Fraoch - Heather Ale

[floydmeddler]

Howdy,

Have been very interested in brewing some Froach now for a while and finally have the chance. I'm currently back in my homeland (Eire) and live very close to Grianan Fort which is absolutely teeming with heather and bog myrtle. So, my nephew and I hopped on board my trusty Vespa scooter and drove up there for a little forage.

I have decided to only brew 1 gallon of this for a few reasons, the main being the fact that it is a bit of an experiment. Also, I'm planning to brew this back in Brighton tomorrow and I don't want to bring back a suitcase full of heather and bog myrtle!Hoping it isn't illegal to move this stuff out of the country.

Anyways, after some research I have found:

1 part heather to 5 parts grain, so...

950g of Pale malt
50g of Crystal
200g of heather

1 part bog myrtle to 10 parts heather, so...
20g of bog myrtle

...............................................
Grianan Froach
23-A Specialty Beer

Size: 5 L
Efficiency: 80.0%
Attenuation: 75.0%
Calories: 158.1 kcal per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.048 (1.026 - 1.120)
Terminal Gravity: 1.012 (0.995 - 1.035)
Color: 8.18 (1.0 - 50.0)
Alcohol: 4.67% (2.5% - 14.5%)
Bitterness: Unknown

Procedure:

Mash the grain as per usual, strain, add the heather and bog myrtle and boil for 90 mins. Strain again then pour onto a bed of heather for an hour to impart aroma. Cool, transfer to FV and pitch yeast.

If this is nice, I'll pack that suitcase full next August!

If you are interested:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSYR-OESRQo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCYgTaPWKSE

Will keep you posted.

[floydmeddler]

Well, It's fermenting away in the background and tasting pretty unique. I've never tried Froach before so I don't know if I've hit the target. I've been looking up online line some more and have discovered that the guys up in Scotland who originally inspired me make Froach using hops these days. However I wanted to keep it traditional and didn't mind taking a bit of a risk as it was only one gallon.

Nice to do something different.

[floydmeddler]

Absolutely teeming with punchy flavour which really lingers on long after sipping. The bog myrtle is perhaps a little too over powering as it creates (only subtly) that dry stringent sensation. Very flowery and extremely fresh. Pretty happy and glad I didn't use hops. Look forward to revisiting this one.

[kevthebootboy]

sounds good that, are you going to leave it to mature for a while?

what model Vespa have you got?

kev

[floydmeddler]

It's been bottled now for around 5 weeks and don't plan to let it mature as such. It'll be a little treat every few weeks

I have a black Vespa PX 125 back in Ireland and plan to drive it back to Brighton next May when I complete my motorcycle test. Great little scoot and I miss it dearly