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Score
8784
OVERALLStyle
Brewed by Williams Brothers (Heather Ales)
Style: Traditional Ale
Alloa, Scotland

bottled
common

on tap
available

Broad Distribution

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RATINGS: 760   WEIGHTED AVG: 3.37   EST. CALORIES: 225   ABV: 7.5%
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.

2.6
   AROMA 4/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 4/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 12/20
sinkas (198) - Perth/Fremantle, AUSTRALIA - 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.

3.4
   AROMA 8/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 6/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 14/20
IrishBoy (3265) - Bakersfield, California, USA - 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.

3.6
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 8/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 15/20
iammarc (236) - Inverness, SCOTLAND - 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.

3.4
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 7/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 14/20
LooseCannon (938) - Norfolk, Virginia, USA - JUL 26, 2008
330ml bottle. Pours clear amber in color with brown head. Aroma sweet, fruity and light pine. Taste sweet malt, fruity and light bitterness with dry finish.

2.9
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 2/5   TASTE 6/10   PALATE 2/5   OVERALL 12/20
brokephibroke (172) - Mead, Colorado, USA - JUL 21, 2008
Amber pour with minimal head, unremarkable. Berry aroma hits first, with pine coming forward upon sitting, quite nice! Sweet, piney and minimal carbonation. This beer is beyond a novelty and compares with oher historical brews.

4.2
   AROMA 8/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 8/10   PALATE 5/5   OVERALL 17/20
benbakelaar (5) - North Brunswick, New Jersey, USA - JUL 13, 2008 does not count
Strong aroma, spruce and pine could be mistaken for olives. The smell does not give away the taste though, you would think it was much lighter based on the smell. It has a deep reddish color, again surprising if you thought you were getting a crisp, piney ale. The flavor is an explosion of rich, velvety taste, heavy on the malt but nicely balanced in the finish with the spruce/pine, which tastes much better than you might imagine spruce/pine does. Not much of a head, but the palate is really nice, heavier than expected, but very smooth. This might be my favorite from the sampler pack I got (with Elderberry Black Ale, Heathers Fraoch Ale, and the Gooseberry and Wheat Ale)!

4.1
   AROMA 8/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 9/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 16/20
darkguardian (713) - Florida, USA - JUL 12, 2008
12oz bottle. Pours a crystal clear reddish brown. Small whitish head. Nose of bread, maple, alcohol and citrus hops. This is a badass tasting beer. Alcohol well hidden, totally unique maple pine flavor. Low bitterness. Awesome malt backbone, perfect carbonation. This is very very underated.

4
   AROMA 9/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 9/10   PALATE 2/5   OVERALL 17/20
ilherps (246) - Carbondale, Illinois, USA - JUL 5, 2008
The name does not lie. This beer tastes like pine trees, which I really happen to like the smell of, and also happen to like the taste of in a beer. This beer is sort of festive, something to have around the holidays. It smells of pine, and citrusy hops, The flavor is similar, pine resins and floral/citrus hops. Very interesting.


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Rating Notecard:
Beer: Heather Ales Alba Rating Avg: 3.37 No. of Ratings: 760
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