# Heather Ale



## Yob (8/1/11)

I recently watched a show that talked aout using heather as a flavouring/bittering agent and have been curious. I found this http://byo.com/component/resource/article/...749-heather-ale here

18.93 Lt, all-grain; OG =1.048; FG =1.008; Color = 18 SRM; Bitterness = 23 IBUs

Ingredients:
3.29kg. Marris otter or other English pale malt 
.45kg. Carapils or dextrin-type malt 
.23kg crystal malt (20 Lovibond) 
.23kg crystal malt (40 Lovibond) 
.06kg. chocolate malt 
3 cups fresh or 1-2 cup dry heather flowers 
(1/2 added for 60 minutes, 1/2 added at end of boil)
.03kg of 4.2% alpha -acid Fuggles hops (4.2 AAU) (optional) 
.01kg of 4.2 % alphaacid Fuggles hops (2.1 AAU) (optional) 
starter of Scottish Ale yeast (Wyeast 1728 or equivalent)

2/3 cup corn sugar for priming

Step by Step:

Mash grain in 11.36 L of water at 65.6 C for 60 minutes. 
Sparge with 75.6 - 76.7 C water to collect 21.77 L of wort. 
Total boil time is 90 minutes. After 30 minutes of boil, add first addition of heather flowers. 
Continue for remaining 60 minutes. 
Whirlpool and add second addition of heather flowers or use a hopback of flowers. 
Cool to 20.6 C. to pitch starter. Oxygenate-aerate well.

Ferment at 20.6 C for seven days then rack to secondary fermenter. 
Continue fermentation for seven more days until gravity is about 3 Plato (1.012) or fermentation is finished. 
Let settle. Rack, prime and bottle. 

Age seven more days before drinking.
-- 
(18.93 Lt, extract with grain)

Ingredients:
Substitute the pale malt with 3.18 Kg. English pale malt extract syrup. 
Other ingredients remain the same.

Step by Step:
Start with 19 L of 65.6 C water. Steep crushed grain for 30 minutes. Sparge grains with enough 76.7 C water to make 20.82Lt. 
Heat to boiling and add extract syrup.Total boil will be 60 minutes. 
At beginning of boil add first addition of heather flowers. Continue for remaining 60 minutes. 
Whirlpool and add second addition of heather flowers or use a hopback. 
Cool to 69 F to pitch starter. Oxygenate-aerate well. 
Follow fermentation schedule above.

I couldnt find anything on the RecipeDB so thought Id open a discussion before trying this one, it doesnt seem like many people have tried one? er.. I havnt.. sadly I was recently over there and didnt even know about it. Waaaa
Oh well I shall keep my eyes open for one of these http://vikingbrewhouse.com/viking/2010/05/...her-ale-review/ along the way.

:icon_cheers: 

[edit] oh yeah and the question how would you work out the IBU's for heather.. Beersmith has no heather.. can it be input somehow? Trial and error I guess


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## Bongchitis (8/1/11)

If you can source Heather that would be great. Let us know as there are probably a few here wanting to knock up a gruit. 

There are a few posts from a couple of months back that outline a method of making a hop tea and then diluting the tea. The degree of dilution until the bitterness is not detected having a direct correlation to the approx IBU. This was for hops though but I would assume that the method would be OK.

I think it was in a topic for estimating the bitterness for home grown hops.

Good luck mate and let us know how it all goes.


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## brettprevans (8/1/11)

Ian if ve interest in doing a split batch with u if u like. I've been keen to do a heather ale for a while. I've got info on heather ale recipe and can source heather


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## mwd (8/1/11)

One of the Oz and James Drink to Britain series from Scotland featured a 'heather ale' but did not give any details on recipe. If you could source real Scottish heather it must make an interesting beer. Never seen heather here.


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## Charst (8/1/11)

There's s Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall's River Cottage episode where he goes to scotland and helps harvest the heather for an ale but it doesn't mention much about the process.


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## brettprevans (8/1/11)

Heather ale is a traditional ale no linger in large commercial production anymore. Fraoch is the last? Remaining commnercial production heather ale. There is a thread on it somewhere in AHB but as I'm on iPhone I'm not looking for it. 

The heather I can get is from Scotland. Ive never seen it here either.


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## IainMcLean (8/1/11)

The Fraoch recipe uses Sweet Myrtle for antibacterial/bittering instead of hops.
I had a Fraoch recipe somewhere. My uncle in Barrhead, Scotland was talking about possibly sending Myrtle over with some heather flowers when I visited over xmas as I'd like to give it a try also.


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## Yob (9/1/11)

citymorgue2 said:


> Ian if ve interest in doing a split batch with u if u like. I've been keen to do a heather ale for a while. I've got info on heather ale recipe and can source heather




sounds good, being able to source the heather locally is fantastic.. would they be fresh or dried flowers? [edit] assumed dry from the previous post  

I was going to try a friend of mine who worked in a nursery and got us heather for my wedding... I have seen a few recipies that have a diff. ammount for fresh and dried, anyway, pleased to throw one of these down with you
:icon_chickcheers: 

I have (havn't if youre from customs) got some seeds sent to me from Scotland and was going to plant them, obviously no good for an imediate batch but should be good next year (or later this year) for fresh flowers. Will throw a few pots in and see how they go.


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## brettprevans (9/1/11)

Iain McLean said:


> The Fraoch recipe uses Sweet Myrtle for antibacterial/bittering instead of hops.
> I had a Fraoch recipe somewhere. My uncle in Barrhead, Scotland was talking about possibly sending Myrtle over with some heather flowers when I visited over xmas as I'd like to give it a try also.


Fraoch uses sweet Myrtle and meadowsweet as a 'seasoning' along with heather. 

U also need a lot of heather unless u cheat a little and use a little low %AA hops like saaz to bump up the bitterness. 

From Radical Brewing
65% pale ale
25% amber
2% brown
8% honey in secondary

Some saaz @60 (for a19L batch use 28g)
Heather @ 0 (57g)
Medowsweet @0 (7g)

Mash at 68C
OG 1065
IBU ~11
scottish ale yeast


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## leiothrix (9/1/11)

I've just bottled (this morning  ) the heather ale from radical brewing.

It'll take a month or so before I actually taste a bottle.

Tasting the hydrometer sample this morning was good though. Nice malty profile. The herbs added a bit of background to it, which you probably wouldn't notice unless you were 'looking' for it.


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## brettprevans (9/1/11)

Nice. You'll have to report back once its conditioned. 
So u used 57g of heather? 
Dry or fresh?
Where did u source it from?


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## leiothrix (9/1/11)

My recipe was:

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU 
3.60 kg Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 64.86 % 
1.40 kg Amber Malt (Joe White) (23.0 SRM) Grain 25.23 % 
0.10 kg Brown Malt (65.0 SRM) Grain 1.80 % 
40.00 gm Saaz (2006) [2.50 %] (60 min) Hops 10.5 IBU 
10.00 gm Meadowsweet (Boil 5.0 min) Misc 
30.00 gm Heather (Boil 5.0 min) Misc 
0.50 kg Honey (Rainforest blend from wollies, into secondary) (1.0 SRM) Sugar 8.11 % 
1 Pkgs American Ale (Wyeast Labs #1056) Yeast-Ale 


I'm not really sure why i only used 30g of heather, i'm guessing I didn't copy the recipe properly into beersmith. Oh well.

Herbs were dried, and I got them from herbsupplies.

Rob.



Edit: That was for a batch that came out around 25L into the fermentor. Done BIAB, mash temp ~68*. OG was 12B, but honey was added after primary ferment had mostly finished so that stuffs that up. FG 1.014. Beersmith reckons 5.57%abv, but my volumes are a bit wrong. Probably 6-6.5% correcting for volumes & priming sugar.


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## brettprevans (9/1/11)

The recipe I posted above is the same recipe. 

You could make up a 'heather tea' and add it in to make up the rest. 

I was thinking if doing that if I wanted more heather character. 

Yeah I've seen herbsupplies before but hadn't ever checked them for heather


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## leiothrix (9/1/11)

I bottled it this morning though, so I can't really correct it.

Unless I make a very small tea with 1g heather per long neck at serving. 

Just means I'll have to make another batch :lol:


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## brettprevans (9/1/11)

Oh yeah sorry I forgot u said u bottled it. Yeah I guess its staying as is. I'm sure it will be nice or at least interesting.


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## Yob (9/1/11)

leiothrix said:


> Herbs were dried, and I got them from herbsupplies.
> 
> 
> Edit: That was for a batch that came out around 25L into the fermentor. Done BIAB, mash temp ~68*. OG was 12B, but honey was added after primary ferment had mostly finished so that stuffs that up. FG 1.014. Beersmith reckons 5.57%abv, but my volumes are a bit wrong. Probably 6-6.5% correcting for volumes & priming sugar.




thanks for the link, were you able to get values for heather to use for bittering (in addition to the saaz) to enter into Beersmith? I have beersmith but dont fully understand it yet... 

playing with it sure is fun though..  

:icon_cheers: 

[edit] additionla recipies http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/fraoch-ale...e-please-90363/


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## thanme (10/1/11)

This sounds rad 
Where did you get the Heather from?


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## brettprevans (10/1/11)

NME said:


> This sounds rad
> Where did you get the Heather from?


you read the thread well didnt you... <_<


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## Yob (10/1/11)

from a quick look at the website, from the link above... 

$50 minimum order - 1kg Heather Flowers $30.50.. 

still keen as mustard


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## thanme (10/1/11)

citymorgue2 said:


> you read the thread well didnt you... <_<



Must be Monday morning. I swear I read the thread twice and still missed it :/


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## leiothrix (10/1/11)

I just added the Heather & Meadowsweet as a 5 minute boil addition. I didn't add any properties of them into beersmith other than their names.

1kg of heather flowers is a lot of flowers. I bought 250g and they take a surprising amount of room.

Herbsupply also has a retail shop at austral herbs. They don't have the minimum order requirement and will sell in 100g lots, but the price will of course be higher.


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## WildaYeast (10/1/11)

leiothrix said:


> Herbsupply also has a retail shop at austral herbs.



Interesting site; hadn't come across that one before. Actually looked on herb supply and thought $50 min was a fair whack. Kind of funny because the profile I just created on herb supply doesn't work on AustralHerbs. They've also got Sarsparilla; hmm root beer.


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## Yob (11/1/11)

leiothrix said:


> I just added the Heather & Meadowsweet as a 5 minute boil addition. I didn't add any properties of them into beersmith other than their names.
> 
> 1kg of heather flowers is a lot of flowers. I bought 250g and they take a surprising amount of room.
> 
> Herbsupply also has a retail shop at austral herbs. They don't have the minimum order requirement and will sell in 100g lots, but the price will of course be higher.



Cheers, Please keep us informed when you taste one in a month or so and thanks for the local link, I didnt really wanna get stuck with kilo's of the stuff  

kind of :icon_offtopic: (kind of topical too)

SWMBO, bless her, came strolling in the door yesterday with a Thistle Ale from the Cairngorm Brewery (Scotland) and it was delightful. Im not much of a dark ale man but this was definatly the exception to the rule.

Im going to end up with a backyard full of heather and thistles!!

Nice Bottles too

:icon_cheers: 

[edit] From the Bottle 

"Before hops were used for bittering beers, many different herbs and spices would be employed by the brewer to impart bitterness and flavour. blah blah.. Thistles are boiled in the wort giving bitterness, whilst Pale, Crystal and Chocolate grains are used to create a smooth, full bodied malty Ale. The late addition of goldings hops and a touch of Ginger add to the flavour"


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## IainMcLean (24/12/11)

leiothrix said:


> I just added the Heather & Meadowsweet as a 5 minute boil addition. I didn't add any properties of them into beersmith other than their names.
> 
> 1kg of heather flowers is a lot of flowers. I bought 250g and they take a surprising amount of room.
> 
> Herbsupply also has a retail shop at austral herbs. They don't have the minimum order requirement and will sell in 100g lots, but the price will of course be higher.




Any word on how this beer turned out? I'm thinking of doing one over the holidays...


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## leiothrix (26/12/11)

It turned out pretty well. The amber and brown malts gave it a real strong malt taste. The herbs added a bit of flavour too.

I only added half the heather that I planned to (i.e. 30g instead of 60g) by accident. I've been meaning to make it again with the full amount of heather to try it out properly, but haven't gotten around to it.

One thing though is that you can smell the herbs when they come out again, but that's not exactly a showstopper :chug:


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## IainMcLean (26/12/11)

leiothrix said:


> One thing though is that you can smell the herbs when they come out again, but that's not exactly a showstopper



:lol: 
Did you try it with a curry? Which would win in the morning....
:lol:


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## brettprevans (14/3/12)

anyone interesting in heather, im arrangeing a bb (provided enough interest) - here

edit: online sponsors dont sell heather


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## Yob (14/3/12)

...to their eternal shame  

would be good to have a local source of these sorts of products, I guess given the small amount of people interested in brewing with them I can understand though..

Cheers CM

Good work


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## IainMcLean (14/3/12)

Damn.

I bought one of those expensive bags a few weeks back as I'm planning a fraoch soon...

Anyone got a source of Sweet Myrtle?


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## Yob (26/3/12)

CM2, I notice that there is a grain BB on the cards... Im going to jump in and get a bag of MO to go with this brew if you are keen to split lemme know.

maybe we can run a double on your system?

Yob


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## Logman (30/3/12)

Guys,
Having received my shipment from the BB beerbang: cm2) it's time to do something with it. I already have a cube of Scottish Ale ready to go in on the weekend, has no heather in it obv. Is it worth 'dry hopping' this cube having none in the brew itself? It's a pretty strong/sweet ale as it has a PET of Amber Candi Sugar in it, just wondering if it's really going to come through at all. If yes, how much?


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## Yob (30/3/12)

I wouldnt think so... Based on very little really.. But i thought it needed to infuse hot?

Dunno for sure mate..


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## white.grant (30/3/12)

You could always try and let's us know how you go!


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## IainMcLean (30/3/12)

What about making a Heather Tea and adding it?


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## Logman (31/3/12)

Yippie Ki Yay said:


> What about making a Heather Tea and adding it?


Hey that's not a bad idea. I could do the argon late hop method - refrigerate the cube, then make the tea in some wort, combine and add yeast.

Maybe a tea and then some dry hopping might be the go.


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## Yob (31/3/12)

Kinda :icon_offtopic: but is anyone going to Ringwood Highland Games on this sunday?

I hope there is some beer stalls there  

Yob


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## Logman (1/4/12)

Got a brew in the fermenter. Cooled the cube down to about 6 degrees, then boiled about 7 litres of it and threw 150 grams or so of heather in a hop sock and boiled for about 10 minutes I guess. Put aside about 50 grams to put in the fermenter on day 4 or so. Had a taste of the boiled wort and it gives off plenty of flavor! Can't wait to try it. :icon_cheers:


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## white.grant (9/4/12)

I've just mashed in on my heather ale this afternoon,

The recipe is a bit of hybrid of JZ's 70 shilling from Brewing classic styles and Moshers Heather Ale

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 22.00 L 
Boil Size: 26.04 L
Estimated OG: 1.046 SG
Estimated Color: 11.1 SRM
Estimated IBU: 15.4 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU 
3.60 kg Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 82.76 % 
0.45 kg Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 10.34 % 
0.12 kg Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM) Grain 2.76 % 
0.10 kg Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 2.30 % 
0.08 kg Brown Malt (65.0 SRM) Grain 1.84 % 
28.30 gm Saaz [4.00 %] (60 min) Hops 15.4 IBU 
1.16 items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 min) Misc 
50.00 gm Heather Flowers (Boil 0.0 min) Misc 
1 Pkgs Scottish Ale (Wyeast Labs #1728) Yeast-Ale 


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body, No Mash Out
Total Grain Weight: 4.35 kg

May add some 200ml of heather tea to the keg, but will see how this goes.

cheers

Grant


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## geoffd (9/4/12)

iamozziyob said:


> SWMBO, bless her, came strolling in the door yesterday with a Thistle Ale from the Cairngorm Brewery (Scotland) and it was delightful. Im not much of a dark ale man but this was definatly the exception to the rule.
> 
> Im going to end up with a backyard full of heather and thistles!!
> 
> ...




I was just about to tell you about this one, I had it a few days ago, absolutely brilliant beer, you'ld never guess it had no bittering hops & the thistle flavour is there but not dominant


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## brettprevans (9/4/12)

Father Jack said:


> I was just about to tell you about this one, I had it a few days ago, absolutely brilliant beer, you'ld never guess it had no bittering hops & the thistle flavour is there but not dominant


Tob, get onto wirking out a recipe fir it. We could do a double batch of that (sub heather for thistle) & double of heather ale and split it.


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## IainMcLean (9/4/12)

iamozziyob said:


> Kinda :icon_offtopic: but is anyone going to Ringwood Highland Games on this sunday?
> 
> I hope there is some beer stalls there
> 
> Yob



Yob,

:icon_offtopic: 
You into piping or drumming?
I used to play for LA Scots and AusHigh.
Small world.


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## Yob (9/4/12)

Yippie Ki Yay said:


> I used to play for LA Scots and AusHigh.



Zat right? nice one indeed... do ya still have ya kilt? lol..

Not a player at all man, just into it from a heritage point of view... no frikkin beer there <_< I think I need to get involved and see what we can do to change this sad state of affairs.. be nice to have a few scottish beers on offer at an event like that.



citymorgue2 said:


> Tob, get onto wirking out a recipe fir it. We could do a double batch of that (sub heather for thistle) & double of heather ale and split it.



tis a though indeed.. I assume we would need thistle flowers as well??... will look into it..

I bought a pack of WY1728 for the up and coming heather ale.. 

awww my first liquid yeast :icon_drunk:


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## brettprevans (9/4/12)

iamozziyob said:


> Zat right? nice one indeed... do ya still have ya kilt? lol..
> 
> Not a player at all man, just into it from a heritage point of view... no frikkin beer there <_< I think I need to get involved and see what we can do to change this sad state of affairs.. be nice to have a few scottish beers on offer at an event like that.
> 
> ...


Its a good yeast for multiple styles.
Start building it up, split some off so u get multiple yeast usage and maximise value.


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## white.grant (10/4/12)

I was very impressed by the aroma coming off the heather beer I brewed yesterday. I have a light scottish ale preparing some 1728 working its way through so will be pitching some of that onto the Heather in a day or so. Quite excited to see what it turns out like.


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## Logman (11/4/12)

Grantw said:


> I was very impressed by the aroma coming off the heather beer I brewed yesterday. I have a light scottish ale preparing some 1728 working its way through so will be pitching some of that onto the Heather in a day or so. Quite excited to see what it turns out like.


I put mine in a secondary yesterday. Tastes a little bitter and needs conditioning for sure. Certainly no twang or anything so I assume it's part of the process and needs some time.


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## Yob (11/4/12)

Quite keen to know how you lads get on with these brews.. Probably a month or so away from brewing one.

Yob


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## white.grant (11/4/12)

Pretty sure there will be a few experiments over the next couple of months, I've started with a little bit of heather and still have lots left, so things can only get bigger!

It could be interesting to brew the same recipe amongst us and then see how we go.


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## Logman (12/4/12)

How did you go about it Grant, how much/when etc. Any going in the fermenter? 

Wondering if my 200g or so was a bit heavy handed :huh: Oh well, whit's fur ye'll no go by ye! Apparently that means 'what's meant to happen will happen'. 


Edit: Just saw your recipe on the previous page.....


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## white.grant (12/4/12)

Hi Logman, 

Basically I just chucked 50gms in at flameout in a hop sock. I noticed it was a bit hydrophobic (which I guess is to be expected from a flower), so stirred it around a bit - that seemed to release quite a lot of aroma. How that aroma survives fermentation will be the thing though, it may get driven off - so some dry heathering may be in order.


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## Yob (12/4/12)

from HERE

FRAOCH - HEATHER ALE

BEER INFORMATION

TECHNICAL
ABV:5.0%
OG:1051
MALTS:British Pale Ale Malt, Cara Malt, Malted Wheat

ADDITIONAL INGREDIENTS:Heather, Bogmyrtle

TASTING NOTES
ASTE:Malty, Heather, Grassy, Herbs, Light Spice, Honey
COLOUR:Clear Gold, Clear Amber
SMELL:Heather, Floral, Caramel, Herby

im going to email these guys and see if they are willing to part with any info.. cant hurt to try eh?

ed: Re the Thistle ale

Blessed Thistle

Cairngorm, based in Aviemore, is a microbrewery on the up having already upgraded from humble beginnings in 2001 to a 20 barrel brewery to meet demand. With Blessed Thistle, like Williams Brothers, Cairngorm is revisiting a traditional Scottish method of making ale which uses thistles in the years before hops were widely available the updated twist being the addition of goldings hops and ginger late in the brewing process to enhance the flavour.

Cairngorm Brewery will be getting an email too 

:icon_cheers:


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## bum (12/4/12)

I'm certain I've seen recipes online that claim to be sourced from those guys so I'm sure you'll get something out of them.
[EDIT: the first guys]


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## white.grant (15/4/12)

Well I hoped to be posting that I had just pitched my 1728 starter on my heather ale wort, but I mixed up my cubes and pitched the starter on a Dunkelweizen I had waiting in the cue instead. Didn't actually realise until I grabbed the paperwork to make my notes. In my defence they are about the same colour.

I'm wondering how this will turn out, I can't see it being too much of a disaster flavour wise, I may even add some heather to it. Macdunkelweizen anyone?


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## /// (15/4/12)

GRant, if you loose alot of aroma try a tea (cooled before adding) or just dry (hop) flower it ...

Scotty

ps. when do we get to taste btw ...


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## Logman (16/4/12)

Mine's safely in the keg! Definitely needs a decent rest though having sampled the wort, it's quite bitter but the background flavor suggests it's going to be really nice - planning on leaving it a good while before trying :chug:


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## evildrakey (16/4/12)

Thinking of Doing a Scottish Heather Ale this weekend... Would love some feedback on the recipe... Not sure on the yeast I'm gonna use tho...

Drake's Heather Ale (Scottish Heavy 70/-)

Batch Size (fermenter): 18.93 l 
Boil Size: 25.71 l 
Boil Time: 90 min 
Equipment: Pot and Cooler ( 5 Gal/19 L) - All Grain
End of Boil Volume 22.64 l Brewhouse Efficiency: 72.00 %
Final Bottling Volume: 17.42 l Est Mash Efficiency 82.8 %
Fermentation: Ale, Single Stage 

Ingredients:
18.93 l Edinburg, Scotland Water 
2.60 kg Pale Malt, Golden Promise (5.9 EBC) Grain 2 77.6 %
0.25 kg Cara-Pils/Dextrine (3.9 EBC) Grain 3 7.5 %
0.20 kg Melanoiden Malt (39.4 EBC) Grain 4 6.0 %
0.20 kg Beechwood Smoked Malt (17.7 EBC) Grain 5 6.0 %
0.10 kg Roasted Barley (591.0 EBC) Grain 6 3.0 %
10.00 g Hallertauer, New Zealand [8.50 %] - Boil 90.0 min Hop 7 11.1 IBUs
80.00 g Heather Flowers (Boil 60.0 mins)
1.00 g Elecampane Root (Boil 60.0 mins) 
5.00 g Hallertauer, New Zealand [8.50 %] - Aroma Steep 5.0 min 
5.00 g Hallertauer, New Zealand [8.50 %] - Aroma Steep 10.0 min

Beer Profile
Est Original Gravity: 1.039 SG Measured Original Gravity: 1.046 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.010 SG Measured Final Gravity: 1.010 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 3.9 % Actual Alcohol by Vol: 4.7 %
Bitterness: 11.1 IBUs Calories: 427.1 kcal/l
Est Color: 20.4 EBC 

Mash Profile
Mash Name: Single Infusion, Medium Body Total Grain Weight: 3.35 kg
Sparge Water: 16.38 l Grain Temperature: 22.2 C
Sparge Temperature: 75.6 C Tun Temperature: 22.2 C
Adjust Temp for Equipment: TRUE Mash PH: 5.20

Mash Steps
Name Description Step Temperature Step Time
Mash In Add 8.74 l of water at 75.1 C 66.7 C 60 min
Mash Out Add 4.89 l of water at 94.7 C 75.6 C 10 min
Sparge Step: Fly sparge with 16.38 l water at 75.6 C
Mash Notes: Simple single infusion mash for use with most modern well modified grains (about 95% of the time).


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## hsb (16/4/12)

leiothrix said:


> Herbsupply also has a retail shop at austral herbs. They don't have the minimum order requirement and will sell in 100g lots, but the price will of course be higher.


Thanks for the link, quite a resource there, only up to 'Butternut' and who knew there were so many natural laxatives available! No wonder the bears are shitting in the woods!

Lots of other possible brew ingredients in there too, interested in how the Heather Ales turn out. 

Perfect excuse for a bit of Lord Rockingham too


Hoots mon!


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## white.grant (16/4/12)

Hey Drakey,

I think the recipe looks fine, you could perhaps leave out the carapils and increase the base malt a bit and add a handful of wheat for head retention, but it's a small thing. I must confess that I have no idea what elecampane root is though. Happy to be enlightened on that.


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## evildrakey (17/4/12)

Grantw said:


> Hey Drakey,
> 
> I think the recipe looks fine, you could perhaps leave out the carapils and increase the base malt a bit and add a handful of wheat for head retention, but it's a small thing. I must confess that I have no idea what elecampane root is though. Happy to be enlightened on that.



Thanks for that. The Elecampane is just a herb I'm been mucking about with lately... In small amounts it gives a lovely mysterious camphorous perfume to the brew...


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## white.grant (17/4/12)

Hmm, interesting, google tells me it was used in absinthe as well. Good for asthma and bronchitis apparently.


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## evildrakey (23/4/12)

The Heather Ale I made last night is interesting... I drank 2 cups of the unfermented wort and had strange dreams all night...

The one where I ate my own face off a plate with a knife and fork whilst the girlfriend looked on in a red wedding dress with a foxes head cheering me on was particularly odd...

Apparently Heather can host an ergot like fungus... Hmm... But I suspect it's not that and the roast duck I had for dinner instead...


----------



## white.grant (23/4/12)

I used to take ergodryl for migrainous neuralgia, think I know your girlfriend


----------



## The Village Idiot (23/4/12)

Jeez mate you could get a fortune for that on the club scene.... lol


----------



## white.grant (6/5/12)

Just kegged the heather ale. Had a quick slurp on the hydrometer sample and the heather is a really interesting flavour and very hard to describe. Quite looking forward to it carbing up and hitting the fridge.


----------



## 1974Alby (7/5/12)

Logman said:


> Mine's safely in the keg! Definitely needs a decent rest though having sampled the wort, it's quite bitter but the background flavor suggests it's going to be really nice - planning on leaving it a good while before trying :chug:



how is this beer tasting logman??? Im keen to put some of my heather in a brew this week and chasing some feedback on how much to add...200g or 30g....????


----------



## Logman (8/5/12)

Albainian said:


> how is this beer tasting logman??? Im keen to put some of my heather in a brew this week and chasing some feedback on how much to add...200g or 30g....????


Haven't tried it yet - was getting itchy feet reading Grantw's post the other day though  - 3 weeks now, should taste ok. Actually I gave it a shot of Co2 this morning and got a bit on my finger in the process, tasted great but hard to tell as it wasn't much. I've got about 1/3 of a keg of Porter to go, might drink that then put it on the tap then, probably another week or so.

What I'll do is put the Bronco faucet on it tomorrow and take a taste and let you know....


----------



## bum (8/5/12)

Albainian said:


> Im keen to put some of my heather in a brew this week and chasing some feedback on how much to add...200g or 30g....????


Same. I'll be putting down a 70/- or 80/- next and hoping to see peoples' results before I commit to a recipe.


----------



## brettprevans (8/5/12)

Brew a.double and split the boil. Or us it as 'hop tea', oradd some concrete and harden up fellas. Experiment. If it fails it just becones ur 4th pint of the night beer!!

From what I've seen its 100g per brew


----------



## bum (8/5/12)

citymorgue2 said:


> If it fails it just becones ur 4th pint of the night beer!!


If only I had such a luxury. My brewing (and drinking) pretty much only supports me having one ready-to-go batch at a time. If I bugger up a batch I'm looking at a bad 3/4 weeks.


citymorgue2 said:


> From what I've seen its 100g per brew


I'll use this as my baseline while planning. Thanks for the heads up, was thinking maybe double that.


----------



## brettprevans (8/5/12)

Orig recipe in thread is 3 cups. Ill check radical brewing tomorrow and post


----------



## white.grant (9/5/12)

Mosher's recipe in radical brewing has 57gms or heather flowers and 7gms of meadowsweet.


----------



## Yob (9/5/12)

citymorgue2 said:


> Orig recipe in thread is 3 cups. Ill check radical brewing tomorrow and post



3 cups fresh or 1 to 2 dry



Grantw said:


> Mosher's recipe in radical brewing has 57gms or heather flowers and 7gms of meadowsweet.



57g doesnt sound like very much :unsure: does that roughly = a few cups? I still havnt collected my Heather as yet...


----------



## Logman (9/5/12)

Just had a taste. Recapping, I put a cube of already made SA in the fridge, dropped to 4 degrees then boiled 5 litres or so with 100g for 10 minutes and then threw the lot in the fermenter. 'Dry heathered'  with another 100 after 4 days . I'd say it's a bit much - next time I'll go with about 75 late addition to the kettle and no fermenter addition. Having said that I really only want a background 'what's that' type effect.

I think if it's left for 2-3 months more this brew will be great, at the moment it's slightly harsh/bitter I guess - and this has Candi Sugar in it so it's definitely added something to the taste....

Clear though, no haze or junk in the beer to speak of at all. Colour is super, not sure what the Heather contributes there.


----------



## white.grant (9/5/12)

iamozziyob said:


> 57g doesnt sound like very much :unsure: does that roughly = a few cups? I still havnt collected my Heather as yet...



My memory seems to say that the 50gms I used would have been close to 2 cups, it's quite voluminous and very light.



Logman said:


> I think if it's left for 2-3 months more this brew will be great, at the moment it's slightly harsh/bitter I guess



I was getting a very definite though non hoplike floral flavour from the sample I tasted. Slight woodiness and floral softness to the aroma. I might take off a sample tonight and see if I can be more specific.


----------



## Logman (9/5/12)

Grantw said:


> floral flavour


Mine tastes like chewing Heather so I guess it's floral h34r: 

Not really that bad, just needs time...


----------



## white.grant (9/5/12)

Just tasting my albeit flat and relatively warm heather ale now and it confirms my earlier impressions, light floral, slightly woody flavour and aroma, goes nicely with the malt and is drinking fine for something just out of the fermenter. It's soft and subtle so I'm thinking it could go up a notch or two, so might try 80-100ish grams in the next one alternatively I could dry heather it perhaps.


----------



## bum (9/5/12)

Awesome feedback, guys. Very helpful.

How does it behave in the kettle? Does it seem to whirlpool alright or should I start thinking about employing some sort of kettle screen? My current thinking is 75-100g at flameout if it effects your answer.


----------



## white.grant (9/5/12)

I used a hop bag to isolate the flowers as a I don't run a hop screen in my kettle and was not really sure if the flowers would get stuck in the taps or could go tannic in my cube if they got through. 

The flowers are hydrophobic so I agitated the hop bag a bit with my kettle spoon to make sure they were getting saturated in the wort, so I reckon they would float more than not if you added them directly. I let the bag sit during the whirlpool and then removed the hop bag before draining. The flowers were quite moist when i pulled them out, but still had a lot of rigidity to them which I'm guessing was mostly stem, most of the pink flower was gone - which would be the volatile part.

Ross mentioned in the bb thread that they smell like curry powder when they hit the hot wort and I'm glad he did - it's quite weird actually - but it doesn't taste like that or smell like that when its cooled.

Hope that helps, it was my first experience with Heather (can't help but thinking of a gorgeous girl I went through High school with of the same name, and had absolutely NO experience with despite my best efforts) so I'm just feeling my way


----------



## bum (9/5/12)

Grantw said:


> Hope that helps


Definitely food for thought. Will employ a bag and consider adding at 10 minutes - I wasn't aware of their hydrophopia and my flora counselling skills aren't quite what I'd like them to be so I'll have to give them some more time, I guess.

Cheers.


----------



## Yob (9/5/12)

weighted down in the bag perhaps?

I hope to get one down in a few weeks so watching this with keen interest

:icon_cheers:


----------



## bum (9/5/12)

iamozziyob said:


> weighted down in the bag perhaps?


Yeah, that was my initial thought after Grantw's post but then I thought it would mess with the whirlpool too much and I didn't like the idea of trying to fish out a 100C weight from the bag and float it at 0 min. I think simply floating a bag on top/occassional dunking for a bit longer may be the way I end up going.

Definitely keen to see everyone's experiences still though.


----------



## white.grant (10/5/12)

bum said:


> I think simply floating a bag on top/occassional dunking for a bit longer may be the way I end up going.



Should work fine.


----------



## Logman (10/5/12)

Agree, I wouldn't have it just floating around in the kettle, if it gets in your screen/falsie or whatever it could be a PITA. I used a hop sock.

In the fermenter I threw it in loose - floated the whole time. Also used a secondary with a bit of gelatine to make sure it was clean but none got in there at all, it floated while draining. But the yeast etc fell out so it got a good few days sitting on the top.

I think it's going to be a great addition once we get it down.....


----------



## 1974Alby (10/5/12)

so the consensus appears to be 50-100g range, best used as a late (10 min or less) addition? Anyone tried it at 60min? Does Heather impart any bittering qualities?


----------



## Yob (21/5/12)

Iain McLean said:


> The Fraoch recipe uses Sweet Myrtle for antibacterial/bittering instead of hops.
> I had a Fraoch recipe somewhere. My uncle in Barrhead, Scotland was talking about possibly sending Myrtle over with some heather flowers when I visited over xmas as I'd like to give it a try also.



Did you end up digging this recipe up Iain? I didnt get a response from any of the breweries I contacted <_< 

Planning on doing a batch of the HA in a few weeks and will resort to the recipe in the OP if all else fails. 

Yob


----------



## IainMcLean (21/5/12)

iamozziyob said:


> Did you end up digging this recipe up Iain? I didnt get a response from any of the breweries I contacted <_<
> 
> Planning on doing a batch of the HA in a few weeks and will resort to the recipe in the OP if all else fails.
> 
> Yob




Nope.
Sorry mate.
Said uncle left wife, sold house & yacht and is currently captain of a boat somewhere in the middle east...

I've been trying to find sweet myrtle myself with no luck, have everything else from the herb suppliers listed on this thread....


----------



## evildrakey (21/5/12)

> I've been trying to find sweet myrtle myself with no luck, have everything else from the herb suppliers listed on this thread....



The Honey Shoppe in the Adelaide Markets stocks it...

http://www.thehoneyshoppe.com.au/bulk.php

Edit: And it's _Myrica Gale_ - Bog Myrtle or Sweet Gale


----------



## Logman (30/5/12)

Albainian said:


> how is this beer tasting logman??? Im keen to put some of my heather in a brew this week and chasing some feedback on how much to add...200g or 30g....????


This beer is tasting like cats piss <_< . Got a vinegar taste out of it somehow. Maybe a little hasty trying to get this together with an already made cube....

I'll try 50g for 5 mins next time. 

Tasted yours recently Grantw?


----------



## Yob (30/5/12)

Logman said:


> This beer is tasting like cats piss <_< . Got a vinegar taste out of it somehow. Maybe a little hasty trying to get this together with an already made cube....
> 
> I'll try 50g for 5 mins next time.
> 
> Tasted yours recently Grantw?




What was the full recipe? Im planning to do mine on the weekend..

:icon_cheers:


----------



## bum (30/5/12)

"Cat piss" is not promising...

My 70/- (or 80/-, not sure yet) will be next cab off the rank. I just got Brewing Classic Styles and Radical Brewing so am thinking of using Jamil's 70/-(80/-) as the base and Mosher's Heather Ale's flame-out addition (sans meadowsweet). Hopefully not playing it too conservatively there.


----------



## evildrakey (30/5/12)

Mine's in the keg - has some roasted grains flavour that is not quite in balance.

The brew is bitter but in balance there (I used 80g) - its a very neutral bitterness...


----------



## Yob (30/5/12)

evildrakey said:


> Mine's in the keg - has some roasted grains flavour that is not quite in balance.
> 
> The brew is bitter but in balance there (I used 80g) - its a very neutral bitterness...



was that @ 60?

did you use any late?


----------



## evildrakey (30/5/12)

iamozziyob said:


> was that @ 60?
> 
> did you use any late?



At 60min boil, yeah...

No late addition...


----------



## Logman (30/5/12)

iamozziyob said:


> What was the full recipe? Im planning to do mine on the weekend..
> 
> :icon_cheers:


90 min boil

4 kg TFMO
.25 kg Pale Choc
.2 kg Med Crystal
500ml Amber Candi Sugar

45g Golding EK 60 min
45g Fuggles 60 min
12g Golding EK 15 min
8g Fuggles 15 min


I used 150g in the boil for 10 mins, then 50g 'dry heather' @ day 4. Just going for 50g for 5 mins next time, no dry heather....


----------



## Logman (30/5/12)

bum said:


> Hopefully not playing it too conservatively there.


Conservative might be the preferable route here  . I guess then you can evaluate and still enjoy your Scottish Ale in the meantime - as opposed to the dreaded visit to the drain....


----------



## Yob (30/5/12)

Cheers Lads..

The more I read of the experiences here the more Im inclined to do a 10lt batch to begin with :unsure:


----------



## brettprevans (30/5/12)

Logman said:


> This beer is tasting like cats piss <_< . Got a vinegar taste out of it somehow. Maybe a little hasty trying to get this together with an already made cube....
> 
> I'll try 50g for 5 mins next time.
> 
> Tasted yours recently Grantw?


Every vinegar beer I've had was the same type of bacterial infection. I'd hazard a guess at an infection over the heather tasting like vinegar.
But if u haven't had a froach before I'd go easy on the additions. If worst comes to worst either drink it as ur 4the pint of the night or dry hop the bejesus out of it with fuggles or EKG


----------



## Logman (30/5/12)

citymorgue2 said:


> Every vinegar beer I've had was the same type of bacterial infection. I'd hazard a guess at an infection over the heather tasting like vinegar.


I think you're right cm2, it's not the Heather. I had a cube made up already and in my haste to get a brew together I separated 5 litres, boiled that and added to cooled wort and fermented. Perhaps during this process a problem arose - never tasted good at any stage. It's a total non-drinker, not going to get that from a bit of Heather...

Luckily I've got plenty of Stout to keep me going atm :chug:


----------



## brettprevans (31/5/12)

ok my version of heather ale is being brewed tomorrow. based on Mosher's RAdical Brewing and subbed some grains for what i havbe on hand

3.6kg marris otter
1.4kg melanoidan (instead of amber malt)
60g buscuit malt (instead of brown malt)
60g caraamber (instead of brown malt)
0.45kg orange blossum honey in secondary
35g saaz @ 60
70g heather @ 0
1 drop of eucalyptus oil @ 0

buscuit and caraamber is subbing for brown malt. melanoidian instead of amber. 
eucalyptus oil is because i dont have bog myrtle which apparently has a eucalyptus aroma. i figure 1 drop should suffice.
I dont have medowsweet and cant find a substitute, but apparently is gives bitterness and sweetness. I recon I can forgo that. 

I probably do a double batch just for fun.

thoughts???


----------



## evildrakey (31/5/12)

You can get Meadowsweet from http://www.thehoneyshoppe.com.au/bulk.php
It's a lovely herb - gives a nice subtle 'freshly mown hayfield' aroma and flavour...

One of my favorite Gruit Herb additions...


----------



## brettprevans (31/5/12)

evildrakey said:


> You can get Meadowsweet from http://www.thehoneyshoppe.com.au/bulk.php
> It's a lovely herb - gives a nice subtle 'freshly mown hayfield' aroma and flavour...
> 
> One of my favorite Gruit Herb additions...


yeah but i cant get it by tomorrow. it was more of an oversight on my behalf.

edit: haha go vita healthfood store at eastland ringwood stock it. will pickup some tonight and ditch the eucalyptus. cheers


----------



## Ross (31/5/12)

For you Brisbanites, our cask conditioned Heather Ale is currently on hand pump at the Scratch Bar & if i say so myself, tasting sublime  

Cheers Ross

Edit: Will also be on tap at the Spotted Cow Beer Festival in Toowoomba next weekend.


----------



## brettprevans (31/5/12)

Ross said:


> For you Brisbanites, our cask conditioned Heather Ale is currently on hand pump at the Scratch Bar & if i say so myself, tasting sublime
> 
> Cheers Ross
> 
> Edit: Will also be on tap at the Spotted Cow Beer Festival in Toowoomba next weekend.


You're welcome to send us a sample Ross.  
Any comments on the recipe?


----------



## Ross (31/5/12)

Basic Irish Red recipe (4.8%) bittered to 24IBU's with 4gms/L of organic heather added with 30 mins to go.

cheers Ross


----------



## Ross (31/5/12)

citymorgue2 said:


> You're welcome to send us a sample Ross.
> Any comments on the recipe?




I would if i had some, but unfortunately all kegged. Will draw you some off next time.

cheers Ross


----------



## Ross (31/5/12)

All our heather ales have far exceeded their expected attenuation, dropping approx an extra 3 to 5 points. I'd be interested in other peoples experience.

Cheers Ross


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## brettprevans (31/5/12)

citymorgue2 said:


> ......edit: haha go vita healthfood store at eastland ringwood stock it. will pickup some tonight .....


$8 for 50g. will make a medowsweet tea tonight to assess flavour



Ross said:


> I would if i had some, but unfortunately all kegged. Will draw you some off next time.
> 
> cheers Ross


nice spin. a nice malty irish red would hold nicely against heather Id expect. cheers Ross



Ross said:


> Basic Irish Red recipe (4.8%) bittered to 24IBU's with 4gms/L of organic heather added with 30 mins to go.
> 
> cheers Ross


going on that ill up my additions to 4gL, which is about 80g. might split and go 40g @ 30min and 40g @ 0.


----------



## white.grant (31/5/12)

Logman said:


> Tasted yours recently Grantw?



Yes and it's going fairly well, very subtle heather flavour and aroma that is soft and flowery but it is fading as it ages. I think it could stand a slightly heavier hand with the heather, so I think there's some middle ground between us that is the sweet spot. My next batch might be more like 100gms.


----------



## Logman (31/5/12)

Grantw said:


> Yes and it's going fairly well, very subtle heather flavour and aroma that is soft and flowery but it is fading as it ages. I think it could stand a slightly heavier hand with the heather, so I think there's some middle ground between us that is the sweet spot. My next batch might be more like 100gms.


As it turns out it seems my feedback was skewed all along by what was really a bad batch. Not the end of the world as it's the first batch I've lost for some time - plus it's really cool trying these different ingredients.

I wonder if it's not wise to 'dry heather' with this, any thoughts that this could introduce a problem without boiling?


----------



## brettprevans (31/5/12)

Logman said:


> As it turns out it seems my feedback was skewed all along by what was really a bad batch. Not the end of the world as it's the first batch I've lost for some time - plus it's really cool trying these different ingredients.
> 
> I wonder if it's not wise to 'dry heather' with this, any thoughts that this could introduce a problem without boiling?


depends on what the heather has been near. if there is funky shit on it then 'dry hopping' wouldnt be recommneded. some people have never had an issues with dry hopping, others have. me personally ive had both success and disaster from dry hopping. so .....

flameout should be enough or making a heather tea if no-chill. actually, talking about tea, maybe i should combine the heather and medowsweet in a tea tonight....


----------



## bum (31/5/12)

Grantw said:


> Yes and it's going fairly well, very subtle heather flavour and aroma that is soft and flowery but it is fading as it ages. I think it could stand a slightly heavier hand with the heather, so I think there's some middle ground between us that is the sweet spot. My next batch might be more like 100gms.


Hmmm...was planing on leaving my scottish ale a few months for the peaty yeast thing to come out. Maybe I'll go back to my original thinking of 100gms. Dunno.


----------



## white.grant (31/5/12)

I think the heather tea route for "dry heathering" would be best too. You'd likely neutralise anything too nasty before it can do damage. But as CM2 says, plenty else can go wrong when you're cracking open a sealed vessel.

Just enjoying a heather ale now, after a long day. Still find it difficult to describe the aroma, I get a slight earthiness, and subtle flowery notes - it is delicate, there's a remote tannin like flavour, puts me in mind of smells I get when light pruning shrubs in the garden. It compliments the malt very nicely. The base beer has a good malty backbone and the usual kind of yeast flavours you get from the scottish ale yeast. Very likeable.


----------



## bum (31/5/12)

Cheers, Grant. Very helpful.

Looking forward to knocking to this one out.


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## brettprevans (31/5/12)

Made a meadowsweet tea...nothing like eucalyptus. More like a light mild green tea. I get the 'fresh mown grass' aroma. Lots more aroma than taste. Should be a good addition.


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## brettprevans (1/6/12)

recipe up here

pics. 160g of heather is huge.






and yes its hydrophobic. bit of a dunk in the hopbag takes care of that. 
you can really smell the heather. very hard to describe the smell. but its pleasent. so's the medowsweet


----------



## Yob (3/6/12)

after a year and a half (Since the OP) of wanting to do one of these brews I finally got one in Yesterday.. as I hadnt printed off the recipe and couldnt access the site I just threw something together.. Brewday was interrupted toward the end by the smoke alarm going off next door... they had gone out leaving a pressure cooker going which subsequently caught fire... Good on the Fireies getting here so quick (4 minutes from the phone call)... They areant allowed to accept beer these days either <_< stoopid times we live in...

I did 2 x 50g additions, one at 40 mins with some fuggles and 50g at 20 mins with some goldings.. even with a knife in the stocking 'hop sock' they didnt really want to sink..

Cant wait till I get a spare FV to get this one going.

:icon_cheers: to CityM for sourcing the 'erbs

Yob


----------



## white.grant (3/6/12)

Be interesting to see what you get out of the 40 minute addition.

In tangentially related news, you may remember that I accidentally pitched my Scottish ale yeast cake on a dunkelweizen owing to a cube labeling mishap. Put the macdunkelweizen on tap last night and it's kinda interesting, wheat tang and scottish ale fermentation characteristics with a caraaromaish hint.


----------



## Yob (4/6/12)

Grantw said:


> macdunkelweizen on tap last night and it's kinda interesting, wheat tang and scottish ale fermentation characteristics with a caraaromaish hint.




:lol: interested if you would deliberately repeat this 'mistake' ?


----------



## white.grant (4/6/12)

iamozziyob said:


> :lol: interested if you would deliberately repeat this 'mistake' ?




I admit i wasn't looking forward to tasting it, but now that I have, I think I would do it again.


----------



## bum (8/6/12)

Finally got a heathered brew down today. 80/- with 80g heather @10min.

Looking promising. I didn't quite get the curry aroma in the boil that others have mentioned - more like masala tea but without the cardamom for mine.

Thanks for all the tips, everyone.


----------



## Yob (16/6/12)

How about a mini Heather ale swap?

I put a 1728 (my liquid cherry) onto mine tonight so looking forward to seeing how it does..

it's only taken me a year and a half to do it  

Yob


----------



## white.grant (16/6/12)

Sounds like a good idea. I brewed a second batch today with 90g of heather at 3 minutes. Will make sure I bottle some.


----------



## brettprevans (16/6/12)

I majorly fkd up without. I accidentally noticed moved fermentors around and added .5kg and 0.2kg golden syrup to mine instead of the ginger beer. So will be making some heather tea to add to it to try and


----------



## brettprevans (16/6/12)

iamozziyob said:


> How about a mini Heather ale swap?
> 
> I put a 1728 (my liquid cherry) onto mine tonight so looking forward to seeing how it does..
> 
> ...


Mate everythings eventual. My special golden strong took 2Yeats playing with recipe went before it's ready to be brewed and ready. It's a cracker. So tone can be worth b the investment.


----------



## bum (16/6/12)

SWMBO says she smells something "sour" in mine. I don't get it myself but she tends to be fairly on the money usually. However, I'm using WY1728 for the first time and it certain doesn't really smell like anything I've brewed before so I'm hoping she's on a wrong'un here. It has gone a point or two lower than BrewMate suggests which is a concern.


----------



## Mutton Chops (24/6/12)

evildrakey said:


> The Heather Ale I made last night is interesting... I drank 2 cups of the unfermented wort and had strange dreams all night...
> 
> The one where I ate my own face off a plate with a knife and fork whilst the girlfriend looked on in a red wedding dress with a foxes head cheering me on was particularly odd...
> 
> Apparently Heather can host an ergot like fungus... Hmm... But I suspect it's not that and the roast duck I had for dinner instead...



Funny you should mention that (great thread by the way all), I watched a program a few months back mentioning an hallucinogenic heather growing in Scotland, did a quick google and found this:
Heather topic
Irrespective of where you sourced your heather it sounds like you might have had an 'experience' evildrakey :drinks:


----------



## brettprevans (24/6/12)

Mutton Chops said:


> Funny you should mention that (great thread by the way all), I watched a program a few months back mentioning an hallucinogenic heather growing in Scotland, did a quick google and found this:
> Heather topic
> Irrespective of where you sourced your heather it sounds like you might have had an 'experience' evildrakey :drinks:


Alas our heather was grown in Poland from memory. Stupid that we can get it easier from Poland than the UK. they used to put other herbs in heather ale that you wouldn't use now because of hallucinogenic or unhealthy properties.


----------



## Logman (24/6/12)

Doing a triple batch of Scottish Ale today, think I might separate one batch toward the end and add 50g of Heather for ten minutes and go from there.


----------



## Yob (25/6/12)

Well mine has bottomed out at 1014 but will leave it another week just to be nice to it, 

Im thinking that in a week I might add a 50g Heather Tea with bit of medowsweet and then Crash it for a week.

I think I overdid it a bit with the choc malt so am trying the Tea addition to see if I cant get something else going on in there...

Its been an interesting experiment.. he.. he.. and enough Heather and grains to do several more h34r: 

:icon_drunk:


----------



## brettprevans (12/7/12)

I tasted mine in the weekend. Not enough heather for my liking. So a 10min heather tea with 60g of heather went in. then I ran about 10L of beer through the heather 'tea leaves' to make sure I got all the flavour out. Smelt great. 

Now if I can only remember what yeast I used so I can label the slurry....


----------



## Yob (12/7/12)

I chickened out on adding the medowsweet and the 'tea' to the above batch... I rekon as I overdid it with the choc malt (Darkest brew Ive ever done) that it will be hard to bring it back to get any sort of 'subtle' heather taste...

Am hoping to give it another shot in a week or two when I have some empty bottles...

Im running pretty much at capacity ATM so unless I get a new load of bottles I can only brew when Ive got enough empties... or I buy another cube.. or invite some people round to help me with getting said empties  

20 crates and 4 cubes is a hell of a stockpile :super: 

Summer is looking sweeeet h34r:


----------



## bum (13/7/12)

Having the first taste of mine right now and am finding myself somewhere in between confused and underwhelmed. I have no idea what I should be looking for but nothing is screaming "heather". There is an aroma and flavour with which I am unfamiliar but I used a UK strain I've never used before and fermented slightly warm so I don't know if I'm getting heather or esters. Still, it is a nice enough beer so I guess I can call that a win. I'm undecided as to whether I didn't go hard enough or if less is more and I got the balance okay.


----------



## Helles (13/7/12)

citymorgue2 said:


> Alas our heather was grown in Poland from memory. Stupid that we can get it easier from Poland than the UK. they used to put other herbs in heather ale that you wouldn't use now because of hallucinogenic or unhealthy properties.




Last time i brewed with hallucinogenics the Dwarfs moved in on me too


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## brettprevans (29/7/12)

2 pints in and yeast is lessening in pour. tastes like it heather flowers smell. Only way I can describe it. Kind of some wheat type tomas and taste but still largely unidentifiable as to what heather tastes like.

Very pleasant imo. Very differant. Very interesting flavour.


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## brettprevans (31/7/12)

another pint...

yup same opinion as above. hard to describe. kind of savoury but with wheat swetness/flavours even though there isnt wheat.

will have to bring some to melbourne brewers for peoples opinions. and do a swap with Yob.


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## Yob (31/7/12)

Happy to do so mate, might bring a couple of bottles upstairs, it must be said though I'm not expecting mine to even be noticed with the cok up wih the choc malt on my behalf, happy to swap one or two though, 
Plans underway for the re-brew in a couple of weeks, if I manage to get it done in time will bring one of each to the next meet.


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## Logman (4/8/12)

Struck back with a decent batch after my first disaster - just as well as it's a triple batch h34r: . I used 150g (60 litres) at 20 mins. Only went in the keg a week ago so it's not ready but had to try a couple of glasses. Really nice, I like the Heather but it's pretty raw atm, needs a month at least. Certainly adds to the flavor of this type of brew and it works nice with the Candi Sugar. This one was done with Notto but the one in the fermenter and the last will be done with Wyeast Scottish Ale.

Anyone else tried any that's had a decent amount of conditioning - if so, did it change much?

:icon_cheers:


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## white.grant (4/8/12)

I found that the heather flavour dropped off towards the end of the keg.

reminds me that I need to smack the yeast and get the second batch in the fermenter.


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## Yob (6/8/12)

I popped the top off a Grolsch of my HA last night and surprisingly it's actually quite a nice drop, not overdone at all. 

As with others, there is a little something there but hard to put the finger on in a "Yep thats heather" sort of way.

All in all Im quite pleased with it.

@CM2 I will be out and about on Wednesday night if you are going to be home will swing past with a bottle.

Yob


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## Logman (11/8/12)

Pretty stoked with mine after all that - the flavor settled in nicely. Might add some more crystal next time to compliment the Heather and maybe a touch more Fuggles.

:icon_cheers:


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## brettprevans (11/8/12)

I recon there is something great about heather. Mysterious, pleasant etc. great interesting flavour for cooler months. More experimentation needed


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## Logman (12/8/12)

citymorgue2 said:


> I recon there is something great about heather. Mysterious, pleasant etc. great interesting flavour for cooler months. More experimentation needed


Any idea on how long it would be expected to last cm2? Can it be frozen and then left out before use next year? I've still got around 1kg left and would like to use some next year if possible....


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## brettprevans (12/8/12)

Logman said:


> Any idea on how long it would be expected to last cm2? Can it be frozen and then left out before use next year? I've still got around 1kg left and would like to use some next year if possible....


no idea. so long as its kept from away from oxidising it should be fine (ie vac sealed or something). I guess you can freeze it like any other flower. 


*@ iamozziyob*
trying yours now. what was your recipe?

I get hints of heather but the beer is fairly dominated by roast barley. I also get choc which could just be the roast. I probably wouldnt pick this as being a heather ale if you hadnt told me. however there are some similar flavours in there that I can identiy as being heather. we realy need to get a commerical version to test against. 

let me know how you think mine compares to yours.


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## 1974Alby (12/8/12)

I made one a few months back that is just starting to taste ok...Basically a Better Red than Dead with 80gm Heather @5 min from memory (will have to check my notes)..first glass at 3 weeks in bottle was too heathery (is that a word :huh: ...now at 5 weeks it is tasting quite mellow...although my wife just took a sip and asked if I could finish hers!!


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## Yob (13/8/12)

citymorgue2 said:


> *@ iamozziyob*
> trying yours now. what was your recipe?
> 
> I get hints of heather but the beer is fairly dominated by roast barley. I also get choc which could just be the roast. I probably wouldnt pick this as being a heather ale if you hadnt told me. however there are some similar flavours in there that I can identiy as being heather. we realy need to get a commerical version to test against.
> ...



Yeah I agree on mine being a bit dark.. I blame AHB being down on the day and muggins here not having printed off the recipe so I just winged it on the day.. 

From Memory..

Marris Otter Malt 4kg
JW Wheat 1 kg :unsure: 
Choc Malt .4 kg :unsure: (too much whatever the amount was)
Little Bit of both EKG and Fuggles
'snip' I did 2 x 50g additions, one at 40 mins with some fuggles and 50g at 20 mins with some goldings
No Dry Hop

1728 no starter.. (Didnt have the stirplate at that point)

I got stuck into yours Yesterday as well, quite sweet up front I thought, has got that something there Im associating with HA brews now but hard to put the finger on.. Quite malty and warming... what was the ABV on that?

I really want to try another one and may get to do it on the Weekend... Im planning on doing first runnings through 100g of Heather Flowers and maybe another 100g late in the boil.

damn.. think Im out of EKG and Fuggles <_< 

Yob


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## fraser_john (23/8/12)

The Geelong Highland Gathering Association is still pondering a Scottish Ale Competition to be held at the Gathering, possibly March 2013. Currently the AABC guidelines only allow for three styles.

This thread indicates there might be enough interest in having a non AABC style for Heather Ale at the event?


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## Yob (23/8/12)

Hell yeah id be keen... Will have a few versions by then i should think.

..as long as you arent entering one we might even have a shot  

I think it'd ne great to have this type of beer promoted more.

Yob


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## white.grant (16/9/12)

The second batch of Heather ale is going down very nicely just now. There is a very distinct floral/earthy flavour and aroma to it which balances nicely to the malts but as CM2 said, is slightly mysterious. This one had 90g of heather flowers and I think is much better than the first so think I wkill settle on that amount for future batches.


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## brettprevans (19/9/12)

Thx to yob for brining FJ post to my attention. 

Yup im in. I've got some of this batch left as well as a cube so I can ferment and enter best one. I'll definitely dry heather less than batch 1. I think 100g was too much. Although it's really coming good now. It does seen to like some ageing.


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## Yob (26/9/12)

Take 2 today

4kg Marris Otter
1.5kg Wheat Malt
.3kg Carapils
.25kg Caramalt
.1kg Choc 

*100g Heather @ 60*
10g Northern Brewer @ 40
*100g Heather @ 10*
10g Fuggles @ 10
10g Fuggles @ 5
10g EKG @ 5
10g EKG @ 0

Step Mashed

63/20, 65/20, 68/10, 72/10, 77,10


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## Yob (1/11/12)

citymorgue2 said:


> I think 100g was too much.



How did you do this CM2? Given that these flowers are about as submersible as a hot air baloon!

I have my Heather Ale Mark II in Fermenting now and would be keen to give it a kick toward the end..

I guess I could go a stocking with a few knives etc? just wondering what you used?

Yob


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## brettprevans (1/11/12)

Yob said:


> How did you do this CM2? Given that these flowers are about as submersible as a hot air baloon!
> 
> I have my Heather Ale Mark II in Fermenting now and would be keen to give it a kick toward the end..
> 
> ...


I put thr heather in a very large kitchen sieve on top.of a big pot and ran tthe beer through the flowers and just keep recyleing it arounf a few times. Now that will probably set the aeration police off on an argumebt but i didnt get any oxidisation in taste that i could detect.

Altrrnatively, yeah, big arse stocking loaded with stainless to weight it down. Odd stir around to make sure the oils etc are mixing. 

Although given the sheer size of 100g of heather u might be better ogf having a few stickings to maximise surface area and efficiency.


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## Yob (14/11/12)

The heather Ale I have fermenting (or not) is giving me some serious grief. Cannot get it to drop much below 1020 <_< (Windsor Yeast)

Tried the usual, temps, gentle stir, add some hops... bloody thing wont budge. Samples taste a little sweet, not overly but is there..

I was hoping to bottle it, now I dont know if I should Keg it or ditch it..

Bugger


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## brettprevans (14/11/12)

Yob said:


> The heather Ale I have fermenting (or not) is giving me some serious grief. Cannot get it to drop much below 1020 <_< (Windsor Yeast)
> 
> Tried the usual, temps, gentle stir, add some hops... bloody thing wont budge. Samples taste a little sweet, not overly but is there..
> 
> ...


Dont ditch it! 
Either bottle it with a littke less priming sugar and maybe a little more yeast
Keg it and drink as is
Leave in fermentor and throw more yeast at it. 

Then again im not sure of what ur target FG was


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## Yob (14/11/12)

citymorgue2 said:


> Then again im not sure of what ur target FG was



FG should have been about 1014 so is a fair bit above, brews with a similar mash schedule are all finishing ~1012 or there abouts.

Likely I will keg it, I dont want to go through all the trouble of bottling a suspect brew. At least if it's shite in the keg Ive only got to clean 1 vessel!!

I was hoping to have a few different HA's bottled in case we get a look in at that comp FJ mentioned above.

Oh well, will have to brew another  what a terrible thing to have happen to a bloke.

:icon_cheers:


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## cswmaiden (4/1/13)

Sorry to come in to this conversation late, but just thought I would weigh in with a little info. A few years back I lived in the North of England and had the good fortune to come across the guys from the brewery that make Fraoch. I bought a mixed 4 pack from them which included a bottle of the aforementioned heather ale. It is now a few years back since I tasted it, (with a truck load of other beers in the meantime) so I can't really remember what it was like. But from memory I did think that I definitely wanted to try making some if I could when I returned home to Oz. Go to the website www.heatherale.co.uk for more info.

http://www.williamsbrosbrew.com/


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## Yob (4/1/13)

welcome to the forum..

Their website doesnt really give much away as far as recipe goes..

where abouts are you in Oz? Ive still got a few packets of the Heather flowers that CM2 obtained.

Yob


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## cswmaiden (4/1/13)

Yob said:


> welcome to the forum..
> 
> Their website doesnt really give much away as far as recipe goes..
> 
> ...



Hey Yob,
Cheers mate. The bottle doesn't give away any secrets either. I've included a pic of the back of the bottle this time. I wish I could remember something about the flavour or aroma.
I am in Brissy, not too sure if I am ready to try making a heather ale at the moment. I started brewing a year ago and am still finding my feet in terms of what I can and can't get away with in terms of ingredients, quantities and methods etc.
I tried ordering a case of it from the website but they don't ship to Oz. Might have to get my relos in England to send me some :^)


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## Ross (4/1/13)

If you're in Brizzy, the Scratch Bar in Milton currently have our Celtic Red (Heather Ale) on the hand pump.

Cheers Ross
CraftBrewer/Bacchus Brewing Co.


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## cswmaiden (4/1/13)

Ross said:


> If you're in Brizzy, the Scratch Bar in Milton currently have our Celtic Red (Heather Ale) on the hand pump.
> 
> Cheers Ross
> CraftBrewer/Bacchus Brewing Co.



Damn. I was off down Mount Tamborine to visit MT Brewery today.


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## Yob (10/1/13)

Hows about a recipe suggestion Ross?

Not asking for your commercial.. but you know.. couple a hints?


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## Golani51 (10/1/13)

I have vac packed heather if anyone is looking for some. $5 for 200gm. Free postage.


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## brettprevans (16/1/13)

Golani51 said:


> I have vac packed heather if anyone is looking for some. $5 for 200gm. Free postage.


you dont like it? thats a shame. 

suggest you throw it up on the marketplace.


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## Golani51 (16/1/13)

I am yet to use it yet. Got carried away, bought a kilo, and thought to sell to others who may want to try some. How much can one use??


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## Yob (29/1/13)

fraser_john said:


> The Geelong Highland Gathering Association is still pondering a Scottish Ale Competition to be held at the Gathering, possibly March 2013. Currently the AABC guidelines only allow for three styles.
> 
> This thread indicates there might be enough interest in having a non AABC style for Heather Ale at the event?


Any update on the FJ?

methinks it's time to brew another one of these, given that my last one was an abject failure (being blended currently) and the first one was more of a Heather Porter by accident... a nice enough beer but not fame worthy I think...

Ive had some ideas for a brew so if this is a go then I shall make it my next to give it time to age a bit before the comp.

Cheers


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## legwind (12/3/13)

Golani51 said:


> I am yet to use it yet. Got carried away, bought a kilo, and thought to sell to others who may want to try some. How much can one use??


Golani, I'd be interested. How much do you have? Only 200gms?


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## Yob (12/3/13)

You might want to shoot him a PM this will drop out of the current list pretty quickly, if he has already got rid of it let me know, I've still ggot enough for a few batches so could easily spare some, free except postage.

Cbeers


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## legwind (13/3/13)

Thanks for that, I just PM'd him...
How much would you use in a batch?


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## Yob (13/3/13)

a couple of hundred grams is about right.. My last one I did 2 x 100g additions, could probably go a little more depending on when you were adding them, not sure if you have read the whole thread but these things are very hydrophobic.. with 2 SS knives in the stocking it still wanted to float in the boil, eventually sunk a 'bit'.

Anyway.. have fun with it, it's great to experiment with.

Cheers


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## MastersBrewery (22/4/15)

Reviving an old thread here I know, I blame Yob h34r:
Was thinking a Scottish Ale for a Scottish mate, for some reason that lead me to Heather Ale.
I don't really want to start from scratch with a recipe did this get further refined?
Any tips?


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