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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8.8/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 9
Flavor 8
Texture 10
Overall 8
6th August 2008.
A 2008 vintage. Rich delicious malt. Some porty and brandy tones. Sumptuos. Liked this young version much much more than all the older vintages I’ve tasted which seem to be marmite bombs regardless of which year or even decade they come from! 3.7.
2nd December 2010
A 2004 vintage courtesy of Keen. Cheers Mate! Clear amber beer, no head. Sweet sherry and port, dried fruits and a little caramel. All really well joined up. Delicious!
A 2008 vintage. Rich delicious malt. Some porty and brandy tones. Sumptuos. Liked this young version much much more than all the older vintages I’ve tasted which seem to be marmite bombs regardless of which year or even decade they come from! 3.7.
2nd December 2010
A 2004 vintage courtesy of Keen. Cheers Mate! Clear amber beer, no head. Sweet sherry and port, dried fruits and a little caramel. All really well joined up. Delicious!
Tried
on 29 Nov 2009
at 12:46
8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
2007 Bottle - thanks oteyj. Light mahoghany pour with a thin beige head. Rich aroma of citrus and fruits, perhaps some grape? Sweet candied sugar and more citrus. The taste is so smooth and balanced, nothing jumps out right away. A huge, thick and creamy body. Faded hops, citrus, light florals, and more candied sugar. Just blended so well. Very nice.
Tried
from Bottle
on 28 Oct 2009
at 11:18
7.4/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Bottle 2004 vintage. Hazy deep brown pour with small head. Sweet, dark fruit, boozy aroma. Tastes very sweet, dark fruits, malty, heavy, caramel, banana. A quality port like brew. This bottle seemed incredibly sweet too me.
Tried
from Bottle
on 23 Oct 2009
at 01:13
7.5/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 8
Brownish color, no foam. The beer is very balanced, I hardly noticed the high alcohol content. (11,7%) Smells malty, caramel, fruit and a bit burnt. The flavor is very sweet, toffee and chocolate. Port wine sense. Bitterness is nice. The body feels great, got a bit "oily" feeling in the mouth when I drank the beer.
Tried
on 07 Oct 2009
at 01:21
7.9/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
(2006 vintage at Kuikka, Helsinki, on 2009-09-05) Red wine colour and clear. Hardly any head. Raisin, sweetness and malts in aroma. Full bodied and dryish palate with medium carbonation. Malts, rasin, sweetness, lightly roastedness, dried plum, chcolate and bitterness in taste. Sweet and malty aftertaste. Really enjoyable. Thanks FatPhil for hint of this beer’s availability.
Tried
on 06 Sep 2009
at 02:36
7/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
(2004 bottle) Deep brown with a ruby hint and no head. Intense aroma - toffee and raisins but with some funky, leathery, resiny notes too - striking, but not entirely pleasant. The mouthfeel is thick, syrupy, even oily with the slightest hint of carbonation. The flavour is intense, dominated by sweet caramelly molasses with several other tastes including raisins, spices and of course alcohol. There is also something fairly subtle that reminds me of marmite / vegimite. There is some bitterness in the finish. Overall this is an extraordinary beer, but not one for every day. It can initially be quite confronting, but it steadily grows on you. (Thought this was a good beer for my 200th rating on Ratebeer. Soon to do a side by side taste test with a bottle I have kept for 26 years...)
Tried
from Bottle
on 09 May 2009
at 10:19
8.4/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 10
Overall 8.5
2007 vintage, thanks SHIG for sharing, pours still orange/red. Honey and flowery aroma. Sweet cloved honey, more alcohol and malt going on. Great with only 2 years on it.
Tried
on 28 Feb 2009
at 03:19
8.6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Bottle, Rainhall Drinks, Barnoldswick. 2008 edition. How on earth did I let this wee gem slip through the net ? What a cracker. Poured a deep mahogany colour, with a fading tan head. Superb aroma. Caramel malts, a plethora of fruits, booze, vanilla, leather, cherry, molasses, something new revealed itself with every sniff. Rich, creamy mouthfeel. Slightly sweet, but never cloying. Flavour was malt heavy, with dark sweet fruit, brown sugar and toffee all blending seamlessly. The abv was supremely well masked. Fnished sweet, but perfectly poised. Got to have more !!
Tried
from Bottle
on 16 Feb 2009
at 09:10
9/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 10
Bottle my #1800 rating: Poured a reddish-orange brown with no head. Aroma is wine, fruit, and malt. Taste has that aged wine to it, but there is soft caramel malts that keep the alcohol at bay. Maybe a strong youngen, but as it was a 2007 its mellow bottle aged effect was tasty.
Tried
from Bottle
on 09 Feb 2009
at 10:59
9/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 9
Texture 10
Overall 9
0.25L bottle, 2006 edition, poured into a riedel sommeliers vintage port glass. hazy brown orangey colour, with no head and just a slight touch of carbonation. First out of the bottle, aroma of honey drops, than amontilado sherry and dried fruits and some whiffs of coffe and smoke. Flavours of dried fruits, nuts and hints of spices , light pleasant sweetness and just a touch of alcohol. long sour oxidated raisin and prune aftertaste, creamy velvety texture. Already extremely complex, but should benefit from a long cellaring, (which is exactly what i intend to do to a few more bottles) which should make it even more complex. Wanted to write a long thesis to describe what a wonderfull desert drink this is, but than i decided to limit myself to two words: wonderfull and amazing.
Tried
from Bottle
on 24 Jan 2009
at 15:20