Williams Brothers Brewing Company / Heather Ale Ltd.

New Alloa Brewery, Kelliebank, Alloa FK10 1NT

Phone: (0) 1259 725511

Website: www.williamsbrosbrew.com

Williams Brothers Brewing started life as the Heather Ale Company, started in 1992 by brothers Bruce and Scott Williams, to brew and market their unique ale, Fraoch, brewed with heather. The story of Heather Ale Company begins in 1986 at Glasgow's homebrew shop in the West End owned by Bruce Williams. Bruce was given a recipe for a heather ale that had originated from an islander's family recipe written in Gaelic. After a number of tweaks to the recipe, today's Fraoch was born and first brewed at the now defunct West Highland Brewery in Argyll. Fraoch was then brewed for a time by the historic Maclay's Brewery of Alloa, sadly now closed. In early 2004 the two brothers purchased the Forth Brewery in Alloa to meet the ever expanding demands for their beers. In addition, the firm has changed the name to Williams Brothers. Bruce has many years experience in the homebrew trade and has served as consultant to a number of Scotland's newer brewing operations.

In search of a brewery of their own, the brothers received help from Historic Scotland to restore some two hundred year old buildings at Craigmill, in Strathaven, and the Craigmill Brewery was born. The Craigmill facility was popular with visitors but the demands of production hastened a move to the much larger former Forth Brewery location in Alloa, a brewery with a long historical tradition. The Craigmill Brewery is now home to Strathaven Ales. The firm purchased the brewery in 2004 and at the same time, changed to the name of Williams Brothers. The brewery now sports a full lineup of fine beers under the William's Brothers name as well as continuing to offer the Historic Ales from Scotland series.

Unlike many of Scotland's more recent breweries, the vast majority of products are produced in bottled format although cask versions are to be found in outlets all over the U.K. Bruce sees the U.S. as an important market for bottled products but Fraoch also sells well in Canada, Germany and France. The company has a unique commitment to producing products based on historical recipes using a high content of indigenous ingredients. This "Historical Ales" line is now supplemented by additional original beers brewed under the Williams Brothers label.

Products:

Williams Brothers Ales

Williams Gold - 3.9% ABV
A golden ale brewed with seven different malts for a refreshing, full bodied finish.
Williams Red - 4.5% ABV
A rich, ruby-colored malty ale with hints of toffee and fruit. Spicy hops give the beer a peppery finish.
Williams Black - 4.2% ABV
Dark and rich, brewed with roasted malts that dominate the flavor of this beer.
Williams IPA - 5.0% ABV
William's Brother India Pale Ale.
Williams 80/- - 4.2% ABV
A traditional Scottish 80/- brewed with emphasis on the maltiness and thus lightly hopped. Fruity character with a toffee-like mouthfeel.
Joker IPA - 4.3% ABV
A premium pale ale with a complex blend of malt and hops. Citrus aroma with a full, bittersweet flavor.
Midnight Sun - 5.6% ABV
A back Porter style beer with Malted Barley, Oats, Roasted Barley and Chocolate Malt. The roast malt character is balanced by a generous hop addition as well as a touch of root ginger.
Good Times - 5.0% ABV
A county pale ale brewed with a flavorful blend of malts, oats, hops, meadowsweet and elderflowers.
Harvest Sun - 3.9% ABV
A golden colored beer with a dry crisp flavor and sweet hop aroma.
Birds & Bees - 5.0% ABV
A bright, golden summer ale brewed with Belgian Pale Malt. Hopped with Cascade and Bobek hops with a late addition of fresh elderflowers and lemon zest.
Seven Giraffes - 5.1% ABV
A moreish beer brewed with seven different malt and a blend of hops from all over the world. Finished with fresh elderflowers and lemon zest for a refreshing and aromatic beer.
Ceilidh - 4.7% ABV
A beer with a crazy blend of U.S. Belgian Pilsener Malt, hops from the Czech Republic, German yeast and Scottish water for a crisp citrusy lager.
Roisin - 4.2% ABV
A pink colored beer brewed with Roisin, a type of tayberry that is a blend of raspberry and blackberry, originally grown in the Tay valley. Flavor of malt and hops with a distinct fruity aroma.

Historical Ales From Scotland Line

Fraoch - 5.0% ABV
Gaelic for "heather", this is Heather Ale's flagship product. It is a light amber colored ale with a full malt character and peaty floral aroma brewed with infused heather flowers.
Alba - 7.5% ABV
A triple style ale inspired by those brought to Scotland by the Vikings. Brewed with sprigs of pine and infused with pickled Scots pine and spruce shoots that obviously leads to a woody finish.
Grozet - 5.0% ABV
A pale golden beer with a fruity wheat flavor and aroma brewed with lager malt, wheat, bog myrtle, hops and meadowsweet and fermented in the secondary with the addition of Scottish gooseberries (Grozet is Scots for "gooseberry").
Ebulum - 6.5% ABV
Inspired by a sixteenth century recipe for elderberry ale and made with roasted oats, barley and wheat boiled with herbs and fermented with the addition of ripe elderberries producing a rich black ale.
Kelpie - 4.4% ABV
A dark ale brewed with organic barley and bladderwrack seaweed giving a rich roasty chocolate flavor and a salty finish.