Heather Beer

[Andrew Breecher]

So where does one find a good heather beer recipe, and what part of the heather do you use?

Here's the recipe I used for my last batch of Scottish ale. The next time I brew it will be all-grain instead of extract.

7 lbs. amber liquid malt extract (John Bull brand)
1 lb. 40L crystal malt
.25 lb. biscuit malt
.25 lb. peated malt
2 oz. heather tips
1.5 oz. Willamette hops (boiling)
Scottish ale yeast (Wyeast #1728)

Steep the grains in 2 gallons of water and heat to boiling. Remove the grains and add the LME, heather, and hops. Boil for one hour. Sparge into fermenter, straining the hops and heather, and add water to five gallons. Pitch the yeast when the wort is cool. O.G. 1.042, final ABV 4.1%

I would definitely "dry hop" with the heather tips next time instead of boiling them. I think more flavour would present itself that way.

Heather tips are the flowers - the tiny purple/red tips of the heather plant - which are dried and packaged for brewers. I'm sure you could find them elsewhere for some other purpose, but I can get them at my brew shop.

Andrew.