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Heather Ale

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

Ingredients:

• 7.25 lbs. Marris otter or other English pale malt
• 1 lb. Carapils or dextrin-type malt
• 0.5 lb. crystal malt (20° Lovibond)
• 0.5 lb. crystal malt (40° Lovibond)
• 0.125 lb. 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)
• 1 oz. of 4.2% alpha -acid Fuggles hops (4.2 AAU) (optional)
• 0.50 oz. of 4.2 % alpha–acid Fuggles hops (2.1 AAU) (optional)
• 1 pt. starter of Scottish Ale yeast (Wyeast 1728 or equivalent)
• 2/3 cup corn sugar for priming

Step by Step:

Mash grain in 3 gallons of water at 150° F for 60 minutes. Sparge with 168-170° F water to collect 5.75 gallons 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 69° F. to pitch starter. Oxygenate-aerate well.

Ferment at 69° F 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.

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(5 gallons, extract with grain)

Ingredients:

Substitute the pale malt with 7 lbs. English pale malt extract syrup. Other ingredients remain the same.

Step by Step:

Start with 5 gallons of 150° F water. Steep crushed grain for 30 minutes. Sparge grains with enough 170° F water to make 5.5 gallons. 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.

HEATHER ALE: RESOURCES

For more information on growing heather, contact Heaths and Heathers in Shelton, Massachusetts
(www.heathsandheathers.com ).

For more information on heather ale, contact Heather Ale Limited: Craigmill Strathaven, Lanarkshire ML106PB United Kingdom (44 (0) 1357 529029) or www.heatherale.co.uk Among other information, this site includes the original Pictish recipe for wild heather ale. It’s a funky old recipe that uses bog myrtle and animal fat.

Fraoch Heather Ale, Heather Ale Limited’s modern-day recreation of the original heather ale, is the winner of two World Gold Medals in 1996 and 1997. It was also one of CAMRA’s beers of the year in ’97 and won the "Supreme Award" at the Royal Highland Show that same year. To buy some American heather ale, try: Sackets Harbor Brewing Co. 212 Main Street, Sackets Harbor, New York 13685 (315) 646-BREW www.1812ale.com/beer