Heather ale - It's them dem Scots again

[Reg]

Yup, you heard it here first. In Scotland they make hop free ale flavoured and preserved with heather.

Mmmmm... Could be nice...

[jean-yves]

never heard about that
what do they smoke in Scotland? :blink:

[G-2]

Fraoch Heather Ale is the most popular although there are others.

its rancid

dont bother trying it. eeeeuuuggchhhh!!


http://www.fraoch.com/

[Reg]

I kinda thought all beers Scottish should be well brewed on principle... That's a shame

[Jim]

I notice that everyone who signed the guestbook loved it! Maybe there's a bit of subtle censorship going on there!

[jean-yves]

I've look in my 2004 Good Beer Guide, and saw that Fraoch have been beer of the year in the last 3 year and beer of the year in 2003.

Don't know for the beer but the website is good.

[G-2]

its a very acquired taste. IMO it just doesn't taste right

you can drink 1 bottle and its OK, but anymore than that leaves me feeling slightly sick

[jean-yves]

that sound like belgian beer, most of them are nauseous or give headache :blink:
it's ok for one or two on the evening!!
I prefer english beer

[G-2]

i really like some belgian beer. i know what you mean about only having one or two, as some of them are about 10%. Nausea and headaches all round, the next day

[RabMaxwell]

Hello all i thought that fraoch was better on draft than in bottle. The bottled stuff is filtered & pasteurised . Cheers :pink

[PieOPah]

QUOTE (jim @ Jun 6 2005, 08:12 PM) I notice that everyone who signed the guestbook loved it! Maybe there's a bit of subtle censorship going on there!
If you look at the guestbook now I doubt that there is any censorship going on. Lots of spam posts (bestiallity, viagra etc).

Really strange as I visited a forum today with exactly the same type of spam and huge amounts....

[bod]

QUOTE (jean-yves @ Jun 2 2005, 09:57 PM)
what do they smoke in Scotland? :blink:
i could tell you, but i'd have tae kill you......

[woodburn]

belhaven fruit beer diffrent from continental fruit beer

[Orkney_Rob]

Oooh - bringing it back from the dead this one!

Fraoch - marvelous stuff! I spent a very happy evening/night/morning locked in their brewery once upon a time

When I am on a bottled beer run I always have to pick several up for my wife as it is by far her favorite beer. If you see it give it a try

[David Edge]

A pleasant drink watching the porpoises as the sun goes down overl Loch Indaal. Here's a recipe from the 1998 UKHB site.
-------------------------------
Having checked thoroughly to make sure there are no copyright notices attached to it, I have lifted the recipe for the Heather Ale featured in Wednesday's edition of the Channel 4 programme "A Cook On The Wild Side" from the C4 WWW page.
Cheers, Brian Gowland

Wild Heather Ale (makes 30 pints)

Ingredients:

2.5 kg milled pale malted barley
250 g milled crystal malt
cold water
small pieces of fat (animal or vegetable)
8 large handfuls heather flowers
2 handful bog myrtle leaves
2 teaspoons baker's yeast or beer yeast
1 level teaspoon sugar or honey per 750 ml bottle

Method:
Put the milled pale malted barley and crystal malt into a 3 gallon jam or jelly pan. Mix with cold water, then add more water to cover grain and stir into a slack, sloppy mixture.
Heat very slowly, over 3 hours, until warm. Do not allow the temperature to go above 70 degrees centigrade - the use of a small piece of fat (animal or vegetable) will indicate the temperature: solid = cold, runny = warm, small beads = too hot.
If it gets too hot remove from heat and mix until cooler. Mix every half hour, removing the fat with a spoon each time whilst mixing.
Peg a coarse dishcloth over a second pan or bucket and strain out liquor, rinse the grains with several kettles of hot water and leave to drain. Boil this liquid for one hour with 5 handfuls of heather flowers and 1 handful of bog myrtle leaves.
Rinse the dishcloth and peg over the fermentation bucket, place 3 handfuls of heather and 1 of bog myrtle in the cloth and then pour the hot liquor over this into the bucket, make up the bucket to 30 pints with cold water and leave to cool to body temperature.
Add 2 teaspoons of baker's yeast or a sachet of beer yeast and leave for 6-8 days to ferment. (Adding more wild heather flowers will ferment the ale but the flavour will be more sour and wine-like.)
Once the ale has stopped fizzing pour it into returnable strong screw top lemonade or beer bottles (750ml). Add one level teaspoon of sugar or honey to each bottle, replace top and store in a cool place until clear.