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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8/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 9
Brown bottle, 250 ml, No. T 25772, best before 31/12/2016, purchased at the LCBO, savoured on January 15 2009; eye: dark caramel, opaque, suspended matter, tiny ring of beige head, light lacing; nose: port, candied fruits, liquorice, molasses, brown sugar, light soy sauce, fruity; mouth: port, candied fruits, molasses, alcohol, caramel, brown sugar, light soy sauce, fruity, rather dry finale in malt with a good presence of alcohol and of bittering hops, good astringency, syrupy, rich, lightly salty, mildly bitter and sweet, medium-full body, not much carbonation; overall: quite good FRANÇAIS Bouteille brune, 250 ml, No. T 25772, meilleure avant 31/12/2016, achetée à la LCBO, savourée le 14 janvier 2009; œil : caramel foncé, opaque, matière en suspension, petit anneau de mousse beige, légère dentelle nez : porto, fruits confits, réglisse, mélasse, cassonade, léger sauce soya, fruitée; bouche : porto, fruits confits, mélasse, alcool, caramel, cassonade, léger sauce soya, fruitée, finale plutôt sèche en malt avec une bonne présence d’alcool et de houblon amérisant, bonne astringence, sirupeuse, riche, légèrement salée, moyennement amère et sucrée, corps moyen-corsé, peu carbonatée; en résumé : très bonne
Tried
from Bottle
on 15 Jan 2009
at 16:13
6.8/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 8
2008 bottle sampled jan.13.2009. Pours a clear brown. small thick brown head. aroma of caramel, sweetness, lagered beer. flavor of caramel, sweetness, alc is well hidden, faint hops, aftertaste is well rounded, slight vinous tnes which suits the beer well.
Tried
from Bottle
on 10 Jan 2009
at 20:22
9.8/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 10
Flavor 10
Texture 8
Overall 10
[Vintage 2008] Very rich aroma with rasins, burnt sugar and herbs. The color is nice, ruby red with little head. Sweet taste of rasins, caramell and a bitter sweet aftertaste.
Tried
on 29 Dec 2008
at 17:07
8.5/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 9
2005 ambrata appena aperta una lieve gasatura poi piatta il nasop è ossidato dolciastro malto un lieve caccao in bocca le ossaidazione fanno dda padrone po malto il finale è ben luppolato niota di cioccoato
Tried
on 29 Dec 2008
at 10:02
5.1/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 5
Flavor 5
Texture 4
Overall 4.5
Bottle. Beautiful red-brown colour. Smells burnt, lots of alcohol and some bad chemical tones. Fruity taste. Too much alcohol. Sticky chemical aftertaste. I remember this one a lot better. I will put the other bottles i have in the cellar.
Tried
from Bottle
on 15 Dec 2008
at 15:29
6.4/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 8
Overall 6.5
2008 Bottle from Systembolaget. It pours dark red with a tiny head which looks like wash detergent foam. Smells a lot like sparkling wine with some grapefruit notes. Surprisingly easy to drink. Ill cellar some and look forward to taste them in a few years!
Tried
from Bottle
on 07 Dec 2008
at 14:23
8.6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
2006 edition:
Appearance: Red-brown. Seems cloudy. Little head. Aroma: Very, very fruity. Malty. Taste: Very fruity, vinous. Raisins. Doesn’t taste that strong. Info: 250ml bottle, 13/5-2006, 112/300, 71/500
2007 edition:
Appearance: Dark chestnut brown. Very little head. Bottle No. Q 00065. Aroma: Dark fruit, very vinous. Prunes. Taste: Very vinous, a bit too flat. Not handled the storage well? Info: 250ml bottle, 30/12-2008
2008 edition:
Appearance: Dark chestnut brown. Cloudy. Nice amount of tan head. Bottle No. T 12353. Aroma: Dark fruit, little bit vinous. Taste: Complex. Dark fruit and malt. Warming. Longlasting aftertaste. Info: 250ml bottle, 30/12-2008
Appearance: Red-brown. Seems cloudy. Little head. Aroma: Very, very fruity. Malty. Taste: Very fruity, vinous. Raisins. Doesn’t taste that strong. Info: 250ml bottle, 13/5-2006, 112/300, 71/500
2007 edition:
Appearance: Dark chestnut brown. Very little head. Bottle No. Q 00065. Aroma: Dark fruit, very vinous. Prunes. Taste: Very vinous, a bit too flat. Not handled the storage well? Info: 250ml bottle, 30/12-2008
2008 edition:
Appearance: Dark chestnut brown. Cloudy. Nice amount of tan head. Bottle No. T 12353. Aroma: Dark fruit, little bit vinous. Taste: Complex. Dark fruit and malt. Warming. Longlasting aftertaste. Info: 250ml bottle, 30/12-2008
Tried
from Bottle
on 27 Jun 2008
at 15:21
7.4/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
[i] [b] Bottle picked up at Thame, Waitrose, Oxon consumed 19-06-08 [/i] [/b] Amazed that I hadn’t got around to rating this yet as have had a few times, this bottle was 2007 version I’ve left my 2005 to sit awhile yet. Pours mid brown with just a hint of red shining through. Sweet fruity alcohol laden nose with some crushed nuts thrown into the mix, almond maybe? Plenty of fruitiness and sweetness skip about and the alcohol is a constant reminder not to rattle this down to briskly and whilst theres an awful lot going on here at just a year old it does taste quite bright and fresh and one wonders whether this is still a little young yet to really show its true colours.
Tried
from Bottle
on 21 Jun 2008
at 03:00
7.9/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Vintage 2005. Pours reddish brown with no head whatsoever. Strong aromas of sweet malts and alcohol. Flavors of darkfruits, raisins and figs. Tastes like port wine. No carbonation at all. It’s surprising that there is no alcohol taste because it was evident in the aroma. Full body with a syrupy mouthfeel. Very different, very interesting. A great sipper. I have 4 more bottles of this vintage in my cellar. Can’t wait to try one with some more age on it.
Tried
from Bottle
on 14 May 2008
at 08:48
7.4/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Dark-red brown colour, almost no head. Aroma is of port wine and malts. Flavour is very sweet, of port and fruits. Very smooth beer.
Tried
on 09 May 2008
at 05:22