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Heather Ale
 scrapes in
 decent
 good
 excellent
 sublime
Heather Ale, Craigmill Swallow IPA (Scotland) 
The instantly intriguing thing about this beer is that it is the only commercial beer brewed with hops from the Clyde Valley, about half hour from my home. From the same brewery that makes the popular Fraoch Heather Ale, this has a pale to medium gold colour, and a subdued, but not unattractive nose of hops and a malted brown bread. A little bit yeasty and honeyed too. On the palate some bitter hop character and a note of grapefruit pith are delivered in a medium-bodied format. Unexceptional, but quite easy to drink. 4.0% ABV, 35.5cl, �0.99, Peckhams, Safeway Scotland. |  |
Heather Ale, Ebulum Elderberry Black Ale (Scotland)
This Ale is based on a 16th century recipe, and brewed from roasted oats, barely, wheat and fresh elderberries. The colour is jet black, with a hint of ruby at the core. The fawn-coloured head is quite thick and persistent. On the nose, the immediate impression is if liquorice and chocolaty malt, with just a hint of blue/black, inky fruit quality. On the palate this is surprisingly light-bodied and unsubstantial. There's a definite flavour of the elderberry fruit that is both sweet and tart, then more of that dark-roasted malt. It has good acidity and a tangy finish, and I think this would be an ale to drink with hearty food, as it is a little unsatifying on its own. 6.5% ABV, 33cl, �1.49, Peckhams. |  |
Heather Ale, Fraoch (Scotland)
This beer is brewed with heather flowers, along with hops. It pours a slightly dull and hazy orange colour, with a remarkably low-foaming white head. The nose offers a deep well of quite complex aromas: malt and biscuit, a tang of burnt orange, and a definite honeyed note. There's a little high, lavender-like note that is presumably from the late additon of heather flowers. On the palate it is medium-bodied with very gentle carbonation, and a palate that is quite toffeed and sweet. There's plenty of fruit on the mid-palate and a hint of ginger, before a nice grip of bitter, hoppy flavours and a dry acidity emerges in the finish. A very distinctive and most enjoyable beer that is not at all gimmicky, but a very worthwhile recreation of an historic Scottish ale. 5.0% ABV, 50cl, �1.49, Luvians, Oddbins, Peckhams, Safeway, Sainsbury's, Waitrose. | |
Heather Ale, Kelpie Seaweed Ale (Scotland)
From the Heather Ale Company who brew the better known Fraoch Heather Ale, this beer is made with Bladder Rack seaweed in the Mash Tun, in an attempt to create old Scottish ales made near the seaside, where seaweed was used to fertilise the barley fields. It pours a very dark brown that is almost black, with a thick coffee-coloured head. The nose is mostly about stout-like charcoal and chocolate aromas, with some burnt, chicory aromas and yes, the merest tang of something vegetal and seaweed-like. On the palate it is roasted barley and chocolate that dominates, with lots of toasty, charry-edged flavours in a medium-bodied but rich beer. There's a freshness in the finish, with some good, bitter hops, but any seaweed influence is lost on my by this stage of a good, solid dark beer. 4.4% ABV, 50cl, �1.69, Luvians, Peckhams.  | |
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