Vintage Ale 1998
Fuller's Brewery in London, Greater London, England 🏴
Traditional Beer - Old Ale Regular Out of Production|
Score
7.41
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The second in the series, this Vintage Ale was based on a Champion theme with the addition of Champion Alexis malt and Champion Northdown aroma hops. The result is a sweet, warming, creamy ale that is beautifully balanced.
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7.4/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Bottled #6843@Akkurat
Ruby red color, steady beige head. Light nose with plums, "Fullers licorice" and nuts. Much less intensive than 1997 vintage (which was sampled just before this). Sweetness, licorice, some late hoppyness. Nice rounded, liquerish mouthfeel.
Ruby red color, steady beige head. Light nose with plums, "Fullers licorice" and nuts. Much less intensive than 1997 vintage (which was sampled just before this). Sweetness, licorice, some late hoppyness. Nice rounded, liquerish mouthfeel.
Tried
from Bottle
on 07 Oct 2007
at 09:52
8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Bottled@Akkurat, Stockholm. Deep ruby red colour, mediumsized beige head. Aroma is vanilla, caramel malts, some hops and wood. Flavour is plum, sraisins, alcohol with some vanillaish notes in the background. Flavour is much more plum, alcohol and wooden than the 97 vintage.
Tried
from Bottle
on 02 Oct 2007
at 23:29
7.9/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Bottle shared at BCTC on Saturday night, 7/21/07
Another fine appearance, I’m tempted to give it a 5, and probably should. Maybe I will come back and change that. I’ll have to have it again. What’s in an appearance score, anyways? Medium-sized light light beige head fades to strong cover with ample lacing. Clear, copper-garnet color, still plentiful carbonation.
Ahh, much better than the 97, with less massive sweetness and more complexity. Seems like it’s closer to the 1999, though it dosent have the ester profile and light tartness of that one. This one seems more toasted and woody, with some earthy, almost scratchy malts that carve out a path for the sweet, residual sugars to slide delicately down the back of the throat. Or not so delicately, actually, as they are in quite high number by the end of the glass. But the somewhat papery oxidation notes, which were surprisingly more prevalent here than in the 97, and earthy, yeast notes give some balance, if somewhat blandly.
More straightforward cherry, date, peach and vanilla without the spiciness of the hops that you can find when these are still young. It’s been so long since I’ve had the 99, I’ll have to revisit and see if it’s as good as I remember, because I dont remember it being this sweet and, rather, simple. Still, a delightful after-dinner cordial (almost) and like Glouglouburp says, somewhat of a barleywine. Regardless, you can’t deny this stuff is incredibly well-malted. I’d like to see a stronger yeast signature out of it, but then, even Fullers’ well-attenuated, fresh cask ales do not have much house character. The woodiness and toastiness is nice though. Thanks to Ebay for the bottles (which I got a LONG time ago).
Another fine appearance, I’m tempted to give it a 5, and probably should. Maybe I will come back and change that. I’ll have to have it again. What’s in an appearance score, anyways? Medium-sized light light beige head fades to strong cover with ample lacing. Clear, copper-garnet color, still plentiful carbonation.
Ahh, much better than the 97, with less massive sweetness and more complexity. Seems like it’s closer to the 1999, though it dosent have the ester profile and light tartness of that one. This one seems more toasted and woody, with some earthy, almost scratchy malts that carve out a path for the sweet, residual sugars to slide delicately down the back of the throat. Or not so delicately, actually, as they are in quite high number by the end of the glass. But the somewhat papery oxidation notes, which were surprisingly more prevalent here than in the 97, and earthy, yeast notes give some balance, if somewhat blandly.
More straightforward cherry, date, peach and vanilla without the spiciness of the hops that you can find when these are still young. It’s been so long since I’ve had the 99, I’ll have to revisit and see if it’s as good as I remember, because I dont remember it being this sweet and, rather, simple. Still, a delightful after-dinner cordial (almost) and like Glouglouburp says, somewhat of a barleywine. Regardless, you can’t deny this stuff is incredibly well-malted. I’d like to see a stronger yeast signature out of it, but then, even Fullers’ well-attenuated, fresh cask ales do not have much house character. The woodiness and toastiness is nice though. Thanks to Ebay for the bottles (which I got a LONG time ago).
Tried
from Bottle
on 24 Aug 2007
at 16:25
8.6/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 9
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Akkurat, Stockholm; 7 years old
Beautiful dark amber color; creamy head. The aroma is malty, with caramel, sweet nuts, almonds, a hint of alcohol. Powerful mouthfeel, the fermentation has accomplished an excellent balance (malt, sweetness, bitterness, caramel, alcohol). Strong caramel-bitter final. No signs of age…
Beautiful dark amber color; creamy head. The aroma is malty, with caramel, sweet nuts, almonds, a hint of alcohol. Powerful mouthfeel, the fermentation has accomplished an excellent balance (malt, sweetness, bitterness, caramel, alcohol). Strong caramel-bitter final. No signs of age…
Tried
on 20 Mar 2006
at 03:45
7.2/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 8
[Sampled 2004 - 6 years old] A hazy deep red beer with a small disappearing head. The aroma is sweet with notes of caramel and malt. The flavor is of burning alcohol combined with a little sweet malt and toffee.
Tried
on 14 Dec 2004
at 19:07
7.2/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
Bottle #33695
Hazy burgundy coloured body with a dense tan head. Aroma of pit fruit, light caramel and malt. Full-bodied; Super sweet taste of caster sugar, pit fruit, caramel, toffee and cherries. Aftertaste shows pungent sugars and a good toffee overture. Overall, a nice treat to sample. Many thanks go out to Phil (Haddon90) for finding this and picking this up at the bar! I sampled this 500 mL bottle at Toronado in San Francisco, California on the second day of 10-June-2004...our first was spent in Sydney, Australia.
Hazy burgundy coloured body with a dense tan head. Aroma of pit fruit, light caramel and malt. Full-bodied; Super sweet taste of caster sugar, pit fruit, caramel, toffee and cherries. Aftertaste shows pungent sugars and a good toffee overture. Overall, a nice treat to sample. Many thanks go out to Phil (Haddon90) for finding this and picking this up at the bar! I sampled this 500 mL bottle at Toronado in San Francisco, California on the second day of 10-June-2004...our first was spent in Sydney, Australia.
Tried
from Bottle
on 18 Oct 2004
at 22:27
8.8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 10
Overall 9
Bottle – drank in 2004 – Poured a hazy medium brown colored beer with an above average foamy off-white head. Aroma is a mix of plums, dried raisins with strong malt. Taste is absolutely wonderful, like a mix between a English strong ale, a barley wine and even an old ale. The plums, dried raisins and post-like taste make this one of the best dessert beer I ever had. Alcohol is very subtle and body is quite strong. What also surprised me was the fact that even 8 years after being brewed, it still had great carbonation. Too bad I don’t have another bottle because I believe this could be cellared for a couple more years and still be great. This one is by far the best beer by Fullers and probably one of the best English beers I had the chance to try.
Tried
from Bottle
on 18 Oct 2004
at 08:45
7/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 7
Sampled at the RBESP 2004
Aroma has raisins, oranges, chocolate, a bit roast and noticable alcohol Cloudy amber, low creamy head. Quite spicy, wood, cognac roast, a bit chocolate , alcohol burn. Oily mouthfeel, low carbonation. Not that harmonic overall.
Aroma has raisins, oranges, chocolate, a bit roast and noticable alcohol Cloudy amber, low creamy head. Quite spicy, wood, cognac roast, a bit chocolate , alcohol burn. Oily mouthfeel, low carbonation. Not that harmonic overall.
Tried
on 09 Sep 2004
at 15:21
6.6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 4
Overall 6.5
Bottled. Clear dark amber. Very sweet and really toffeeish. Caramelly and overly sugary. Mature salty finish with sugar and hoppy bitterness. Some beautiful flavours lures beneath the sea of sweetness.
Tried
from Bottle
on 28 Jul 2004
at 10:05