 100
Bøgedal Nr. 0047 61
Bøgedal Nr. 0072 78
Bøgedal Nr. 0059 84
Bøgedal Nr. 0116 79
East End Kvass 87
Nøgne Ø Dugges Sahti 70
Barley Island Sinister Minister Belgian Black Ale 66
Traquair Jacobite Ale 99
Bøgedal Nr. 0070 85
Bøgedal Nr. 0131 78
Beer Here Påske 97
Town Hall Heather Ale 80
Bøgedal Nr. 0031 61
Bøgedal Nr. 0094 82

please support all of this page