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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.

3.5
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 7/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 15/20
Fukito (610) - Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA - JUL 28, 2007
Bottle, July 2007. Clear, red-copper color with a nice, creamy white head. Aroma is herbal, spicy, piney very resinous and a bit sweet. Flavor is strong, malty, caramelly, profound toffeeish and a strange herbal-bitter ending. Mouthfeel is medium, filling and warmig. Nice, strange, traditional ale.

3.1
   AROMA 6/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 6/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 13/20
b33r (457) - Cleveland, Alabama, USA - JUL 26, 2007
Light brown cloudy color and small head. Aroma was interesting, but flavor was strange- it may have been the pine. The beer was aged a few years so it may have lost something

3.5
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 7/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 15/20
robinvboyer (2130) - Sturgeon Falls, Ontario, CANADA - JUL 25, 2007
300ml bottle from an xmas gift pack. pours a clear amber color. aroma is big on the pine with fruit in the back ground. Flavour is nice and piney with a good amount of fruity bitterness int he finish. I enjoyed this quite a bit.

4.5
   AROMA 9/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 10/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 18/20
flowerysong (25) - USA - JUL 24, 2007
Appearance: Pours a clear reddish amber with two fingers of off-white head that quickly dissipates. Smell: Spicy malt with a hint of pine and a lot of fruit notes. Taste: Sweet and fruity up front, leading into a wonderful mix of malt, apples, caramel, and pine on an earthy background. Long soft finish. Mouthfeel: Smooth and full with light carbonation. Drinkability: An excellent strong ale with lots of depth.

3.3
   AROMA 6/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 5/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 14/20
tytoanderso (1476) - SLP, Minnesota, USA - JUL 21, 2007
Bottle. Just the smallest hint of pine on the nose. Mostly sweet malt. pours a rich, viscous copper brown with some decent sticky lacing. Definitely a some pine on the palate, but not overwhelming at all. Slightly herbal and woody with sweet caramel notes throughout. Decent carbonation with a fairly rich sticky body.

3.4
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 7/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 14/20
MullMan (1099) - New Jersey, USA - JUL 19, 2007
tall creamy light tan head, dark auburn mostly clear body. aroma is dried berries, light spruce tips, and sweet fruity malt. flavor is kind of the same; a bit water but sweet malty and dry/fruity, with some more pine needles/spruce tips. not bitter like hop conifers though. finish is a bit more dry and bitter in an herbal kind of way. yes, a bit woody but more like sprig branches. would be fun to have on a camping trip.

2.8
   AROMA 5/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 6/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 11/20
Acknud (946) - Morganfield, Kentucky, USA - JUL 15, 2007
Cloudy caramel in color. Hints of pine on nose. Taste is sweet and somewhat flatter than I expected. Nice lingering head. Drinkable but not my favorite.

3
   AROMA 6/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 5/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 12/20
pivo (2540) - GERMANY - JUL 11, 2007
Spicy, toffee nose. Copper color, lathery head. Sweet caramel malt taste, brown sugar, light peaty note.


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