Heather Ales Alba Scots Pine Ale

Heather Ales Alba Scots Pine Ale

Bottled. A cask version at 6% is produced in March and April.

"Scots Pine Ale"

Introduced by the Vikings, spruce and pine ales were very popular in the Scottish Highlands until the end of the 19th century. Many early explorers, including Captain Cook, used spruce ale during long sea voyages since it prevented scurvy and ill health. Shetland spruce ale was said to "stimulate animal instincts" and give you twins. Alba is a triple style ale brewed to a traditional Highland recipe from Scots pine and spruce shoots pickled during early spring.Pure malted barley, is boiled with the young sprigs of pine for several hours then the fresh shoots of the spruce are added for a short infusion before fermentation.


A tawny brown strong ale with spruce aroma, rich malt texture, complex wood flavour and lingering finish.


Best drunk at room temperature from a wine goblet as an after dinner digestive.
3.4
990 reviews
Alloa, Clackmannanshire, Scotland

Community reviews

3.9 Bärnstensfärgad och lätt disig med litet skum. Doften domineras av syrligt godis, ju varmare ölen blir desto mer godis. Smaken är rejält fyllig och söt med en balanserande syrlighet och i eftersmaken kommer den typiska smaken av späda tallbarr (som jag tuggade på som liten). En superintressant och speciell öl, riktigt god.
2.9 Aroma: Piny and sugary candy. Flavour: Fruity sweet and sugar with pine and spices. Aftertaste is sweet and spicy. Colour: Dark brownish amber with a fading white head.
4.0 330ml bottle from LCBO. 7.5% alc/vol. Pours a hazt deep amber colour with a small white head. Aromas of caramel, pine, toffee and some roasted malts. Taste matches the aroma with toffee and caramel pronounced. Medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Not Bad.
3.3 Bottle split at Matteo's farewell bash, CBC Islington, thanks to Bropey 20/02/17. Mahogany brown with a decent light beige covering. Nose is toffee, vanilla, light varnish, charr, smoke, restrained oxidisation. Taste comprises dark fruit rinds, fruit cake, spice, raspberry jam, toffee. Medium bodied, fine carbonation, drying close. Contrary to the other oxidisation lovers I thought this one had aged fairly gracefully!
3.1 Pours brown with a thin white head. Malty aroma with herbal and strong strawberries notes, the latter get more and more evident as the beer gets warmer. Taste is sweet, sort of a fruity bock-like. I'd prefer something with more body, this is a bit too watery for its flavour I think. Nice overall, but where's the pine?
4.2 Bottle at home. Clear amber, minimal cream orange head. Caramel, pine needles, pine liquor, resin, light balsamic, cream. Taste of spruce, pine syrup, balsamic, light sweetness, caramel.
4.0 Belle rousse/ambrée transparente avec des reflets cuivrés et une fine mousse blanche. Beau nez entre les malts, les notes acidulées et le fruit. Sur ce dernier, on décèle des notes de fraise, de groseille, de cassis, de myrtille, d’orange, de citron, de cerise, le tout donnant une impression d’arôme de bonbon arlequin plutôt agréable. En arrière, le caramel et le miel de malts légers qui rajoutent au côté gourmandise de cette boisson. En bouche, le côté bonbon persiste mais l’alcool nerveux, la carbonatation et les saveurs dominantes de résineux nous rappellent que c’est une bière. La texture est ronde, avec beaucoup de corps, les sucres résiduels sont très nombreux et contribuent à la "chaleur" de cette bière. On ressent des notes poivrées également, tandis que l’alcool soutient bien toutes les saveurs à la manière d’une blonde triple. Le final est sur le bois résineux et les sucres avec une pointe de tanin. Une très bonne bière à défaut d’être excellente, elle se laisse extrêmement bien boire et pourra désaltérer comme accompagner un petit dessert. Il me manquera une pointe d’amertume pour vivifier l’ensemble... Boissons du Monde, Saint-Egrève.
2.5 February 2017 - Bottle share at CBC Islington for the Matteo Farewell tasting as ’Heather Ales Alba Scots Pine Ale’, 1999 vintage. Big thanks to Paul for this beer - which is legally old enough to drink itself. Dark orange brown, foamy off-white head, dotted lacing. Aroma is cardboard and sherry – oxidised. Body is smooth, soft carbonation, quite oily. Taste is sugary, cardboard, light woody pine notes. Tastes the age. Drinkable but tired. (2.5)
3.2 33cl bottle shared at my Farewell Tasting, London. Massive thanks to Paul for this one. It pours a clean amber color with a small beige head. Aroma is dusty caramel and melon. Taste is big time sweet fruity and a tad oxidised with notes of melon and strawberries. Some caramel and must. Light bodied with good carbonation. Overall, very nice
3.5 Bottle at Matteo caio tasting Craft Islington. Dark brown colour lasting beige head. Oxidised aroma some bovril. A little pine. But mostly some fruit cake. A little old but quite good jammy fruit later.
2.9 Bottle shared at the CBC Islington for the Matteo farewell tasting. Many thanks to Paul for this one. A nutty brown coloured pour with a a halo of off white head. Aroma is aged, mint, cola, stale grains, aged malts, sweet fruits. Flavour is composed sweet jammy fruits, strawberry, airy grains, cola cubes, stale grains, big aged, jammy. Palate is airy, lowish carbonation, papery. Too much age.
3.0 Pours amber with a white head. Aroma is muted floral and pine. Floral, pine and vanilla flavours with sweet malts. Medium body and medium carbonation. A little too sweet for me.
3.2 Gout d'épices important en bouche et persistant par la suite. Canne a sucre et caramel très présent et franchement agréable. Cache bien son 7,5% d'alcool. Biere bien agréable sans se démarquer particulièrement.
3.4 Bottiglia. Il gusto al naso si indirizza su frumento ed orzo. L’intensità olfattiva è elevata e la persistenza olfattiva è apprezzabile. Il cappello di schiuma di colore marrone chiaro ha una scarsa tenuta e termina con un simpatico pizzo sul bordo del vetro. La grandezza delle bollicine è media. La consistenza del liquido è limpida. Il perlage è costituito da bollicine medio-fini con carbonazione abbondante, vivace, persistente ed insistita. Il colore è ambrato rossiccio carico tendente marrone. Il corpo è strutturato ma duttile e si apre a nuove sfaccettature. Il dolce è medio e l’amaro è deciso. Si presenta anche un’ombra di umami. L’intensità gustativa è elevata e la persistenza gustativa è buona. Il gusto è piacevole per una birra che ha una sua personalità. Le sensazioni boccali finali sono di una birra da favola e assolutamente da bere. Il finale è setoso, lungo e complesso. Il retrogusto è intenso. L’aroma in bocca riporta sentori di caramello, miele, crosta di pane, cereali, abete rosso, terra, erbe aromatiche e alcol presente.
3.5 330 ml bottle bought at CitySuper in New Town Plaza, Shatin. Clear amber colour; Half finger head with soapy white foam which fades in 30 seconds; Excellent sticky lacing with barely notable slight carbonation; Very fragrant and sweet aroma of malt, with strong blackberries, strawberry mousse, string cherries, red fruits, toffee, chocolates, spruces, floral, sugar, light bread and faint grass; Close to medium sweet taste of full malt, with red fruits, ligt caramel, light toffee, floral, molasses, light cream cakes, very light lemon and thin bitter grassy hops; Full body. Slick and smooth palate; Mouth feel is full Ale maltyness in a thick and pretty creamy background, with strong red fruits and toffee combines for a pretty nice light fruity cream cakes. Not much pine or spruces in the mix. Light floral and fair sweetness. Very low-fi lemon to round. Very nice!... Hoppiness is strong blackberries, floral and faint grass in nose. Floral, very light lemon and thin grass in taste; Bitterness is very light for an abrupt, very low-fi sweet malt finish; Fairly dry after taste. Sweet fruity and very easy to mouth. Comments: This one spruce and pine influence is not too obvious, instead it is the nice aroma of dark berries and fruit cream cakes that stole the show, with rich red fruit malt and hidden booze ran for a strong finish. A very solid pine ale that excels. Lovely!
2.6 Butelka 330ml. Miedziany kolor. Piana biala niska,szybko opadajaca do zera. Aromat rozgotowanych warzyw slodu delikatnych nut swierkowych. W smaku slodowo slodkawe o niskiej karbonacji. Raczej plaskie smakowo z przewaga owocowo -warzywnych posmakow z lekko cytrynowym finiszem.
2.5 Bottle thanks to Vestergaard. Pours clear amber, small white head. Aromas of orange, malt, fruit juice, dark fruits, yeast. Taste is malty, sweet fruits, sugar. What the
2.1 Bottle thanks to Ottfather. Pours a clear golden amber with a big, white head. Aroma has yeasty esters, lots of fruits, vienna malts, berries. Taste is sweet, light sour, metallic, but no real bitterness? Juicy body, average carbonation. Oh well.
2.8 Pours up a brownish orange color, with a medium head. Aroma is sweet malty with some yeast and resin. Tastes like mayonnaise, sweet, creamy, some herbal, pine and lemon notes in flavor. Lots of loose sediment floating around. OK but not something I would get again.
3.7 Deep amber in colour, a decent head that doesn’t stay for too long. There are clear notes of pine with pollen sweetness, the alcohol taste in well masked behind the woody notes and refreshing pine aroma. Carbonation is just perfect. It’s really worth trying it, even though ’beer purists’ will say it’s not bitter enough and does not taste like a beer -> it’s a very good beer, imho.
3.1 Bottle from Cheers Liquor Store, Todmorden, and have had this previously at the Manchester Christmas Markets. Deeper amber in colour with no head. Has a heavy pine aroma, with some similar woody and earthy flavours. There’s some orange citrus in here too and its strength is evident but not overbearing.
3.4 Bottle. Golden color. Aroma: malty, a little honey, jam, pine pollen. Taste: raspberry jam, malt, nectar, sweet sherry, a bit herbs, pine and spruce.
3.7 Colore ambra chiaro, mediamente velata. Schiuma bianco sporco, di buona ampiezza e persistenza, a grana fine. Al naso molto piacevole, caramello, frutta, miele, veramente dolce. Anche la bevuta conserva queste percezioni, un malto davvero dolce, caramellata, zuccherina, molto particolare come ale. Solo nel finale si avverte appena una nota erbacea che richiama il pino del nome. Il corpo è medio, carbonazione pure, quindi non si addice del tutto alla bevuta meditativa.
4.0 Pours dark amber, clear. Small amount of head. Spruce is pronounced and sweet in the aroma. Flavor is resinous without being overwhelmingly piney. Would probably be a good amber ale even without the spruce. Velvety palette.
4.2 Clear amber, no head. Very sprucy aroma -- sweet and almost candylike. The same elements carry through to the flavor. Really different, and really tasty. Palate a bit sticky, but suitable for the cane-sugar like sweetness from the spruce. Only complaint: It’s called a pine ale, but I don’t get much pine at all, only spruce.
3.5 330ml bottle. Pours a clear golden caramel with a half finger near white head that thins to a film. Aroma is a touch sweet with notes of wood and floral, a touch of caramel, and dark fruits. Taste is balanced with sweet caramel, floral, a hint of pine sap, woody candy sugar, and a bit of alcohol warmth at the end. Medium-full body with a low-medium carbonation. Clean in the mouth with a touch of syrup and a dry finish. Overall a nice brew . Notes of wood, floral, sap, and sweet caramel.
3.7 0.33 bottle. Clear, gold color and a medium, white head which leaves some thick lacing. Aroma of berries, flowers, and fruits - unusual but decent. Taste is also sweet and fruity, a tad piney for sure but mostly floral again. Medium body, creamy texture, and flat carbonation. Finish is medium long and enjoyable but not as impressive as the taste. Overall not a bad beer, certainly something out of the ordinary; it tastes of authenticity and does not offend the drinker with added juices or other concoctions.
3.5 First try out of the same 4-pack they've been putting out for forever, apparently. Nose is surprisingly sweet and malt forward - like floral, herbal-y honey. Taste is much fruitier - cherries and cranberries, some pungent, earthy pine. It's quite sweet, almost syrupy, with a borderline medicinal element (technically this WAS "medicine" once upon a time). Finish is herbal, with a faint, lingering menthol effect. It's not what I was expecting but it's still pretty neat, and different, which is all I was hoping for.
3.1 From bottle. Drank after a heavy day of big beers so maybe didn’t do it justice. Not memorable but not offensive. Suspect it’s worth another try, but also not a stunning drop.
3.0 Amber color, clear liquid and average head. Aroma of fruits, wood and alcohol. In the mouth it is sweet, a bit bitter and very fruity. It is too sweet for me... but still a very good ale.