Fraoch Heather Ale - Williams Bros Brewing Co., Alloa

Gruits are a style of beer I tend to stay away from. I enjoy regular ales and lagers that are brewed with herbs and spices but I've never found a Gruit that really struck me as a quality. I mean that in the since that if I were going to fridge to grab a beer to relax with and I saw a bottle of Gruit and any other beer next to it, I'd probably not reach for the Gruit... I'm still eager to try interesting Gruits though because sooner or later I'll find one that I really like. Today I've opened a bottle of Fraoch Heather Ale as I continue my search for a Gruit epiphany.

The Scots have a long and proud brewing history, but before there was a Scotland and before there was Scotch Ale, Whiskey, etc... there were Gruits. Gruits are loosely defined as a beer brewed with indigenous herbs and spices rather than hops. Needless to say these beers are bit different, or at least that has been my experience thus far. Fraoch Heather Ale is on the more tame side of things, having been brewed with gale and, you guessed it, heather. Heather is a pinkish flowering shrub that grows in Scotland and from what I can tell from this beer, is a little sweet and a little sour.

The Fraoch Heather doesn't have much of an aroma, a sign that the flavors are probably going to be quite subdued. That pretty much sums it up. There is a little sweetness on the nose, and I noticed what I thought was a little bit of brettanomyces. That doesn't really carry over to the flavor sadly. Not that this beer tastes bad, it's actually quite good. This is by far the best Gruit I've ever had. There are no strong flavors that make you say, "wow, this is beer made with ginger!" or, "wow, this is a beer anise!" So that is definitely a plus.

The flavor is difficult to describe because it is so light and well balanced. This beer is mostly sweet, there is a malt backbone but it doesn't distract from the herbal sweet of the gale and heather. Mostly, this beer tastes "floral" and not in the sense that IPAs smell "floral" but it tastes a little earthy and herbal like you'd imagine a flower tasting...

Fraoch Heather has gotten me to change the way I think about Gruits. It's not the epiphany I was looking for exactly, but this is a beer I would reach for if I had bottles sitting in the fridge and were looking for something to relax with on the deck. If you're looking for a lighter beer that is a bit different and will challenge your palate in a good way, pick up a bottle of Fraoch.