Heather Ales Alba

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

Serve in Dimpled mug, English pint, Stein, Yard

Pours dark ruby brown with thinner off-white head. Flowery/piney on the nose with suggestions of raisins, sugar and alcohol. A syrupy ale with pine being at the forefront, but not overpowering. There are whispers of spice and light herb/mint flavors. Alcohol is on the taste, but it is well balanced, and fairly well disguised. Not very carbonated but certainly drinkable. The beer is unique, interesting and a good choice for something tastey and different.

12oz bottle from Ron’s. Lighter amber translucent body with a quarter inch of off-white head. Smells like caramel malt, spice, and pine. Sweetness is the first thing I noticed, with a flavor I’m not familiar with (I’m assuming pine) playing a strong role and a slight hint of alcohol on the finish, though otherwise it’s very well-hidden. Medium bodied, not syrupy or sticky at all. Fairly drinkable. An interesting ale and definitely worth the try. Not something I’d seek out again, nor would I oppose having it again. A pretty unique solid ale.

Glowing mahogany with a fluffy tan head. Fruit and piney hops on the nose. On the palate it’s not to lively, rather flat for such a nice head. The fruit is orange and apricot with a little bit of coffee and licorice mixed with piney hops. The flavor profile is not appealing to me in the least. I hope others like it better than I.

330. Pours ever-so-slightly hazy dark amber with a thick and tall white head that hangs around for a little bit. Good clingy lace but not sheets on the way down. Doesn’t smell 1/3 as piney as some west coast IPAs I could name off the top of my head. Ironic, huh? Heh. Has a nice woodsy sourness, you definitely pick up that sylvan smell from the pine and spruce but not much more than in some other beers that don’t use the real thing. Sweet, nutty, flavor-forward attack that falls short of being aggressive. Nicely flavored, softish carb, light-to-medium body. Mid-palate shows a lot of berry sweetness, caramel, honey and floral notes. Not much finish other than a bit of clinging caramel and the tiniest piney bitterness. Nice.

Has a nice clear amber ale-ish color, typical but good. Aroma is malty with strong fruit and spicy hints and some hop tone. Flavor is strong, both malty and hoppy, with an overtone rather like the way a pine tree smells. Bitterness is minimal. This is unlike any ale I have ever tasted, pleasant and distinctive.

Best by Date June 2006, Sampled June 2007
Pours with an almost clear, full amber color and is topped by a frothy, initially 1.5 finger thick, tan colored head. The aroma is quite fruity, with notes of orange peel, sweetened raspberries, and mixed berry fruit leather. I was expecting pine aromatic, but instead this is much more like fresh, young spruce tips.

The taste is sweet as well, with that same, quite noticeable fruitiness that is a cross between mixed berry flavors and sweet citrus notes. The beer has a medium body to it, yet is still quite drinkable. At times it reminds me of a sweet berry liquor, though the alcohol is not particularly noticeable. I am still quite surprised by the ample fruitiness that is found in this beer, I would not have guessed that pine sprigs would have such a flavor (though I knew that spruce tips do if picked young). Dusty, caramelized malt notes, a finish of toasted malt and some light biscuit malt flavors are noticeable underneath the fruity flavors.

This is an interesting beer, it is almost a fruit beer, and in fact definitely tastes like one. This is definitely the tastiest of these brews that I have had so far.

This brew pours a tawny color w/ a medium sized, semi creamy froth. Head retention is short leaving a nice lace though. Aroma is rich w/ caramel. Medium nectar w/ soft and creamy residual effers. Semi sweet and malty upfront, this brew delivers abundant flavor. There s a defined pine sap (sproucey goosey) essence intertwined w/ cocoa malts, mildly roasted nuts, and black cherry. As she warms it explodes w/ wild berry flavors w/ an emphisis on raspberry. I really dig the creamy soupy texture on the palate. Theres a peristant bittering component that keeps this brew balanced. I expect more from the flavors just from the aroma but it’s balanced. Finish w/ a nice bittering component.

Bottle. Dark amber pour, very light lace. Unsweet at start then turns to a woodsy taste. Definetly an interesting beer, worth a try.