Heather Ales Fraoch (Bottle)

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

What a beer! First of all, it’s that it’s made at all - using heather instead of hops. Not what I would have thought as being floral. It has a nice persistant head. Very spicy aroma. The flavor is a mixture of malt, hint of alcohol, some bitterness, marmalade, yeast. Funky color. Nice lace. got this in a beer of the month but they have it also at the Bodega downtown here in La Crosse.

Strong fragrant aroma. Interesting orange, Orval-like colour but with a disappearing head. If I may say so, its flavour is almost as complex as Orval. It is sweet, it's a bit sour and it's a little bitter and a bit spicy. There is a short, dry finish but it has a thin texture. Very challenging, thanks Clark VV.

dandy to look at, carmelized pineapple color, like the upside down cake. opaque enough to be a shower door; glorious head piles up like a snowfall in glacier park. but one whiff and you’ll know why we use hops nowadays and not so much heather. not unpleasant, so i’ll refrain from comparing the smell to those deodorant discs they use in bus station urinals. (maybe it’s an acquired taste, i remember thinking unflattering things about hefe-wiezens at first taste...) anyway, i’m reminded of the spiced greek wines called retsina (or a cherry coke). flavor is spicy which causes a slight peppery tingle on the palate; sweet at first, then dry as some bitterness catches up. apple and scotch; woody, like it was aged with cedar or something equally flowery and fragrant. it’s interesting: good body, there’s still head on my last swallow. it really oughta be good, um, did i say it was interesting? unfortunately, i don’t really like it.

Interesting aroma, floral, with earthy tones. Slight maltiness. The appearance is a very hazy yellow with a gold/red tinge. Interesting flavor: lot of maltiness, and some spicy notes. The palate has a strange yet not unpleasant bread dough like character, which dissipates quickly. A little fruitiness also lingers. Interesting brew. I will always try any so-called "traditional ale" as I find them fascinating. This one is definitely unique and worth a try, even if I wouldn’t drink it everyday.

Pours to a hazy copper, with very thin white head and minimal lacing. Very strong floral, perfumy aroma. Initial tastes were of floral. At mid-glass, taste of malt and spices crept in, and I even detected hints of alcohol. Although I enjoyed the flavor, the finish came on very quickly, and was much too dry for my tastes. I have to say that this beer is much better than the other product of their’s that I’ve had....Alba Scot’s Pine Ale. However, I’ll stick to hops in my beer, and leave the heather to beautify the Scottish countryside.

Good looking beer, good head, unusual aroma but that’s to be expected I suppose(resin? or something along those lines!) Good body and WOW!!! what a multitude of flavours ..ends with a good long finish...unique.

Bottle. Sample at Ölfrämjandet meeting at Haket, Gothenburg. Golden color with a white head. Aroma: Herbs, flowers honey, sweet malt. Flavor: Spicy and herbal, sweet malt, honey, some tea.

I got this in a four-pack of historic Scottish beers, which was just too much for me to resist. Aroma is strong, malty, and very pleasant. It pours out an orange-amber, rather than yellowish or brownish, with a thick head. Taste is a tad thin, but pleasantly malty with a nice bitter kick. A refreshing and smooth ale - I can see, or rather taste, why it has lasted for four millennia.