Highland Heather Ale

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

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.

Pours deep copper/amber with aromas of caramel malt, dark fruit (figs, prunes), brown sugar. Tastes as it smells, with a medium palate and slightly aqueous finish.

In the bottle. Dark brown in color with an ecru head. Big bubbles of carbonation (is this force carbonated?). A very fruity flowery aroma is first discerned. Taste is tart, smoked (peaty even), and acidic. Not very sweet tasting at all. No lacing. Medium to light in body. Midway through, malt on the tongue becomes obvious. Finishes a dry crisp mouth feel.

Sampled at Knoxville Brewers Jam. Dark brown, Nice densely packed head. Nutty, toasty aroma. Rich, slightly sweet flavor, with a nice sricy peppery hop finish.

(12 oz bottle: Obtained in trade with BlueDevil0206, thanks James!) The small, light tan head stands in stark contrast to the very dark ruddy brown body. But for as dark as this beer is, it has surprisingly little body and isn’t all that flavorful either. This beer is quite dry, with only a slight sweetness in the background. Mostly, it’s spicy, herbal, lightly roasty, mildly bitter. The nose is dry, a bit malty, lightly roasty, but I really need to swirl my glass to get much in the way of aroma with this beer. Light-medium body has a somewhat watery mouthfeel, especially in the finish. The head fades to a ring fairly quickly. Not coming close to tickling my fancy.

12 oz bottle from Johnathan3584 as a bonus! Thanks Jonathan! Pours dark brown with some ruby highlights with a slight offwhite head that lingers around the edge of the glass and laces a little. Aroma is of roasted carmel malt, some prunes/raisins and just a touch of floral hops. Flavor starts out sweet with notes of plums and sweet malts and ends with a nice roasty peat flavor.. This reminds me a lot of a severely tamed hair of the dog adam. On the palate this is medium bodied but the watery finish kills it. This could definitely benefit from that NC cap being lifted.. A touch more malt would make this one very good. Still a good brew though quite drinkable and a good session brew! This brewer should rock when they get a chance to make the big beers..

Knoxville Brewer’s Jam 10/04. Deep brown color with a small off white head. Caramel and roast malt are the main aromas, the heather doesn’t kick in just yet. The flavor starts with a sweet maltiness that slowly fades into a nice dry, slightly bitter finish with a floral bouquet of heather coming in the end. Nice change up beer.

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.