Highland Heather Ale

Formerly brewed at Highland Brewing Company
Style: Traditional Ale
Asheville, North Carolina USA

Sampled at Lowry Park Wazoo in August 2008. They must be bringing it back. Tasty and smooth.

Thanks to my neighbor (who was scared to sample) for this, stored in a wine fridge on its side :( for two plus years. Amber pour with frothy head, way over carbonated. Floral notes on the nose. Slighty oxidized flavor aith caramel malts, toffee, and dried fruit. Slightly dry finish, overall a nice beer considuring its storage conditions.

12oz bottle. I struggled with whether or not to rate this given the age of the bottle (3-4 years old), but it was stored in a fridge the entire time and did hold up remarkably well. The heather must have acted as a preservative because it tastes as fresh as the fresher bottle of Fraoch I sampled alongside this one for comparison.

Enough about the background. Pours brown with a red tint and an off white head. Smells of heather, strong spice, some caramel and slightly nutty. Tastes of sweet caramel, some raisins, some floral notes, in all likelihood coming from the heather used in the beer, some dryness as the beer warms. Mouthfeel is full bodied with a finish that is sweet and lasting. While I enjoyed this beer, I found Fraoch to be superior to it.

This rating is from extremely old notes. I found this to be a very pleasing beer. The nose is quite flowery, with a tremendous amount of earthiness. The Heather emits a really unique perfuminess that is unmistakable. All the flavors kind of play with your senses in different ways, but the finish just drops right off which is kind of disappointing. I was kind of hoping for a little more body. Very drinkable though.

Nice heather in the aroma. The beer malt base was just right to balance the heather.

From notes 10/19/04: Pours an earthy brown color with plenty of amber hues poking through. A soft creamy light tan head formed easily and had some staying power. Rings of lace mark my sips, then slowly slide down the glass back into the beer. A malty aroma with plenty of earthen tones. The pleasant aromatic addition of floral and perfumey scents, ostensibly the heather. A very "pretty" nose. Flavors play tag and continue the aroma character. Earthy malts, a splash of sweetness, and a finishing lingering perfumey tone. Medium body, it’s not as heavy as the appearance might lead you to believe. Drinkable, as are all of Highland’s brews. I enjoyed the novel twist of heather.

On tap at mellow mushroom and also sampled from bottle. The draft was far superior. Interesting substitution of heather for hops. It was smoother than some other heather ales I’ve had, but that’s not saying much. Body was a little weak. It’s drinkable but nothing to crow about.

Nice heather aroma, a bit thin. Solid brown color. OK, too many other better beers out there.