Heather Ale @ Town Hall

[davesarman]

Got this email from Town Hall today:

Hey Folks,
We made it through anniversary week, and you folks did a fine job drinking the beer! This Thursday (11/11) we will release another new creation...."Heather"
What is Heather? Back in the day Scottish brewers used very few hops. The northern climate did not grow hops well and imports from England were very expensive. To balance the sweet malt flavors in the beer they produced they used various herbs and spices, one of note was heather.
We produced "Heather" in a very traditional manner, using malt grown in Scotland and no hops...just 4 additions of Scottish Heather.
Come to the Town Hall Brewery and try a pint of Heather this Thursday (11/11) for just $1 from 5-6 pm.
To accompany this wild beer Eric has created an equally wild dinner selection featuring ELK. Certainly worth a trip.....I suspect.
Cheers,
Mike

P.s. Want to take a moment to thank to the folks that have been dropping off their creations for us to sample. (home-brew,jam,salsa, ect.) I really appreciate it, we've got some very creative Town Hallians.

I've had heather ale in the bottle before from that brewery in Scotland that makes it. But I've never heard of a brewpub making heather ale before. I'll have to get over there to try it, unfortuately, I'll be out of town this weekend. Hopefully it's not all gone before I get over there next weekend! I really love this place and this is one reason why. They aren't afraid to go outside of the "mainstream" styles for brewpubs and they do a fantastic job, good food, good service, knowlegeable staff.

[chazwicke]

I've been to tastings hosted by Bruce Williams, The Scottish brewer who brought over the Fraoch Heather. He is an interesting character with great stories. Instead of elk they oughta be serving Haggis. Robbie Burns would be turning in his grave.

[davesarman]

I had a haggis a couple of times when I was in Scotland. I quite liked it as well. I've looked for it over here a few times and haven't been able to find it, except for a few mail order places that will send you canned vegetarian haggis. What's the point in that? If I'm going to have haggis, I want the real deal!

[chazwicke]

I've had it too and liked it. I brought a can back from London as a joke for my office. Most of them are picky eaters. I've not had canned haggis but I guess it's worth a try.

[shifty brewer]

Where exactly is the Town Hall. I know its in Mpls but I've never seen the place. I get up to the cities every other month or so and would love to check it out.


Thankee Kindly

[davesarman]

Town Hall is on the "7 Corners" by the U of M westbank. It's on Washington Avenue, by Grandma's, Bullwinkle's and the Holiday Inn. Here's a link (http://www.townhallbrewery.com/) to their website, although I'm not sure they keep it current with all their seasonal brews. Should have the address on it tho.

[brewmonkey]

My buddy John has been making one since the mid 90's, first at the pub I took oer and then at the pub he is at now (Blind Tiger, Topeka KS).

http://celebrator.com/200112/midwest.html

[davesarman]

Stopped in to Town Hall this afternoon and they had the Heather Ale on cask! So I had a few (actually several, being a pint club member I drink free from 4:00-5:00 every Saturday!)

Here is Town Hall's description:
Heather is a low growing shrub common in the peat hills of Scotland. It has been used in place of hops to balance malt sweetness in beer since the beginning of written record. One archeological dig found traces of a fermented beverage that contained heather that dates to 2000 BC. Our heather ale was made with the finest Scottish grown malted barley and four generous additions of heather tips (generally only the top 5 centimeters of the plant is used in brewing). Heather honey was also a common ingredient for heather beer. Our beer was brewed using basswood honey produced in Northern Minnesota. This is a mildly sweet copper-colored ale with a distinct flower/herbal flavor and aroma from the traditional Scottish heather.

Here are my tasting notes:

Had this served on cask (!) at Town Hall on 11/20/04. Hand pulled, the body and color are initially creamy tan, but settles down to a nice clear light copper color. Aroma is light and slightly herbal, perfumey. The taste and body is light, smooth and highly drinkable. Good maltiness, but quietly so. Heather provides a nice fruity and sweet aspect to the taste profile as well. Body is light to medium and the finish is clean and short, slightly sweet. Compared to the CO2 version, the cask version is smoother, more drinkable. I actually wish this had a lower ABV (it's listed at 5.2%), maybe in the 4% range, to make this more of a session beer, because it certainly goes down well. I bought a growler of it to serve with Thanksgiving dinner. I think it will pair nicely with herbed stuffing, sweet potatoes and roast turkey! Yet another great reason to laud Town Hall. Very few brewpubs (at least in this area) take the risks with beers Town Hall does. Great Job!

[badgerbars]

I went to the Town Hall for the first time last week. Very pleasant visit. I tried their Festivus, real different, lots of unique flavorings, including orange..not over done though, nicely balanced. I enjoyed it, but it wasn't something I would recommend a whole pint of. I had a smaller glass, and that was just enough. Had a full pint of their Scotch Ale and that was great. Nice surroundings, great backbar. I'll go out of my way to make a return trip. Also in the Twin Cities, I'll mention Barley John's in New Brighton (or Arden Hills?)..they have a pretty good Belgian they are currently offering, Big Nick, very tasty.

[davesarman]

Originally posted by badgerbars
Had a full pint of their Scotch Ale and that was great.

Town Hall's Scotch Ale is always one of my faves. If their current seasonal doesn't quite float my boat, I always fill my growler with the Scotch.

Originally posted by badgerbars
Nice surroundings, great backbar. I'll go out of my way to make a return trip.

Glad to hear that. I love the bar and the atmosphere of the place. If you're going to a game at the dome, park in the ramp next to Town Hall and walk. It's much cheaper parking, only a 10 minute walk, plus the best beer in the cities!

Originally posted by badgerbars
Also in the Twin Cities, I'll mention Barley John's in New Brighton

I like Barley John's as well. However, since I live in the SW metro, they are about the farthest (furthest?) brewpub from where I live. I usually make it once a year on the "I Love Beer" Pubcrawl held each spring, usually in April.