Heather ale? What will they think of next!

What exactly is beer? What ingredients are used to make it? Well, in essence, there really isn’t a long list of ingredients. You have malted barley or similar, yeast, water and hops. That’s pretty much it. Sounds simple huh? Actually it’s quite difficult because you can combine those four ingredients in many different ways, and get really rather different results. I suppose that’s why there are 300 beers on the list, showcasing the supposedly best in the world. Sure, you can use different types of grain (or even rice), and you would be surprised how much difference using different yeasts can make. Many of the big breweries even have their own strain of yeast, such as Adnams, which give their beers their characteristic flavour.

These days though, you’ll see all manner of things being introduced into the beers on the supermarket shelves. Fruit beers, such as raspberry wheat beers, are common and have distinctive flavours. Badgers brew a whole host of beers boasting different flavours from peach to liquorice to ginger. Other beers include spices, honey, and yes, even flowers like elderflower.

Here is an example of a beer that is made using other additions. As the name suggests, this beer includes a generous amount of heather. But you would be wrong to think this is a new idea however, as I understand the Scottish Fraoch has been around a long time. In fact, some sources suggest heather has been used for nearly 4,000 years!

About the beer

Beer 2 of 300 – Fraoch Heather Ale by Williams Bros.

The 300 beer list categorises it as “Beers made with fruit” Is there any fruit in it? I’m not sure, but there is heather… I suspect!

The beer is very light and refreshing, and has a golden honey colour. You can certainly taste the heather in it, although it’s not overpowering by any means.

There was some fairly heavy sediment in the bottom of my bottle (which shouldn’t put you off), so it’s a good time to mention that many beers are “bottle conditioned”. To carbonate a beer, or put simply “make it fizzy” you can either inject CO2 into it or else add sugars to the beers when you bottle it. If you do the latter, the yeast in the beer will convert the sugar into alcohol and CO2, and this will make the beer fizzy. It’s worth being aware that beer conditioned in this way will have a small amount of sediment in the bottom.

Alcohol: 5%

My rating: 7/10

This beer is produced all year round, but I have to confess, I’m not 100% sure how I came about possessing one! As mentioned in a previous post, I searched my extensive beer stash for beers on the 300 list, and this was one I found. Where did I get it from? I just don’t recall! There’s a good chance my lovely wife picked it up for me one day while doing the weekly shop (she’s wonderful like that!). If that was the case, then chances are you can find one yourself in your local supermarket.

I don’t know a great deal about Scottish beers, and must confess I’ve never ventured that far north myself. Based on this little brew though, I’ll look forward to sampling a few more.