Highland Heather Ale

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

On tap at O’Malleys Pub in Sylva, North Carolina. Very nice dark brown pour with light brown head that stays for a bit. Slightly sweet, somewhat floral aroma. Starts with a sweet,somewhat malty flavor and ends with just a slight bitter, mildly floral(heather) finish. Very nice beer from the mountains of Western North Carolina.

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.

Draught at Tyr Na Nog in Downtown Raleigh,NC. Dark, red winish appearance. Lasting small white head. Aroma is sweet and herb-like. Flavor is quite multi-dimensional. Very sweet and has a strange bitterness (from the heather??). There is a vegetable flavor (carrots), and I can also taste some roastiness in the malt. Pretty good.

This beer’s first rating, and my 300th rating; on tap at the Flying Saucer in Charlotte. Pourd a barely translucent black color. The aroma and flavor were dominated by dark malts. The finish was slightly sour with a very mild hop tinge. The mouthfeel was fairly dry. Another good one from Highland.

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.

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..

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.

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.