Try?
I met a little
Scottish lass the other day, a gal by the name of Lorna Doone. I know her
name is Lorna Doone, by the way, because every one who passed her by would
greet her by asking, “Hey Lorna! How you Doone?”
Ok, that was pretty bad. And I really didn’t make it up myself, I actually stole it from the Three Stooges. But while I’m on the subject of the flowers of Scottish womanhood, I would like to introduce you to heather. Well, truth be told, the heather in question isn’t really a woman. It’s a flower, though a very special flower.
Heather happens to be one of the national flowers of Scotland, along with the thistle (which lends itself to the shape of the glasses Scotch ales are often served in.). The heather plant is a shrub according to Wikipedia. And of course, as you might have guessed, heather is sometimes used to make beer. Now you know why those wacky knights who say knee of Monty Python fame wanted a shrubbery so badly.
You don’t have to go all the way to bonnie Scotland to taste a beer brewed with heather, however. That’s because the Atlantic Brewing Company of Bar Harbor, Maine, actually uses the stuff in their MacFoochie’s Scottish Ale. They say the beer is hopped with heather, which is not entirely accurate, since heather is not hops. Still, heather is used as a seasoning here, just as hops are, and to very good effect.
Atlantic Coast operates a small brewery in Bar Harbor, though much of their production for “export” from Maine is done at the Shipyard Brewery in Portland. I’m not quite sure where my MacFoochie’s was brewed, though since it’s a 22 ounce “bomber” bottle I suspect Bar Harbor. Either way, this is a real treat.
MacFoochie’s Scottish Ale pours to a dark amber chestnut color with a light creamy head formation and a very herbal, flowery nose. The palate is very sweet and rich with a sticky consistency and a very complex flavor profile. Sweet chocolate and caramel toffee are very pronounced, but there’s a lot of fruit here too: strong notes of prune and raisin. If you close your eyes, block out all other senses and just concentrate on the luscious liquid rolling around on your tongue, you can easily imagine spice cake, plum pudding, and mince pie as well.
The beer finishes on the sweet side, but if you’re wondering where the heather comes into play, it’s right at the end, where a delightfully herbal, flowery aroma and flavor appear. That serves to dry the beer just enough to keep it from being cloying, along with a touch of minty grassy hops. But you’ll get some very interesting notes here far different from beers seasoned with hops alone.
The combination of delightful dark malt flavors along with the raisiny notes and the spicy heather make this a wonderful and rare beer, indeed. A splotch of yeast in my bottle denoted bottle conditioning, another hint that my brew came from bar Harbor rather than Portland.
At $6 a bottle here in Georgia, this one is a bit pricey, but well worth every penny. Seek it out, and if you happen to see Lorna along the way, be so kind as to ask her how she’s Doone, won’t you?
Ok, that was pretty bad. And I really didn’t make it up myself, I actually stole it from the Three Stooges. But while I’m on the subject of the flowers of Scottish womanhood, I would like to introduce you to heather. Well, truth be told, the heather in question isn’t really a woman. It’s a flower, though a very special flower.
Heather happens to be one of the national flowers of Scotland, along with the thistle (which lends itself to the shape of the glasses Scotch ales are often served in.). The heather plant is a shrub according to Wikipedia. And of course, as you might have guessed, heather is sometimes used to make beer. Now you know why those wacky knights who say knee of Monty Python fame wanted a shrubbery so badly.
You don’t have to go all the way to bonnie Scotland to taste a beer brewed with heather, however. That’s because the Atlantic Brewing Company of Bar Harbor, Maine, actually uses the stuff in their MacFoochie’s Scottish Ale. They say the beer is hopped with heather, which is not entirely accurate, since heather is not hops. Still, heather is used as a seasoning here, just as hops are, and to very good effect.
Atlantic Coast operates a small brewery in Bar Harbor, though much of their production for “export” from Maine is done at the Shipyard Brewery in Portland. I’m not quite sure where my MacFoochie’s was brewed, though since it’s a 22 ounce “bomber” bottle I suspect Bar Harbor. Either way, this is a real treat.
MacFoochie’s Scottish Ale pours to a dark amber chestnut color with a light creamy head formation and a very herbal, flowery nose. The palate is very sweet and rich with a sticky consistency and a very complex flavor profile. Sweet chocolate and caramel toffee are very pronounced, but there’s a lot of fruit here too: strong notes of prune and raisin. If you close your eyes, block out all other senses and just concentrate on the luscious liquid rolling around on your tongue, you can easily imagine spice cake, plum pudding, and mince pie as well.
The beer finishes on the sweet side, but if you’re wondering where the heather comes into play, it’s right at the end, where a delightfully herbal, flowery aroma and flavor appear. That serves to dry the beer just enough to keep it from being cloying, along with a touch of minty grassy hops. But you’ll get some very interesting notes here far different from beers seasoned with hops alone.
The combination of delightful dark malt flavors along with the raisiny notes and the spicy heather make this a wonderful and rare beer, indeed. A splotch of yeast in my bottle denoted bottle conditioning, another hint that my brew came from bar Harbor rather than Portland.
At $6 a bottle here in Georgia, this one is a bit pricey, but well worth every penny. Seek it out, and if you happen to see Lorna along the way, be so kind as to ask her how she’s Doone, won’t you?
And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.
*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.
(B)=Bottled
(D)=Draft
