Heather Ale
Alewerks Brewing Company

Bottle courtesy of dkachur - thanks! Poured into a traditional pint glass.

Appearance: Minimal and fast-farding white head, a hazy golden colored body, and practically no lacing. Not a good start.

Aroma: Lots of pale biscuity malt, but also a strong amount of earthy balancing tartness, like lemon zest. Grows stronger as things warm.

Taste: Very sweet in places, with a strong spice-like, herbal quality - is this what heather tips taste like? - and that same strong herbal tart lemon-like citrus note which lends an ever increasing balancing and soon too bitter quality.

Mouthfeel: The tartness actually gives it a cleansing, enamel-removing kinda feel. The rest of the mouthfeel is light an uneven.

Drinkability: Nothing spectacular here - an interesting beer with an interesting mix of flavors, but that's about it. What's there isn't spectacular, and I doubt I'd drink another.

Pours a hazy dark yellow with a frothy white head that is very smooth and leaves plenty of lacing. There is not much smell, just some sweet and sour notes with floral overtones. The taste is quite odd, but interesting and refreshing. It starts mild, with not much flavor, just small hints of what could be construed as the heather tips, then moves into sour notes and finishes with a wine like aftertaste. The mouthfeel is medium and very smooth, I am impressed with the feel of this beer. I think this is an easy drinker because it is light and refreshing, although it is not a typical beer, it still a nice offering. Definitely worth a try because of its uniqueness.

I poured this brew into my tumbler at 50 degrees. The beer was a pretty gold color but it had no head at all. It was also cloudy. The beer smelled skunky but I figured it was just because of the type of beer it was. The taste was flowery and strange. It reminded me of dadelion wine I made once. I did not like that and I wdon't like this. Not buy again.

A: Poured from a bottle to a pint glass. had a yellowish color and a thick consistency with a lot of sediment. Not much head, but some decent lacing.

S: This beer had a sweet, floral smell, probably due to the hops and the heather.

T: An odd, yet endearing taste. very sweet, fruity taste. Kind of syrupy, with the hops, heather and malt mixing together.

M: A good amount of carbonation and a slick finish. Medium-bodied.

D: This is one of those unusual intriguing beers you don't see everyday. Not something I'd drink on a regular basis, but worth a shot.

Selected from a 12-pack AleWerks sampler, a 12-ounce bottle poured into my DFH shaped pint glass yields a hazy golden amber body topped with a thin grayish cap that vanishes quickly into a ring that leaves a few freckles of lacing on the glass.

The smell of the drink is grassy and floral with a mellow earthy undertone.

The taste is pale malty and floral with a dollop of spicy honey up front. Not a bad start, but the finish is an onslaught of sour citrus, where a super-dry tooth-screeching astringency rules with an iron fist. The sourness fades a bit as the drink warms and as I decide to just get over it and drink up on my gruit, not knowing enough about the style to even decide whether the beer is really fucked up, or just an oddball herby sour that really ain't so bad.

Medium-bodied and pretty drinkable, at any rate.

Thanks to IDateTheFormula for getting me this bottle.

A - Pours gold and cloudy. Off white head is minimal but the resulting lace looks to be acceptable.

S - Some earthy forest like aromas come through first. What comes to mind is trees (think pine) and hay. Sugar and honey play a strong role about midway. A hint of alcohol finishes things off.

T - Pale malt, sugar, and honey are first in the flavor. They are quickly followed by grass and grain. White bread and yeast come in at the tail end. Is that a Belgian yeast? It has a mild funk flavor. Flavor is mild overall.

M - Medium to light bodied with good carbonation. Smooth mouthfeel with a sweet finish that stays pretty clean.

D - Drinkability is good. This beer stays light and refreshing throughout. It is mild but still interesting. Glad I got the chance to try it. Recommended to anyone wanting to expand their beer experience / knowledge.

12 oz. bottle poured into a pint glass.

Appearance: Lightly hazy light brown with yellow highlights, a bright white head, and spotty lacing.

Smell: Brighter sweet flavors that aren't overpowering at first. Not sure what heather smells like exactly, so I can't claim it's that. But there's earthy berries and flowers. And also dominating is an interesting white wine and vinous aroma, along with hints of blueberries.

Taste: Initial fruit and slight spiciness, vinous white wine sweetness, a burst of field and flowers, and an oddly rich and creamy almost vanilla custard-like finish, which is so weird and compelling and Willy Wonka-esque. Where is this coming from? Very wild and welcoming.

Mouthfeel: Lighter-bodied with good all around carbonation and nice balance.

Drinkability: A great and different summer seasonal, with fairly singular flavors, and one that white wine drinkers may be really interested to try, in addition to those beer drinkers that like the more lighter and or singular brews.

Pours clouded golden with a thin white head that becomes a swirling patch and a thin bubbly ring. Minimal lacing sticks.

The smell is biscuity with some floral (heather), almost weedy notes.

The taste is of sweet biscuit/light malt with a bit of grape and orange. Heather adds floral, almost weedy and earthy notes. There's a balancing dryness in the finish.

The light body border on a bit of a flattish feel and watery, but it has a refreshingly dry quality and holds itself together.

An interesting brew. Not quite up to what I remember the heather ale from Scotland being, but a nice, balanced interprepretation nevertheless. Can't see myself drinking more than one or two, but interesting enough for that.

A = This was a unique looking mixture of yellow and orange. Actually, very refreshing looking.

S = Floral with a hint of citrus.

T = Big floral tastes upfront, with slight orange juice flavors in the middle and some peach in the background. No perceived bitterness in the finish. I was left with a nice floral aftertaste.

MF = "Sprightly" is the first word I thought of to describe the initial mouthfeel. It's bursting with flavors even though the beer is light bodied. Carbonation is moderate.

This was my first "heather ale" style of beer and I was very pleased. It was one of the most interesting and refreshing beers that I've tasted.

According to the Williamsburg Aleworks website,
"AleWerks Heather Ale is our response to the growing shortage of hops in the world. Heather Tips are used to give this light flavored beer a floral nose and palate. Traditionally used in heavy Scottish style ales we chose to reinvent the Heather Ale!"

They have created a winner.