Heather Ales Fraoch (Bottle)

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

12 oz. bottle- color of golden orange, with thin white quickly departing head - nose of malts , cobwebs , hopps , floral , and hay – taste of oak barrels , spices , earthy , mild hopps and malts - body thin , and crisp – aftertaste of hopps and short

Partly cloudy golden body topped by a little white ring of foam. Smell is horrible. The due date is 8 months from now so it cannot be because it is past due date. Plus there’s no typical signs of infection. It just stinks. Like rotting fruits and vegetables left in a hot humid sunny room for a week. Gross. Oh, and some malt caramel too. After pinching my nose I realized the taste was “fortunately” just boring. The attack is thin/watery, then it develops flavours of cereals and ripe peaches. Average carbonation, medium body. I would rate it as just a boring English ale but the smell was just atrocious. I hope there was something wrong with my bottle. They brag about “Heather ale is probably the oldest style of ale still produced in the world”, well, my bottle smelled like if it was part of the first batch.

33o ml bottle Room temp. A light critter that reminds me of mountain fields. Cloudy at the pour and light head that fades gently. Thin to med body. flowery aroma blends nicely with mouthfeel. Nice even finish. Don’t chill this brew too much the nuances will be lost quickly. I wish I could get this on tap. Kind of like a Magic hat #4.25.

12 fl. oz. bottle in a gift pack from the LCBO. App.: orangey med. amber, fluffy, sl. yellow-orange head. Aroma: lots of fruits (reminds me of the gooseberry brew), caramel and darker malts behind them. A clove-like, estery quality like Weizen. Palate: thinnish body, a bit powdery or astringent, less fruit than on the nose, a little watery with some caramel and dark malt to finish. Meh...

330ml bottle - pours a medium golden, with a medium, creamy white head. The aroma on this is quite sweet and flowery. There are actually notable similarities between these heather flowers and hops, which would eventually replace them, historically. An interestingly spicily floral aroma, which is repeated in the flavour. Soft mouthfeel. The taste imparted by the heather flowers is not entirely dissimilar to honey actually. There’s a definite subdued spiciness in there, slightly sour and tart, and more so in the finish. Not bitter. You might call it an herbal flavour. These Heather Ales are interesting brews - this one is decent enough, and I really enjoyed their Alba Pine Ale. Certainly worth a try when in the mood for something unique and different (or ancient, I suppose, as this recipe would seem to be).

Poured out from an imported 330 mL bottle. The beer poured a dark amber color with a thin white head. The body was light and smooth with mild carbonation, and did have the advertised dry finish. The heather flowers dominated the armoa and I was surprised by how they also appeared in the flavor, which was sweet and just a tiny bit sour. A great beer from the bottle, one that I hope to try again.

Drank in a tulip. Light copper poor with little or no head. Aromas are floral with a twist of ginger. Flavors of oranges, bushy nad herbal. Spicy and dry. Light and creamy to the palate only after the beer got to room temperature.

330 ml bottle - pours a hazy gold with almost no head, just some big bubbles. Very strange aroma, sort of sour/vinegary - guessing that’s the heather component. Not much that I could make out in the way of malt or hops. The aroma is very distinct, not necessarily appealing. The same goes for the flavour - more of the heather but with a bit of malt to at least offer something else. Fairly dry finish, with some floral earthiness. I’m glad I tried this, if only for curiosity’s sake, but it’s not something I would get again.