Heather Ales Ebulum

I have a bad sense of smell, so not much in the way of aroma. Right out of the bottle I smelled a bit of fruit. Black in appearance, light does not penetrate far at all. Poured from a bottle, there was a respectable head but less than 1" I would say. Dominant tastes are bitter and burnt, but both are nicely balanced by a body somewhere between crisp and creamy. The palate is lively, with a quick finish, not much lingering. Did not know what to expect, never had elderberry’s before. Not tasting much of the fruit, but the bitterness is clearly balanced. Would not buy a 6 pack even if they had it, but as a single bottle it is very nice and I can see it going well with a hearty meal.

The colour is pitch-black. It is lowcarbonated and the formation of froth is therefore rather modest. The taste of hardroasted malt is very strong and persistent, the roasted taste is different from what I have tasted earlier, which probably can attribute to the admixture of roasted oats. The taste of elderberry recedes very appropriately into the background and it actually gives a weakly touch of liquorice. Other notes are dark chocolate and smoke. The bitterness is rather limited, so it`s a beer which in spite of the full-bodied taste seems pretty round and soft. It`s an outstanding beer which I can´t get enough of.

Bottle. Pour is a dark brown... with a minimal head that dies down to a thin film on the surface fairly quickly. Aromas are unique... I’m guessing that it’s the fact that I don’t sniff many elderberries. The berry/fruit tones make it hard to pick up what else is going on. There is a bit of an earthy scent and some chocolate. Flavor is more malt heavy than nose seemed to indicate. Coffee/chocolate malt presence mixes fairly nicely with berry flavors, kind of ebbing and flowing on which of the two has the power at any one moment. Definitely different and pretty nice stuff.

Appearance: Dark, dark brown, basically black. OK amount of head, shortlived. Aroma: Fruit and berries. Elderberry? Some malt. Coffee. Taste: Fruit, quite malty. Elderberries. Info: 330ml bottle, 11/1-2007, 131/500

V - Does indeed pour black, like a thinned out old motor oil. Small head. A - Strong aroma. toffee, raspberry, malt, coffee T - nugget, toffee, small subtle aftertaste of fruit P - very smooth, little carbonation and a somewhat together thickness.