Fraoch Heather Ale
Williams Brothers Brewing Company

Sample at GBBF Winter. Brass colored pour, more animal head. Aroma is wheat, sweet, woody. Taste is subtle, grainy, malty, oily feel. Heather adds minor herbal notes. Enjoyable

unique beer here, decidedly scottish to me, a heather ale, thought i would see more of these in scotland but really it was actually not a common thing, so i am stoked to have encountered this one, my first from these guys, a different looking label than what is pictured here, and a rather curious beverage overall, done not only with heather but also with ginger and sweet gale, also known as bogmyrtle, interesting that they have it written both ways on the label. this is also gluten free, which was insanely common among the craft beers of scotland, not sure what the deal is there, but it was way more prevalent than in the states, maybe even a majority, but it never felt like anything was missing, especially in this one. its also done with hops, says so on the label, so maybe not technically a gruit although thats how its listed here, not sure. this is clear and brassy toned, less malty right away than expected, i think of these in my mind as all being red amber and malty, but this is more golden, bright and pretty, with large soda size bubbles and a short but intricate near inch of white head, looks great. the nose is herbal, im not familair enough with heather or bogmyrtle to call them out, but their presence is interesting in this, the malt is sweet like honey and earthy too, lightly toasty but no deeper than that, and the yeast is old worldy and expressive in this. there is light ginger spice, some late bitterness to me, real complex. the flavor is cool too, although i could maybe do without the ginger, its stronger here than it is in the flavor and i think it might take over the more interesting and more subtle herbal elements, which is what sold this to me in the first place. there is honest natural ginger spice, but it is the lead note unfortunately. i love how much grain flavor there is here but how the color and body are light, great malt foundation here, a perhaps easy to miss aspect of this, but its nice. i also like the ferment, which takes this down to off dry by the swallow, leaving the herbs and the ginger in the aftertaste. lots of bubbles to this, very lively beer, full of character and almost healthful to me. this feels at once kind of ancient and timeless, but then also sort of modern with the ginger and the complexity. fun beer, each sip a little different, nothing like this commercially available in the states that i am aware of. seeing this old label pictured also kind of jogs my memory, like maybe this was actually exported to the us at some point a long time ago, like maybe i had this in my formative fake id years, could be wrong, but its way back in the brain somewhere. didnt think that when i drank it, but seeing this image here shakes that up. anyway, enjoyable and distinctive ale worth seeking out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brilliant sort of rich looking reddish gold colour to it. Smell is floral and slightly sour and milky, taste however is herby, honey-sweet, a bit smokey/peaty, has a hint of ginger early in the bottle from the bogmyrtle that lessens as it is drunk - but all these words are just me scrambling to explain a taste that is like nothing else. Only detracting factor is the feel is a bit heavy and lingers a little too long. But I can't complain really. Must also note that I've not had this on draught so it could be even better that way.

The real question, though: as a nation, why on earth did we ever stop drinking heather beer?

edit: I had it on draught some time in the past year and it was everso slightly disappointing. I will continue to drink it out of bottles though.

The lable has been 'Yoofed' now being a vivid purple-pink with the main 'Fraoch' in a white graffiti-like font.
L- Pours a vivid golden, clear, with a 2mm white cap. ps 15mins later, holding well.
S- Wow it's mild, nothing clearly distinguishable comes through to me, not even the basics like grains/malts and so on.
T- Quite bright intitially, then a bready middle, into a moderately dry finish with a touch of a dry woody note right at the very end. Was the latter the heather? No idea... ps. I've just noticed it's leaving a mild residual 'dry zing' on my palate, though am unclear of the specific cause.
F- 'Medium dry'? It has dry facets yet they've wrung enough mouthfeel out of it's modest 5%ABV to almost come back to a 'medium' centre-point. All in, it's pretty gutsy for it's 5%.
O- I might have some winter congestion but even then any specific heather notes seem subtle. So fear not those who have visions of being beaten about the palate with a moorland's worth of said bushes. The dry zing has by now evolved slightly from dryness into almost a mildly spicy brush on my palate, and most unusually, even my lips! Is this what the heather does!? It reminds me of the subtlety of the spicy zing you get from fine-ground white pepper.
Interesting one. Something a bit different, and mercifully it's subtle rather than a big/OTT slamming statement.
500ml bottle BB: 04/2022
Now reading the lable: A-ha! Ginger - that'll be the zing. Funny thing though, I got zero ginger taste, just it's zing.

 

 

Very good ale, crispy with a dark golden color. Somewhat sweet without going over the top, I taste honey & tea like hints. Not readily available but worth seeking out. Excellent!

330 mL Bottle. ABV 5%.
Appearance: Clear brownish gold, Above medium mesmerising carbonation, Terrific retention, Soapy lacing.
Aroma: Floral, Herbs, Spicy earthy yeast, Biscuit, Malt sweetness, Slight fruit, Very slight honey.
Mouthfeel: Medium body, dyry finish, Flat, Creamy, Slightly syrupy.
Flavour: Malt sweetness, Floral, Honey, Spicy yeast, Slightly herbal.
Overall: Quite interesting to try. I think it's a nicely crafted beer all things considered, but perhaps could be more balanced.

Review: 107