Thomas Hardy's Ale (2003 - 2008)
Hanlons Brewery in Exeter, Devon, England 🏴
Traditional Beer - Old Ale Regular Out of Production|
Score
7.93
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Scarce, subtle and complex, Thomas Hardy’s Ale is the beer enthusiast’s equivalent of rare cognac. Bottle-conditioned to mature in the bottle like fine wine, this old ale/barley wine will improve with age for at least 26 years (and we’re still counting!). Not for the faint of palate, especially when young and brash, maturity brings an elegance of flavors unmatched by any other beer—if you have the patience to cellar it for at least a decade.
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8.1/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Bottle. Creamy off-white good mostly lasting head. Amber colour. Heavy malty and moderate hoppy aroma. Very vinius. Perfect sweet/biter flavor balance. NIce honey notes. Long fantastic finish. Creamy palate. Excellent BW.
Tried
from Bottle
on 22 Mar 2010
at 08:32
8.3/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
2006 version, from the cask at the Rake, August 2007. Deep amber color. No head. No bubbles. Rich fruit and malt aroma, sweet and port-like with molasses. Tangy, sour, fruity flavor. Tons of malt, lots of alcohol. Sweet, with dark fruits. Hot, dry alcohol and fruit finish. A bit too young, but great.
Tried
from Cask
on 19 Mar 2010
at 18:45
8/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 9
Bottles shared thx to gnoff cons 2011-02-26 Göteborg AR: essence of barly wine, alcoholic, tart AP: dark reddish, wee white head F: vinos, marsipan, sweet slippery, nutty - almond, warming 4,0* new everage 4,1 Provdatum: 2008-12-06 , flaska, Göteborg - 2008 edition No T 34393. Komplex, stor kropp som flytande fudge över tungan, oljig konsistens. Man kanske skulle ha köpte ett par stycken och druckigt en i halvåret? Nej, jag har inte nått den öl expertisen nivån ännu. Anteckningar: Sheila tog till och med slatten. Det brukar jag också göra - oftast helt OK att förtära speciellt om man tittar till priset på denna ädla 25åring... Tur att det är billigare än motsvarnde Wiskey. Fantastisk! 2007 edition! Provdatum: 2008-01-03
Tried
from Bottle
on 05 Mar 2010
at 05:53
7.9/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 8.5
Vintage 2004, # P 05428, Drank 01/23/2010. Deep brown with a dark head. Sweet malts, dark fruits, light alcohol, some sourness. toast in the aroma. Medium bodies. Lovely flavor. Sweet, bready, deep, ripe fruit, malty. Sweet malt finish with a nice warm alcohol, as well. I really do like this one, but I think it’s a bit young still. Wish I could have kept it around for another five years or so.
Tried
on 23 Jan 2010
at 04:23
8/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 9
25cl Bottle from De Bierkoning. Although I paid a premium price for this stuff I didn’t have high expectations, perhaps because I’m not too fond of Barley Wines. But this stuff was goooood. Poured a hazy deep reddish amber-brown, thin off white head. Aroma of loads of sweet malts, dried fruits. Flavour is sweet, very sweet actually, but so smooth and syrupy that it doesn’t become cloying, very malty, fruity, with a very good and especially firm hoppy bitter finish that balances the beer beautifully. Fullbodied. Lovely beer.
Tried
from Bottle
on 16 Jan 2010
at 17:03
7.4/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
2007 bottle number 63512. Reddish amber in colour with no head. Aroma of caramel, marmite, red fruits and prominent alcohol. Flavours of yeast, toffee, nuts and dates. Finsih was dry and bitter with plenty of warming alcohol - too much for me. Very good nonetheless.
Tried
from Bottle
on 03 Jan 2010
at 13:04
7.6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
1/12 A 0.25l bottle, vintage 2008, purchased at beer8 shop, Genoa. Yeah cute, my first barley wine. It poured murky brownish body without head. Very aromatic in quite nice malty way. There are some caramel, dried fruits, touch of sugar and alcohol. Flavor is malty again, caramel, chocolate, licorice, dried fruits, quite similar to some stronger drinks like brandy or sherry. Notes of oak barrels. Alcoholic of course, with medium to fuller body and very low carbonation. Nice long, sweetish and warming finish. This was strange, different than any other style I’ve tried, very alcoholic but still very nice and pleasant dessert drink.
Tried
from Bottle
on 25 Dec 2009
at 06:44
9.3/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 9
Flavor 9
Texture 10
Overall 9
2008 bottle poured by Glenn at Alvinne. Copper colored with slight white head and incredible lacing. Caramel and malt aroma. The taste is all about the malt. Buttery, toffee flavors with lots of caramel. Nice body, as expected from a barley wine. Take it slowly, and this one goes down pretty nicely indeed.
Tried
from Bottle
on 23 Dec 2009
at 09:13
8.5/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 10
Overall 9
25cl bottle, Kaisla, vintage 2006, #33147. Pours mahogany with no head what so ever. The aroma is complex, raisins, plums, alcohol. Flavour is outstanding, raisins,dark fruits and spices. Alcohol can be felt when taking the first sips, but is not at all disturbing. Full body, with an oily mouthfeel. The one thing that immediately came to my mind when taking the first sip was the wine Commandaria, that is made in Cyprus. It has very much the same taste and aroma. Minus the sweetness. I am not that fond of beers with abv over 10%, But this one really stands out, will definitely try another bottle some day.
Tried
from Bottle
on 10 Dec 2009
at 04:12
7.5/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Bottle no. 03076 from the 2008 vintage, purchased at the beer8 in Genoa and shared with heavy Aww, heavy’s first BW, cute :p. Poured a murky dark red-orange body with no head. Dry malty nose, strong notes of dried figs, sweetish, notes of caramel too. The taste is, as expected, sweet and malty again, ending with a dry woody wall, with some bitterish notes. Coffee could be felt earlier on too. Light notes of toffee and something else (damn my handwriting). Complex and nice. Slighty saly at times. Very nice.
Tried
from Bottle
on 01 Dec 2009
at 18:04