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Heather Ales Alba

Heather Ales Alba  - Traditional Ale

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 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 
6183.38/5.03.38/5.07.5%75.4Dimpled mug, English pint, Stein, Yard
View Statistics  P 

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.
 Most Recent Top Raters Highest Ratings Who's Rated This?  
 joeycapps (1466), Waterdown, Ontario, Canada
3.4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/56/103/514/20
Feb 17, 2005  
Cloudy amber w/ thick, creamy finger of beige foam. Sweet aroma of carmel, butterscotch, fruit (berries, apples, pineapples[?]), & pine/spruce needles. Medium, oily body w/ a light effervescence. Earthy caramel & butterscotch flavour w/ woody pine & spruce notes. Also has a peppery, medicinal quality.


 tiggmtl (4307), Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
3.6 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/103/58/103/515/20
Feb 16, 2005  
Bizarre but intriguing. Sweet, jam-like, sugary, berry aroma with spicy pine-like character. Opaque, amber-brown with thin, off-white head that recedes to lasting ring and thin cover. Plenty of yeast in suspension. Very sweet jam-like berry flavour with shortbread-like sweet dough and a lightly spicy herbal tone. Medium body with fair carbonation that is engaging on the tongue. Bottle (LCBO - Nov. 2004).


 johnyvt (157), West Hollywood, California, USA
3.8 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/103/58/104/515/20
Feb 16, 2005  
33cl bottle. Average orange/brown pour with bubbly, quickly gone head. Smell is of sweet malts and pine. Remarkably smooth taste, pine and spruce never seem to bite the tongue. Tastes like it had been well aged in wood casks. Light resin in the mouthfeel, but much different than hops. Alcohol is detectable, but doesnt burn. An interesting, tasty brew.


 freekyp (900), Thomasville, North Carolina, USA
3.9 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/102/59/103/517/20
Feb 13, 2005  
Once I picked it up, I could not stop smelling this brew. It was a refreshing , slightly piney, smelll not unlike mountain air, mixed with a decidedly grape aroma. I’ve found with many traditional style ales that they do not have large heads, nor do they retain them overly long. This brew fit that profile with a slight, quickly dissipating dusting atop its brown body. With an immediately quenching body and slight mead-like sweetness, this brew masks its 7.5% alchohol content well. Its actually extremely quaffable. In a blind test, I guessed 4.7%. I was way off. This is one unique and pleasing brew.


 szkot (100), Minnesota, USA
3.4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/103/58/103/513/20
Feb 11, 2005  
Pours a light brown with a fast fading head. Smells of a bit of malt. Taste is a bit strange -- at first, my impression is of a run of the mill beer. But then in the finish, I get a taste of tree bark. Palate is medium. Overall, it’s a good beer, but I’m not really that excited about having it again.


 Cornfield (4892), Oak Forest, Illinois, USA
3.4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
5/103/57/103/516/20
Feb 11, 2005  
Brownish orange with a slight head, this has a nice, air-freshener kind of a pine smell. When I tasted it, I almost whiplashed my neck, it caused me to jerk my head back that fast. Not because it was bad. It had a SHARP spruce taste that surprized me. Very lively and tasty. It’s got a clean, fresh finish. I’d have more of this.


 RAYBOY01 (1813), Chicago, Illinois, USA
3.5 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
6/103/57/103/516/20
Feb 11, 2005  
Nice complex maltiness supporting a lighter-than-expected spruce flavor. Kind of a wine-like texture and mouthfeel. I enjoyed this rather more than I expected to.


 hershiser2 (903), Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
3.1 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
6/103/56/103/513/20
Feb 11, 2005  
Appearance: orangey brown with a small beige head. Smells sweet, slightly floral, coppery/metallic. Taste is malty, leafy, slight pininess- not overly strong. Decent.



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