Heather Ales Fraoch (Bottle)

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

poured a cloudy amber color with a med size white some lacing.aroma is yeasty,sweet and got hints of honey. flavor fruity spices with a taste of honey.this a differant beer at 1st I didn’t care for it.as it warmed up I started to get in to it.

Bottle, Gift pack, purchased Christmas 2004 but rated April 2005. Interesting story on this one. Back in 1998, I found myself in Scotland fresh out of university (and fresh into drinking beer, I didn’t start until 97). Did a really cool 8 person tour and had a great time. At one pub (and I don’t remember where I was) I saw this same beer on tap, tried it and thought it was fantastic. I was pleased to find a bottle for sale at the pub so I picked it up (may I was at the brewery, I have no idea at this point). Brought a few back home only to see the same bottle turn up at the lcbo a year later in this same gift pack the world now seems to get. Figures. Anyway, as for the beer itself, I had fond memories and it surprisingly held up quite well. Dark orange pour, small white head that was gone almost instantly. Mouthfeel was a little thin and watery. Taste was nice though - tasted stronger than 5%. Had a good fruity, berry like aftertaste and some fruity bitterness as well. There was also a very pleasant floral aroma that grew stronger as I drank it. Overall, it was a really nice beer, and it brought back some nice memories, which are no doubt influencing the rating a bit.

Poured a dirty caramel color with the aroma and flavor of sweet mallts, flowers, yeast, caramel and wheat. Not bad.

Pours hazy dark orangish golden with a thin, off-white head. Aroma of flowers, candied pine sap, heather, and lavender. Mouthfeel is thin bodied and dry with very soft carbonation.

Picked this up at ABC. Seem’s that ABC has grown up a bit. Much better selection of micros. Pourd this into a cloudy brownish urine colour. Taste was offensive at first but mellowed out into a nice pubalesessioner. Nose is sweet malts and caramel, and sugar scotch-e. Taste warms up into sweet malts, honey, peat and a mild roasted flavour. Not too hoppy though. Soe citric flavours, but the sweet malty and barely _ness of it is very enjoyable.

I enjoyed this beer greatly, but how much was it pure enjoyment, and how much intense curiosity of what the hell am I tasting here? Weird strong floral aroma (could be off-putting to the newcomer) followed by a strangely difficult to describe flavor followed by a slightly bitter(?) finish. I need some time with this one to figure it out.

Bottled 50cl. Fruity spicy aroma with gooseberry, hops, butter, caramel, honey and heather showing up. Very smooth palate. Good hop profile in the tatse. Peanuts and honey sneaking in. Hints of gooseberry. Complex. Decent bitterness. Subtle reminiscence of heather in the finish. Good. I like the taste better than the nose.

A nice honey golden color with a good head. The heather comes off in the aroma and flavor, adding a slight spiciness after it settles upon the palate.