Heather Beer: Where To Buy This Unique Brew

Heather beer, also known as heather ale, is a traditional Scottish beer that has been brewed for over 4000 years. It is believed to be the oldest style of ale still produced in the world. The beer is made with heather flowers and bog myrtle (also known as sweet gale). It has a distinct herbal aroma with spice notes and a hint of honey. While heather beer can be purchased online from retailers like Amazon, the most popular brand of heather beer is the Williams Brothers Brewing Company's Fraoch Heather Ale, which can be found at BeerMenus and BeerAdvocate.

Williams Brothers Fraoch Heather Ale

The ale has a rich amber-orange colour and features an infusion of heather flowers, sweet gale, and bog myrtle. It offers a distinct herbal aroma with spice notes and hints of honey. On the palate, the heather character is prominent, complemented by British pale and caramel malts that provide a lightly sweet and robust base for the herbal spiciness. The result is a delightful blend of herbal, spicy, and sweet flavours, reminiscent of spiced tea or mulled wine, with a dry, wine-like finish.

You can purchase this ale directly from the Williams Brothers Brewing Company or through various online and physical retailers. However, availability may vary by region, so checking local beer retailers or specialty stores is recommended to find this unique piece of Scottish history in a bottle.

Heather ale in Scotland

Heather ale, or "leann fraoich" in Gaelic, is the oldest style of ale still produced in the world, with a history of being brewed in Scotland since 2000 BC. The ancient Gaelic recipe for heather ale involves adding sweet gale and flowering heather to the boiling malted barley "bree". After cooling slightly, the hot ale is poured into a vat of fresh heather flowers and left to infuse for an hour before being fermented.

Heather ale has a unique flavour profile, with a floral-peaty aroma, a full malt character, and a spicy herbal finish. It has a brass-coloured pour, with a subtle, grainy, malty, and oily feel. The heather adds minor herbal notes, resulting in a taste that is like nothing else.

The Williams Brothers Brewing Company, based in Clackmannanshire, UK, is the only brewery that still produces this unique style of beer and distributes it worldwide. Their Fraoch Heather Ale is Scotland's native ale, with a 5.0% ABV and approximately 160 calories. It is produced according to a 16th-century Scots-Gaelic recipe, using malted barley 'bree', sweet gale, and heather flowers. The hot ale is infused with heather flowers before being fermented in copper tuns, resulting in a floral, peaty aroma, a full malt body, and a dry wine-like finish.

The legend of Heather Ale is also steeped in Scottish folklore. One such legend, depicted in a poem by Robert Louis Stevenson, tells of an Irish king who, after defeating the Picts, demanded the secret recipe of Heather Ale from the last two survivors, a father and son. The father agreed to share the recipe only if the king killed his son, as he knew his son would kill him if he disclosed the sacred secret. The king, eager to obtain the recipe, killed the son, only to have the father throw himself from a cliff, taking the secret of Heather Ale to his grave.

Viking heather beer recipe

Heather beer, also known as heather ale, is an ancient style of beer that is thought to have been brewed by Vikings. In fact, heather ale is the oldest style of ale still made in the world, with a history dating back four thousand years. While it originated in Scotland, heather beer can now be purchased or brewed by people all over the world.

If you're interested in brewing your own Viking heather beer, you'll need the following ingredients:

• Common heather tips (125g) – the softer green parts of the plant, with flowers if possible
• Dry heather twigs (30g) – to provide tannin
• Yarrow (60g) – the feathery leaves plus the flowers if possible
• Dried hops (30g)
• Honey (1.8kg) – the nicer the better, but cheap honey will also work
• Malt extract (1.3kg) – Edme SFZ or a similar product from a home-brew store
• Crushed crystal malt (500g) – available from a home-brew store
• Dried carragheen/Irish moss (1 tsp) – a type of seaweed used as a fining agent
• Ale yeast (1 sachet)
• Water (25 litres)

Once you've gathered your ingredients, here's the brewing process:

• Steep the crystal malt grains in 10 litres of water at 65°C for 30 to 40 minutes.
• Strain the grains from the wort, being sure to discard the used grains and retain the wort.
• Add 5 litres of hot water to the wort and bring it to a boil.
• Add the malt extract, yarrow, heather (both tips and twigs), and hops to the wort and boil for one hour.
• After one hour, add the carragheen and honey, then boil for another 30 minutes.
• Let the mixture rest for 30 minutes.
• Strain the brew through a large muslin cloth draped over a large sieve into a 25-litre plastic fermenting bin.
• Top up to 25 litres by pouring cold water through the muslin and its aromatic contents.
• Cover and leave the brew to cool to room temperature.
• Aerate the wort by swishing it with a spoon or whisk until a froth forms on the top.
• Allow the mixture to settle, then add the yeast according to the packet instructions.
• Cover and leave to ferment for 24 to 36 hours. A cauliflower-like head will form on the surface; skim this off.
• Continue fermenting until the specific gravity reaches 1010 (use a hydrometer to measure this).
• Siphon the beer into clean bottles or a 25-litre plastic pressure barrel.
• Check daily to ensure the pressure has not reached explosive potential.
• The beer will be ready to drink in one to two weeks, though some impatient brewers have been known to try it after just eight hours!

If you'd rather buy your heather beer than brew it yourself, you can purchase Fraoch Heather Ale, brewed by Williams Brothers Brewing Company in Scotland.

Heather tips for home brewing

Heather tips have been used in brewing for a long time, especially in Scotch Ale, also known as Fraoch, and are making a comeback in the brewing scene. They impart a pleasant aroma and a smooth hint of bitterness to beer. The flavour is similar to a subtle chamomile/mint blend with a hint of lavender.

• You can buy heather tips from suppliers like Home Brew Ohio and MoreBeer.
• Use about 2 ounces of heather tips at the beginning of your boil.
• Heather tips are great when used by themselves, but they can also be paired with honey.
• Heather is commonly available across the country, except for a broad band running from Bristol to the Wash.
• The soft green parts of the plant, with flowers if possible, are used for brewing.
• The following recipe for Viking heather beer comes from Alastair Wallace, an expert on ancient brewing techniques:

> Steep the crystal malt grains in 10 litres of water at 65C, cover and leave for 30 to 40 minutes. Strain the grains from the "wort", remembering to throw away the used grains and not the wort. Add 5 litres of hot water to the wort and bring to the boil. Add the malt extract, yarrow, heather, twigs and hops and boil for one hour. After one hour, add the carragheen and the honey and boil for another 30 minutes, then leave to rest for a further 30 minutes.

> Drape a large muslin cloth over a large sieve and strain your brew into a 25-litre plastic fermenting bin. Top up to 25 litres by pouring some cold water through the muslin and its aromatic contents. Cover and leave to cool to room temperature. Swish with a spoon or whisk to aerate the wort until there is a bit of froth on the top. Allow to settle, then add the yeast according to the packet instructions. Cover.

> After 24 to 36 hours, a cauliflower-like head will have formed on the surface. Skim this off and allow the beer to continue fermenting until the specific gravity has dropped to 1010 (this is where a hydrometer is used). Siphon into clean beer bottles or into a 25-litre plastic pressure barrel. Check every day or so to make sure the pressure has not reached explosive potential. The beer "conditions" (carries on fermenting) in the bottle, creating more alcohol, reducing the sugar and adding fizz. It is ready to drink after one to two weeks.

Heather ale history

Heather ale, also known as "leann fraoch" in Gaelic, is the oldest style of ale still produced in the world. It has been brewed in Scotland for over 4,000 years, with evidence of its existence dating back to 2000 B.C. The ale is made from a traditional Gaelic recipe using malted barley, sweet gale, and flowering heather. The hot ale is then infused with heather flowers and fermented in copper tuns, resulting in a floral, peaty aroma with a full malt body and a spicy herbal flavour.

According to legend, heather ale was so prized that it was worth dying for. One famous tale, depicted in a poem by Robert Louis Stevenson, recounts the defeat of the Picts, a tribe from northeastern Scotland, by the Irish. In this story, only two Picts survived the battle—a chief and his son. The Irish king offered to spare their lives in exchange for the secret recipe of heather ale. The father agreed, on the condition that the king first kill his son, as he believed his son would never forgive him for giving up their sacred recipe. After witnessing his son's death, the father laughed, explaining that he had never intended to share the recipe and would rather die than reveal the secret. He then threw himself off a cliff, taking the secret of heather ale to his grave.

Another version of the legend, told in Ireland, dates back to the 1600s and possibly earlier. In this version, the Vikings are defeated by the Irish High King Brian Boru at the Battle of Clontarf in 1014. Again, only two survivors are offered their lives in exchange for the recipe, but the secret is never revealed. Interestingly, early Irish legends refer to heather ale as "bheóir Lochlannach", which translates to "Viking Beer". However, it is believed that it was actually a mead-like drink rather than an ale.

In modern times, heather ale has seen a resurgence, with brewers like the Williams Brothers in Scotland bringing it back to life. They located a long-lost recipe and sourced local heather to create an ale that met the high expectations of those who knew it from their bygone pasts. Today, their heather ale, nicknamed "the Original Craft Beer", is a commercial success and available internationally.

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