Heather Ales Fraoch (Bottle)

330 ml bottle from a historic ales of scotland gift pack. pours golden with a small white head. floral aromas with some malt sweetness and earthy graininess. floral flavours with grainy feel and a bit a malt backbone. interesting but not a fav of mine.

500ml bottle, best by Dec 08. Clear gold with a thin white head. Spicy floral aroma, heather I suppose, very herbal and earthy. My wife just told me my beers smells "pretty". I am officially emasculated. She said it smells like a lavender satchel you’d toss in your underwear drawer. Delightful, I think. Anyway, flavor is much like the nose - pretty much overwhelming herbal heather. (Again, an assumption - never smelled or tasted heather. I knew a girl in high school named heather, She tasted wonderful, but nothing like this. There I go again, rating drunk. Oh well.) Somewhere under there is a hint of caramel, but really the heather overcomes all. Interesting, I guess.

500ml bottle from Waitrose, Christchurch. Pours a fine amber colour with a small white head. Has floral / citrus aromas. Very pleasing taste with, again, floral notes coming through. Also, a hint of clover?. A nice dry finish to it. Certainly an unusual ale but very pleasant.

Poured a cloudy dark golden color with a thin white head that didn’t last very long. Aroma is very sweet and floral, and it smells of nectar. Taste is sweet also, but is balanced by the malt. This beer is incredibly smooth and easy drinking. Not much lacing on the glass. Not necessarily something I would seek out, but I would not turn down another either.

.33cl bottle
Had this first 7 or 8 years ago, but had to revisit to rate. Pours light gold with a nice head head. Aroma is floral with a slight hint of fruit. Taste is flowers. Maybe some spice, but mostly flowers. Good today, good back then.

THOUGHTS: Had this one skunked about a year ago so I never rated it. Fresh, it is a much different beer. It was definitely better fresh, but of the four varieties that I had skunked in a variety four pack, this one was hurt by the skunking the least. What I mean is. That the beer didn’t taste, look or smell anything like what it was supposed to, but the beer created by the skunking was still a drinkable beer. TECHNICAL: Bottle. Poured a clear, medium gold with a small, white head that mostly diminished and left virtually no head. The aroma was light malt, some flower, perfume, herbs, and grass (but not like those found in hops) and even more herbs. The initial flavor was moderately sweet, while the finish was moderately sweet, lightly bitter and very lightly sour like lemons with an average duration. The flavor was very herbal and a little lemony. The light to medium body was slightly dry, but a little syrupy with fizzy carbonation and a dry finish.

Bottle: Poured very evenly, with nice medium-size light head, which dissipated quickly. Aroma very strong with notes of cask and, well, peat. First sip is slightly bitter, but with delicious cinnamon and, well, peat flavors. Complex. Further tastes and the initial dryness subsides, leaving a clean, refreshing ale with floral character. Heather ale indeed.

unusual and very drinkable - pours gold with a fine white head, aroma flowery, sweet and sharp. flavour is pleasntly spicy, smoky and flowery - reminds me of a belgian in a way. nicely malty and a little warming, finish dry, aromatic and lingering. thumbs up.