Heathen beer! Neat name, isn't it? Well, it's not about dancing naked around the bonfire or any other pagan inspired fun but only me misreading the name on the bottle. It's heatheR beer, brewed with the national shrub of the Norwegians, røsslyng. I mean, heather of course. Nevertheless, Fraoch is Scottish and brags about its 4000 proud years old recipe. I got introduced to it by the owner of a local specialty beers shop, a really funny (both meanings) guy which just took over the BeerPlanet business. The previous owner decided it'd be right time for a trip around the world, probably wanting to taste all those beers directly from their sources. I certainly would... But back to our guy: he told me in all confidence this beer is a very special one, made completely without wheat. Huh??? Now that'd be VERY special indeed, I had to agree - and he missed my hint completely. I grabbed two bottles of this blonde ale just in case and look, I'm not overwhelmed. You can feel the malt, even more the yeast, it's oily and flows nicely even though it made almost no head at all, but... where's my hoppy bitterness? The aroma is summer-y and soft, I'd go out to enjoy it on the grass if it only wouldn't rain again and again (and again, at times - not that the peony would mind). At least we'll have some grapes later, after the crushing hail of two years ago which left behind only a frozen cold layer of ice balls and grape-vine twigs.
