Heather Ales Ltd Grozet Ale - Gooseberries in Beer? What the heck are gooseberries?
Jan 18 '05 (Updated Jan 20 '05)
The Bottom Line Grozet was the second beer from Heather Ales Ltd. to be a winner. A light wheat-based fruit beer, it's a great beer to enjoy when you want something subtle.
As I mentioned in my review of Heather Ale Ltd's Fraoch Ale, every once in a while, my wife sends me out to do some chores at Christmas time. And while on those excursions, it occasionally get distracted by the local bottle shop, and wander in (completely against my will), and find myself staring at a myriad of bottles of beer, wondering what would look best (briefly) under the lights of my fridge at home. So, it was in one of these moments of weakness that I saw them - a four pack of ales on the counter, in a nice decorative cardboard box. Historic Ales from Scotland is proclaimed. Bières Ecossaises de Legend it offered (although I have no clue what it means, it seemed important). "Buy Me," is what it whispered in its seductive tone.
The box reached out to me, stating that Heather Ale Ltd. was "brewing historic ales from Scotland's native resources. These ales have been recreated from old recipes of traditional brewing in the Scottish Highlands. The special wild ingredients are harvested by hand and flavour the ales with the ancient tastes of Scottish ale before hops." Hmm, that could be cool. The exotic ingredients, including heather, gooseberry, pine, spruce, elderberries, oats and seaweed sounded interesting but I wasn't sure that they would be any good (and the guys behind the counter were a tad less than helpful in that regard. But impulse is the better part of sanity, I always say, so I got them.
When I got home, I started to have buyer's remorse, so I hit up our resident Scottish beer expert, Proxam, to see if I had made a good choice. His reply:
"No, you've not been had. Heather Ales is an up-n-coming brewery who specialise in following ancient brewing recipes apparently. Scotland's climate doesn't favour growing hops and so in olden times ales were flavoured with things like pine needles, heather and elderberry etc. They're a wee bit different, but nice."
Okay, I was feeling better about this - time to start trying them.
[• about Heather Ale Ltd. •]
Heather Ale Ltd. produces the unique brews at Craigsmill, a historic brewery on the banks of the Avon River near Glasgow, The owners, Bruce and Scott Williams, have made it a mission to re-create some of the ancient styles used in Scotland before hops was introduced from England. The styles that they are recreating include Kelpie, Alba, Fraoch and Ebulum which use seaweed, pine and spruce needles, heather and elderberries, respectively. But I was onto my second beer from them, Grozet, made with gooseberries and other neat ingredients. Onward...
[• about GROZET •]
Prior to available hops, ancient Scots - ancient as in 2000 B.C. - were making brews using ingredients that they had on hand. Later, Scottish monks began using the gooseberry much later (commonly thought to be starting in the 17th century) to create a strong ale with wheat and local wild spices. The current versions are made using lager malt, wheat, bog myrtle, hops and meadowseet, and fermented with ripe gooseberries to create a beer with a 5% ABV. One nice feature of the bottle is the hand-drawn art for the label.
the POUR » The Heather Ale site suggests a tall glass, I instead chose an English pint (sorry, Simon, I didn't have a Scottish pint glass). The 11.2-ounce bottle poured to a very pale yellow, slightly cloudy and with nearly no head.
the NOSE » The nose gave off a very evident wheat tone to it, as well as an underlying malt nose. The twisting scents of lemon and a grape-like fruitiness are both there. I don't know what gooseberries smell like, but to me it seemed a bit like blueberries in the mix, as well. I brought it out to sit in front of the fire and my wife decided she needed to try it. I was lucky that I got any afterward - in fact, I ended up having to split it with her!
the TASTE » So far, Heather Ale Ltd. is two-for-two with their beers. Grozet gave off a malty/peaty flavor with more than a hint of lemon zing from the wheat. Fruit tones were also evident, with just a touch of wine-like spiciness. There was no bitterness to speak of, but definitely a little bite from the alcohol despite the lower ABV. The mouthfeel was very light and delicious, matching the character of the beer itself.
I rather liked it. A different type of beer from the more familiar weiss beers of Germany, this is an ale that definitely borrows heavily from the wheat aspects of them. I like the complex fruity flavors that were strong enough despite the airiness of the beer itself. A good choice if you can find them.
[• beer SPECIFICS •]
• Awards: Silver Medal - 1997 World Beer Championships
• ABV: 5%
• IBU: unknown
• Shelf-Life: n/a
• Serving Temperature: 50 degrees F (slightly chilled)
• Calories (per 12 oz.): unknown
• Carbs: unknown
[• final THOUGHTS •]
When I picked up this 4-pack from Heather Ale Ltd., I did it because I wanted something different from the standard fare, or even the more delicious upscale brews I had been enjoying. The second beer from the batch, Grozet, was a definite winner. More subtle than the Fraoch, it is nevertheless a different beer style than what I have had in the past (although a bit more familiar, from its relation to weiss beers). I can't say that it was better than the Fraoch, because they are different styles, but it doesn't pale in comparison, either. I would pick a six-pack of this up for when I want a lighter beer.
[• more INFORMATION •]
http://www.heatherale.co.uk
[• related REVIEWS •]
• Fraoch » - A wonderful and unique Heather Ale.
• Alba » - forthcoming
• Ebulum » - forthcoming
• Keltie » - My four-pack didn't have this style, so I invite you to check out Proxam's review
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
martytdx
|
 - Top 200 |
|
Member: Marty
Location: New Jersey
Reviews written: 481
Trusted by: 180 members
About Me:
Doing what I can to try new places, restaurants, books and beers.
|
|
|
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.