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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wilkie (1189), Raleigh, North Carolina, USA

3.8	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.8	6/10	3/5	8/10	4/5	17/20

Dec 19, 2005

Bottle. Brown-red, with a medium off-white head. Aroma is herbal, and slightly malty. Flavor is very pine, and reminds me of cranberry? Spicy pine flavors are prevalent all through the beer. Delicious in a very different way. I really like it.

blankboy (3194), Toronto, Ontario, Canada

3.5	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.5	7/10	4/5	7/10	3/5	14/20

Dec 18, 2005

Bottle. Best before Dec. ’05. A little over a year old, it should be fine. Pours a cloudy amber-brown with lots of sediment and an average size diminishing white head. Sweet aroma of fruit and pine. Flavour of sweet fruity malt with a mild bitter aftertaste. Medium bodied. Different and flavourful, this is pretty good.

Ungstrup (15059), Frederiksberg, Denmark

3.5	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.5	7/10	4/5	7/10	3/5	14/20

Dec 15, 2005

A slightly hazy red beer with a huge light brown head. The aroma is sweet and very fruity combined with notes of citrus and pine forest. The flavor is very sweet with strong notes of caramel combined with a citrus/pine note giving it a spicy note. The citrus/pine gives a really good balance to the sweet caramel. The end is dry and quite spicy again with the pine coming thru.

oldrtybastrd (1801), Morlautern, Germany/Great Falls, Montana, USA

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

Dec 14, 2005

Pours a clear amber color. Aromas of pine/malts and a touch of citrus/berries. Flavor is a little different. I thought it would be more pine tasting. A little berry flavor and some hop bitterness near the end.

JayBaxter (387), Greater Manchester, Greater Manchester, England

3.5	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.5	6/10	3/5	7/10	4/5	15/20

Dec 5, 2005

Crystal clear amber beer with an interesting sprucey aroma. Sweet jam taste with a dry finish, not the kind of beer you can drink one after the other but as a one off fine.

Tmoney99 (4702), Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

3.5	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.5	6/10	4/5	7/10	4/5	14/20

Dec 4, 2005

Bottle. Hazy brown color with a large light brown head that diminished slowly. Good complex sweet piney aroma. Medium body with a sticky texture. Moderate sweet fruity flavor with average finish. Very interesting ale.

fluids (364), USA

3.6	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.6	6/10	3/5	7/10	4/5	16/20

Dec 3, 2005

Small white head. Caramel brown darkish light color.Piney malt nose. Vanilla caramel banana sweet flavor. Palate goes dry and bitter at the finish slightly.

papajohn (1054), San Diego (Mira Mesa), California, USA

3.4	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.4	6/10	3/5	6/10	4/5	15/20

Nov 27, 2005

12 oz. bottle from HWC: Rich orange-amber color with a small fast fading off white head. Sweet purfumy aroma with hints of evergreen. Flavor starts lightly sweet with a little bite finishing kinda dry with the spruce comming thru. Medium body, creamy texture with light carbonation. Interesting.

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