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Score
9093
OVERALLStyle
Brewed by Williams Brothers (Heather Ales)
Style: Traditional Ale
Alloa, Scotland

bottled
common

on tap
available

Broad Distribution

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RATINGS: 741   WEIGHTED AVG: 3.44   EST. CALORIES: 195   ABV: 6.5%
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COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTION
Bottled. A cask version at 5.8% is produced in October and November.
"Elderberry Black Ale"
Introduced to Scotland by Welsh druids in the 9th Century, elderberry black ale was part of the Celtic Autumn festivals when the "elders" would make this strong ale and pass the drink round the people of the village. The recipe was taken from a 16th Century record of domestic drinking in the Scottish Highlands. Elderberries were used for many natural remedies to cure sciatica, other forms of neuralgia, influenza and rhumatism as they contain tannins and fruit oils.
Ebulum is made from roasted oats, barley and wheat boiled with herbs then fermented with ripe elderberries.
A rich black ale with fruit aroma, silky soft texture,soft roasted flavour and gentle finish.
Recommended with stewed and baked foods.
Drink lightly chilled from a straight glass.


3.3
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 6/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 13/20
mrkimchee (1414) - Toronto, Ontario, CANADA - SEP 28, 2002
pours black with a fizzy, disappearing tan head. roasty malt, berries and slight chocolate on the nose. more berries in the flavour, aswell as a little smokiness. dry finish.

3.5
   AROMA 8/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 7/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 14/20
Radek Kliber (5308) - Toronto (Can) Krotoszyn (Pol), POLAND - SEP 28, 2002
Dark coffee, average head, nice bubbles. Light on gas. Very intensive aroma dried mushrooms, roasted aromatic coffee, sweet flower. Light no taste buds, some bitterness, sweetness light and neat aftertaste. Nice and warming.

3.5
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 7/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 15/20
Panzuriel (1080) - Westerville, Ohio, USA - SEP 16, 2002
Very nice elderberry ale. Dark in color. Good texutre, nice foam. Good soft roast flavor with nice fruit kick. Very good.

3.6
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 7/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 15/20
Brodie (540) - Blowing Rock, North Carolina, USA - SEP 15, 2002
Black with some ruby/purple hints, tan head that disappeared pretty quickly. Aroma of chocolate, roasted malt, and spicy fruit. Same flavor, the elderberries contribute a flavor that is something like grape soda (sounds wierd, but its good). Slightly bitter, slightly dry aftertaste. I highly recommend trying this beer - it is very different in a good way.

2.7
   AROMA 5/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 5/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 11/20
morty99 (371) - Maryland, USA - SEP 15, 2002

3.3
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 6/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 14/20
MaxPower (961) - St. Louis, Missouri, USA - AUG 4, 2002
Dark brown color, roasty aroma, smokey malty flavor.

3.8
   AROMA 8/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 7/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 15/20
BeerLimey (2136) - California, USA - JUL 30, 2002
Roasted malt, fruity aroma, oatmeal stout like pastiness. Berry flavor is hard to detect although there is some fruitiness in the latter half.

3.4
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 6/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 13/20
LordNeuf (135) - Acton, Massachusetts, USA - JUL 10, 2002
This is a perplexingly complex ale. It tended to go flat quickly... but it didn’t seem to be missing anything when it was... Bittersweet, a little thick... but unique and worth an investigation

3.8
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 8/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 16/20
radiomgb (2078) - Peterborough, Ontario, CANADA - JUN 19, 2002
Wow. This is truely an amazing ale. Has the characteristics of a stout except for not having a head. The finish is soft and smooth. Has a distinct chocolate flavour to it.

3.8
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 5/5   TASTE 7/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 16/20
Gunshy (479) - Ohio, USA - JUN 19, 2002
Okay, this is the Heather Ale I been waiting to try. Growing up on a farm, we had elderberrys and dishes made from them like pies, jams/jellies, crisp/crumble and of course wine. So how does a beer version fair? It poured out an amazingly dark color and had a dark tan head. I had it at a warmeer temperature that may account for that. Interesting aroma of malts and elderberry. The taste definately had elements of Elderberry and chocolate. A good dark beer.


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