Heather Ales Alba

	Percentile
	81
	overall

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

bottled
common

on tap
unknown

Broad Distribution
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Ratings	Average	Score	ABV	Style Pctl	Serve in
622	3.39/5.0	3.38/5.0	7.5%	75.1	Dimpled mug, English pint, Stein, Yard

Commercial Description:
Bottled. A cask version at 6% is produced in March and April.
"Scots Pine Ale"
Introduced by the Vikings, spruce and pine ales were very popular in the Scottish Highlands until the end of the 19th century. Many early explorers, including Captain Cook, used spruce ale during long sea voyages since it prevented scurvy and ill health. Shetland spruce ale was said to "stimulate animal instincts" and give you twins. Alba is a triple style ale brewed to a traditional Highland recipe from Scots pine and spruce shoots pickled during early spring.Pure malted barley, is boiled with the young sprigs of pine for several hours then the fresh shoots of the spruce are added for a short infusion before fermentation.
A tawny brown strong ale with spruce aroma, rich malt texture, complex wood flavour and lingering finish.
Best drunk at room temperature from a wine goblet as an after dinner digestive.

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TOSG55 (75), Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

3.8	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.8	7/10	4/5	8/10	3/5	16/20

Aug 16, 2008

Bottle. Pours a cloudy orange-amber, with little head. Strong aroma of sweet pine. The flavor is honey, with the pine also being very prominent. 7.5% ABV is barely noticeable. Interesting, and quite drinkable; definitely my favorite of this series of traditional Scottish ales.

lb4lb (2011), Austin, Texas, USA

2.7	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
2.7	7/10	4/5	4/10	4/5	8/20

Aug 15, 2008

Pours is an attractive cloudy reddish amber with a light beige head. Smell is piney and floral and lightly spicy. Some sweet fruity berry like smells too. Taste is pine needles and berries and alcohol. Bit too much alcohol showing, unfortunately. Tastes like a berry fruit beer with some pine and a good amount of sweetness. Interesting but not great. .

Skinnyviking (4141), Copenhagen, Denmark

3.2	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.2	6/10	3/5	7/10	3/5	13/20

Aug 14, 2008

Bottle. Small but lasting off-white head. Clear dark brown body. Sweet berries aroma. Relatively sweet berries flavor with little hops bitterness and piney. Low carbonation, long sweet aftertaste.

TheGrandMaster (1856), Auckland, New Zealand

3.7	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.7	8/10	3/5	7/10	4/5	15/20

Aug 13, 2008

Bottle (in NZ), pours an orange amber with a filmy head. A light perfumed aroma, piney (not surprisingly), some bubblegum, and a good whiff of that alcohol. Malty, woody and slightly medicinal palate. Fruity and smooth, this drunk very easily, dangerously so at 7.5%

DandyWolfFloyd (331), Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, USA

3.3	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.3	6/10	3/5	6/10	4/5	14/20

Aug 11, 2008

Aroma is of sweet fruits and sweet malts. It’s appearance is a dark copper, with a thin white collar. It’s flavor is a sweet, but not overly sweet body, the malts shine, with faint notes of wood and minute alcohol. Finish is rather smooth, well balanced.

sinkas (182), Perth/Fremantle, Australia

2.6	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
2.6	4/10	3/5	4/10	3/5	12/20

Aug 7, 2008

Bottle, IBS Perth, Tastes very sweet, not much pine character, slick and flat palate. Hope to try a lower alcohol version to see if there are any uniques flavours.

IrishBoy (2704), Bakersfield, California, USA

3.4	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.4	8/10	3/5	6/10	3/5	14/20

Jul 30, 2008

330 ml bottle from Bottleworks; Nose of oaky vanilla, pluots, and bubblegum; clear copper with a medium beige head; flavor is almost like the fruit flavor from Trix cereal along with a little hop bitterness and a small hint of pine; finish lightly bitter with some fruitiness. Extremely different in a fruity ester kind of way! Smells better than it tastes.

iammarc (193), Inverness, Scotland

3.6	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.6	7/10	3/5	8/10	3/5	15/20

Jul 30, 2008

330ml bottle, part of Scottish Ale 4-pack, Oddbins. Brownish in colour, slipping off into an amber body. Good crisp taste, lovely fruity taste with hints of pine. Great beer.

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