Heather Ales Ebulum

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

courtesy of Toni Flükiger - dark black coloured with a little elusive brown foam; fair aroma of chocolate malts and undefined red fruits; good malt body, moderately sweet with a toasty malty and fruity finish, quite dry and with notes of ashes - very pleasant

Not what I expected at all. The fruit flavor is very mild - not overly sweet or sour. Good roasted malt black ale flavor, excellent hop bitterness, with just a subtle hint of citrus (if I had not seen Elderberry on the label, I would have never been able to guess the fruit). I will definitely try this one again.

Dark purple-brown with a small head. Smells of currants, roasted malts and semi-sweet fruit. Starts out like a creamy caramel porter or a sweet stout, but finishes with a unique berry tone. Sweet and malty, slightly smoky with some licorice. Chewy with good balance and a fruity aftertaste. Interesting and good.

I'm not sure what an elderberry is, I think its like a raspberry, blackberry, boysenberry type thing. At any rate, its hard to detect a berry taste in this beer. Its dark coffee brown with a mocha head which gradually diminishes. Hops are detectable in the aroma but dominating is well- roasted dark malt. Flavor repeats the theme, adding smooth biscuity malt, coffee, smoke and honey (berries?). There's a nice quality to this beer sort of like a gentle, lightly sweet stout, and the finish has enough bitterness to cleanse the palate between sips. Drink this slowly, and it grows on you - very enjoyable.

the curtains lifted, and immediately i liked the stage and props: the background was a beautifully stated minimalist expression of darkness and negative space; once my eyes adjusted to the sooty prune-colored expanse, i was able to discern cunning details of mahogany brush strokes along the periphery. contrasting to that was the head, a delicate frappe’, the almond-tan of peeled potatoes. together beer and head were the pleasing cream and dark leather colors of a pair of saddle shoes. the play began with a nice aromatic dialogue, a smell of fresh geraniums, grape jam, vapors of whiskey-- alas, the actors weren’t projecting vocally well enough, these clever lines were hard to hear. i identified with the whiskey character, and would have like to have seen him shine with bolder dialogue, but the role was skillfully supporting--and-- without giving away the ending-- we’d see more of him as the story unfolded... peat notes made the geranium more than a one-dimensional actor, we felt her darkness too, and it rang true and universal. meanwhile, the fruit could easily have been over-acted by a lesser performer, but even with sweet poignant lines, she never became shrill or fake. as the plot developed, it was clear that it wasn’t just a formulaic variation of a porter with a fruity gimmick-- themes were borrowed from certain scotch ales, and one saw the influence of the classic oatmeal stout school as well. the palate is very soft, almost watery, but the company plays well, no one grandstanding, good believable grounding in malty themes, sweet without being maudlin, bitter without being metallic, finishes with a bit of burnt zest, chocolate brownie, and the soft ending notes of that well-orchestrated whiskey score. i’ll definatley rent this when it comes out in dvd.

Tasted in Toronto from LCBO. Aroma is sweet with a licorice, caramel and spicy hint. There is also a lingering alcohol scent. Appearance is dark brown/black and opaque. Very slight head formation. Taste is burnt caramel and black licorice with come complex smoky undertones.

has a chocolaty fruity flavor. its a little sweet but not too sweet. smooth with a slight bitterness. not as far out as the other heather ale brews, but good none the less.

Bottle: Roasty aroma, notes of smoke, some sweetish malts and hints of fruits. Black color, coffee like, brown head. Flavor is light sweet with fruity berry notes, intensive roasted malt notes, some dry cacao notes and hints of coffee. Dry, roasted malt and bitter hoppped end. Pleasant.