Thomas Hardy's Ale (2003 - 2008)
Hanlons Brewery in Exeter, Devon, England 🏴
Traditional Beer - Old Ale Regular Out of Production|
Score
7.93
|
|
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.
Sign up to add a tick or review
9/10
Tried
on 31 Aug 2015
at 14:47
9/10
Tried
on 31 Aug 2015
at 14:47
6.8/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 7
2005 vintage @ Shrewsbury Bottle Share, Aug 15. Many thanks to Mike for this rare beast. Aged for 10 years undisturbed in a dusty cellar. Musky vinous old-ale aroma. Cobweb, port and molasses in the taste. Extremely rich, thick and boozy.
Tried
from Bottle
on 25 Aug 2015
at 15:16
6.9/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 6.5
Lovely clear amber color with no head at all. Rich nice and complex aroma. Dried fruits, figs and toffee. Thick oily body. A bit sweet, but not cloying. Warming alcohol in the end. Smooth and complex flavor. Dried fruits, some vanilla, figs, raisins, sherry and toffee. Nice evening sipper.
[Bottle (2006 - No. P 34905) from a trade with Meilby]
English county #43
[Bottle (2006 - No. P 34905) from a trade with Meilby]
English county #43
Tried
from Bottle
on 25 Apr 2015
at 14:29
8.4/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
2800th review! 8.5 ounce bottle into tulip glass; 2008 vintage, bottle No. T 24099. Pours moderately hazy deep reddish brown color with a small dense light khaki head with good retention, that reduces to a thin lace cap that lingers. Slight spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass. Aromas of big raisin, prune, fig, date, apple, caramel, molasses, toffee, toast, brown sugar, brown bread, tobacco, leather, light chocolate, and herbal/toasted earthiness. Damn nice aromas with good balance and complexity of dark/bready malt, fruitiness, and light earthy hop notes; with good strength. Taste of big raisin, prune, fig, date, apple, caramel, toffee, toast, molasses, brown sugar, brown bread, leather, tobacco, light chocolate, and herbal/toasted earthiness. Light earthy herbal bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of raisin, prune, fig, date, caramel, toffee, toast, molasses, brown sugar, brown bread, leather, tobacco, light chocolate, and herbal/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Fantastic complexity and balance of dark/bready malt, fruitiness, and light earthy hop flavors; with a good malt/bitterness balance and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Light carbonation and very full bodied; with a very smooth, creamy, and moderately slick/bready mouthfeel that is great. Alcohol is very well hidden with only a light warming present after the finish. Overall this is an awesome old ale style! All around great complexity and balance of dark/bready malt, fruitiness, and light earthy hop flavors; and very smooth to sip on for the big ABV. A highly enjoyable offering.
Tried
from Bottle
on 08 Dec 2014
at 18:34
9.4/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 10
Flavor 10
Texture 8
Overall 9.5
2007 vintage, No Q 01527. Dunkler, schwerer Geruch. Toffee, rote, reife Früchte, dunkle Schokolade. Sehr komplex. Der Antrunk bleibt wie der Geruch komplex, leicht scharf. Dabei mild. Im Hauptteil breitet sich eine angenehme alkoholische Note zusammen mit leichter fruchtiger Toffee-Süße aus. Nicht zu aufdringlich-süß. Sehr angenehm. Komplexe Toffee-Trockenpflaumen-Kirsch-Schokoladennote. Der Nachgeschmack ist sehr lang und intensiv. Die Schokolade-Kaffee-Aromen werden im Nachgeschmack stärker. Dazu nochmal eine angenehme leichte Süße.
Tolles komplexes Bier! 14/13/14/14
Tolles komplexes Bier! 14/13/14/14
Tried
on 16 Nov 2014
at 06:29
9.2/10
—
Appearance 10
Aroma 9
Flavor 9
Texture 10
Overall 9
Bottle kindly donated by kaufmanized, many thanks. Vintage 2004. Bottle # 42677. Reddish brown color with minimal white head. Aroma of chocolate, rum, raisins. Sweet taste, caramel, nuts, raisins, cognac, light sourness, dates, figs. Very tasty beer.
Tried
from Bottle
on 27 Aug 2014
at 13:16
7/10
Tried
on 21 Aug 2014
at 22:20
7.8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7
Bottle from 2008. Looks really good. Beer in the glass dark brown, small head. Intense malty aroma with a smokey touch. Starts quite strong, not too malty, light alcoholic burning notes. More and more earthy malty. Finish warming malty, less alcoholic. Nice one!
Tried
from Bottle
on 19 Aug 2014
at 03:58
8.1/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Imported from my RateBeer account as O'Hanlon's Thomas Hardy's Ale (2003 - 2008) (by Hanlon's Brewery):
Aroma: 8/10, Appearance: 3/5, Taste: 9/10, Palate: 4/5, Overall: 17/20, MyTotalScore: 4.1/5
1/VIII/14 - 25cl bottle @ Belgo-Swedish Crazy Summer Trade Tasting - BB: n/a, 2006 vintage, P19960 (2014-867) Thanks to hackobock for sharing the bottle!
Little cloudy deep brown beer, small creamy off-white to beige head, unstable, dissipates quickly. Aroma: sweet, caramel, dried fruits, honey, alcohol, some chocolate, bit oxidized. MF: ok carbon, full body. Taste: milk chocolate, bitter touch, caramel, more chocolate, pretty sweet. Aftertaste: little bitter, lots of chocolate, some honey, bit oxidized, orange peel.
Aroma: 8/10, Appearance: 3/5, Taste: 9/10, Palate: 4/5, Overall: 17/20, MyTotalScore: 4.1/5
1/VIII/14 - 25cl bottle @ Belgo-Swedish Crazy Summer Trade Tasting - BB: n/a, 2006 vintage, P19960 (2014-867) Thanks to hackobock for sharing the bottle!
Little cloudy deep brown beer, small creamy off-white to beige head, unstable, dissipates quickly. Aroma: sweet, caramel, dried fruits, honey, alcohol, some chocolate, bit oxidized. MF: ok carbon, full body. Taste: milk chocolate, bitter touch, caramel, more chocolate, pretty sweet. Aftertaste: little bitter, lots of chocolate, some honey, bit oxidized, orange peel.
Tried
from Bottle
on 01 Aug 2014
at 12:14