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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ratman197 (3182), Arvada, Colorado, USA

3.4	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.4	6/10	4/5	7/10	3/5	14/20

Sep 25, 2005

Bottle poured a clear reddish copper with an offwhite head. Aromas of sweet fruit, earthiness, vanilla and notes of pine and spruce. Palate was smooth and a bit resiny. Flavors of pine and spruce, sweet and fruity,some earthiness with a sweet lingering finish.

chilehead (186), Laguna Niguel, California, USA

3.3	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.3	6/10	4/5	6/10	4/5	13/20

Sep 22, 2005

Pours amber-red with a light head. Nose smells a bit like bubblegum with a hint of turpentine (not in a bad way), white grapes and cream. Mouth is interesting -- pine doesn’t seem to dominate, but there is a distinct earthy woodsyness to it. Mouth also has a creamy feel which finishes dry with a roasted aftertaste. Bubblegum comes through here too, though it’s not sweet. An interesting beer.

GarethYoung (1110), Glasgow, Scotland

3.6	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.6	8/10	3/5	7/10	3/5	15/20

Sep 18, 2005

[bottle from peckhams] Pours amber with a moderate head. The nose is fruity, berry fruits, very earthy, woody character. well bodied.

Magicdave6 (5425), London, Greater London, England

3.4	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.4	7/10	2/5	7/10	3/5	15/20

Sep 13, 2005

aroma is weak but good with simple heather deals goin on. TYaste is sweet too sweeet for me, a great beer but not complete.

OldMrCrow (1184), Seattle, Washington, USA

3	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3	7/10	4/5	3/10	3/5	13/20

Sep 5, 2005

From the bottle

Wow - what a curious taste. I have absolutely no idea how to describe this beer. It pours a nearly clear red-brown with a small head; the aroma is fruit and pine and yeast and holds absolutely no clue of how this one tastes.

The taste is....hard to describe. It’s deeply fungal, musty, smoky, full of pine gum, and somehow the aftertaste feels hollow the way that a meal made without salt tastes hollow. I found it both strange and, unfortunately, unpleasant to my taste. I couldn’t finish this one, but I do appreciate that it is brewed and that it is out there for us to try.

nick76 (2646), Tampa, Florida, USA

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

Sep 3, 2005 Updated: Sep 29, 2005

A sweet candy like aroma that has some fruitiness but not as much pine as I expected. The appearance is a medium red amber with a small head. The flavor is sweet like the aroma with some pine taste but taste more like spice. The palate is average but overall I like this one.

wxman (585), O’Fallon, Illinois, USA

2.9	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
2.9	6/10	4/5	5/10	2/5	12/20

Aug 22, 2005

A sweet aroma that smells like Skittles. Dark golden color with a thin small bead head. Sweet thin flavor with elusive piney notes and very little aftertaste. Some mild hop bitterness. Clean and fresh tasting but not inspiring.

duff (5474), Surrey, Greater London, England

3.7	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.7	7/10	3/5	8/10	3/5	16/20

Aug 19, 2005

Bottle. Loved this stuff. Woody,nutty, peaty, caramel. Very well balanced, with some subtle sweetness, some mild tropical fruit i suppose, nice complex and different.

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