Heather Ales Alba

330ml bottle. Rich brown, little to no head. Amazing sweet and fruity aroma, spices, cherries, cranberry, and other berries. Creamy and caramelly in the mouth. Definitely pine in the taste, and with sultry rich malts providing the main part of the body. Lovely resiny bitter finish. Very subtle alcohol, hardly noticable at all.

Bottle best before October 2008, thanks to Tronraner. Pours a hazy copper hue with a small off-white head. The aroma is heavily sweet with notes of bubblegum, caramel, banana. The aroma definitely brings to mind some kind of Belgian or German yeast with some sugar fortification going on. The flavor is where the pine comes in. This is the most defined, distinct pine flavor I’ve ever experienced in a beer. Yes, that seems obvious since pine is actually used in the brewing, but I want to reiterate how true that is. I love the way the rich, fresh, forest-like pine notes intertwine with the sweet, dense malts. The only major problem here is that the beer is too sweet. Take out some of the candy-sugar-malt density and let the pine come out more, then I would absolutely love this stuff. However, as it is, it’s an enjoyable quaff.

clear amber color with a medium light creamy head. floral woody aroma with a fruity undertone. crisp body. caramel malt with nutty pine notes. drinks like a lager, could use a bit more hop bitterness

Poured a nice mahogany color with a thin white head which had nice lacing. Aroma was a mix of nice wood notes and a sweet cherry like fruit note to it. Flavor was very sweet some honey and sweet fruit too it with mild pine notes. Carbonation was low, and body was moderate. good.

Bottle. Pours a clear copper with a lasting pale head. The aroma is of caramel apples, slight hints of pine, and jolly ranchers. There is very low carbonation and has a medium, caramelly mouthfeel. The pine in the flavour is more apparent than in the aroma. The sweetness is almost too overwhelming to me, though. This is an okay brew. I love pine, but I think the sweetness is too much for me.

Had this beer on 1/8/2006. Aroma is a nice mildly roasted malt scent. Color is a nice brown with low carbonation and a thin head. Taste is rich and sweet. Starting with a medium body it goes down with a rich feel. Finish comes on with a heavy sweet malt flavor backed by a strong pine like taste that is a bit overwhelming. I don’t like it, but I think it is what they wanted it to be. I just don’t think pine was meant for eat or drink.

Pours a hazed ruby with no head. Nose is sweet like cotton candy. Flavor has a really odd and unique tang to it. I suppose it is the pine. Very present sweet flavor to it.Feel is low on bubble and thicker with a slightly syrup like feel on the tongue. Definitely drinkable. Another from Heather Ale worth trying.

Bottle from the LCBO. I really was not expecting this to be as good as it turned out. The nose was strongly of pine and spruce, and had me concerned that these fresh flavours would make me feel like I had been gnawing at a Christmas tree for half an hour. Surprisingly, the pine taste was nicely balanced by a honey sweetness, and although still being the salient flavour it didn’t prevent the drink from tasting like beer as I thought it would. An interesting Scottish take on a tripel, and something I wish I had more of.