Heather Ales Alba

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

Serve in Dimpled mug, English pint, Stein, Yard

Rich reddish copper with a reasonable but thin white head, looks flavorful. Dry spicey and not so piney as most big hop varieties. Something strongly herbal and spicey reminds me of HotD Rose. Cinnamon? A little fruit. A lot going on in here. Thick, with low carbonation, this beer has good viscosity. Pine comes out a bit more in the flavor, but there’s a much stronger berry fruitiness, with allspice and some very strong acidity. Alcohol and pine are big in the aftertaste, breaking away from the spicey acidity in the finish. Very interesting, and I couldn’t drink a ton of this, but it’s fun to sip on for a bit. Next bottle, if I pick one up, I will certainly split a couple ways, or more.

I had looked very much forward to tasting this beer, because we are growing spruce for Christmas as a side job, but woods, nature, wildlife and hunting also are a natural part in our lives. Furthermore the brewing method sounds incredibly exciting, using sprigs of pine and fresh shoots of spruce. The head is nice and has rather big bubbles, so it disappears quickly. The color is dark amber and the aroma has clear notes of pine and a bit of malt. The mouthfeel is round and the flavour is initially sweet, but then the pine hits the tongue in an almost explosive way. Even if I were prepared, I actually briefly thinks: Who the H... has poured pine foam bath in my beer??? The sweetness and the pine needles are the main impressions in this exciting beer. My lips are covered with a sticky, thin layer of resin and perhaps sugar, and my glass has to be washed really thoruogly before the next beer. It’s a fun, almost humoristic beer, than any beer enthusiast has to taste at least once. I’m not sure I’ll buy another, but offered I clearly would say Yes, please...

12 oz bottle, D’s 6-pack Pittsburgh. Pours a clear copper body under a foamy and fizzy one finger off-white head that faded quickly. Aroma is quite sweet and spicy. Reminds me alot of cotton candy really. There is a noticable herbal note that must be spruce, but I’m not certain I would have guessed that. Lots of toffee also. Flavor is quite interesting. Quite sweet up front with a medicinal herbal finish. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, fairly thick in texture, with low soft carbonation. A little cloying on the finish, but still quite drinkable. An interesting beer for sure. Worth trying if only for the experience of tasting a spruce beer.

A slightly hazed amber/orangish pour. An aroma of malt, alcohol and very llittle hops. A flavor that is sweet and a fruitiness that I can’t put my finger on. Roll this around in your mouth and finally the 7.5 will come to the front. A pleasant bitter is there for you after the warmth disapates. A palate that is almost sllick but not. Carbonation is good with a bit of fizz at the end.

bottle. pours w/almost no evidence of a head. the color is true to description; tawny brown, a.k.a. thick, well, ya - tawny brown. aromas are fresh with juicy, heavy fruit, specifically pomengranite, tart caramel apples, and yes, a bit of pine. it smells like an appetizing autumn fair. too bad incense isn’t made to fit this scent...tastes flat, but still characteristic of the description. woodsy, specifically piney and a touch of spruce. also a golden apple taste that is slightly mirrored from the aroma, as well as an odd honey mustard. but still, perhaps i received a bad bottle, as the carbonation here is similar to the amount found in quelque chose, by unibroue. ’tis a shame, as i was looking forward to this one, if only ever so slightly. the odd thing is...there’s still flavor, and a somewhat substantial mouthfeel, just no carbonation. the finish is not quite as lingering as i had hoped. it falls off fairly quickly. a touch of oakiness remains, but that’s about it.

Bottle. Sweet caramel malt and pine, some hops. Nice clear red to amber, no head, thin white ring. Flavor is sweet, starts out bland and floats into heavy pine, which is surprisingly delicious. Lots of fruit, especially cherries, some mustard? Thin palate, kind of disappointing.

Bottle (from BItter Virtue, BB Feb 08). Malty caramel and blackcurrant prominent on the nose with undertone of herbal spicy aromas. Almost medicinal herbal flavour becomes more pronounced in the mouth with a moderate bittereness helping to balance the sweet mouthfilling malts. Full and sweet whilst remaining drinkable. Unusual and pretty good.

Bottle. Pours a hazy red with no head. Aroma is mild with strong notes of fruit and some caramel. Flavour is sweet with some berries (raspberries?) and a pine like feel - perhaps juniper berries.