Gale's Prize Old Ale
(has 2 batches)

Bottle at Craig’s. Pours ruby, nose is oxidised sherry, caramel, taste is cherry, sour, fruity, sweet.

500ml bottle from Alko Arkadia

2011 vintage - Pours dark brown with a bubbly white head. Aroma of sweet syrup, malts, hints of ripe fruits, caramel and toffee. Taste is sweet, sugary and malty with notes of alcohol, hints of ripe fruits, raisins, caramel and toffee. Finish is smooth, sweet and malty with notes of syrup. Quite balanced, but a bit too sweet old ale.

500 ml bottle, vintage 2007. Murky brown body with practically no head. Aroma of caramel malt and dry fruit. Flavor is sweet malty, caramel, dry fruit, warming alcohol, vinous and moderate bitterness. Fine body and long, sweet malty aftertaste. Nice.

500 ml bottle into snifter, 2007 vintage best before 12/18/2010. Pours extremely hazy dark reddish brown color with a small foamy light khaki head with decent retention, that reduces to a spotty foamy cap that lingers. Spotty foamy lacing clings on the glass. Aromas of huge prune, raisin, fig, toast, red wine, molasses, caramel, chocolate, bread, earth, tobacco, and light herbal. Pretty nice aromas with good complexity and balance. Taste of raisin, cherry, prune, red wine, toast, molasses, caramel, roasted malt, chocolate, earth, tobacco, wood, light cardboard, and herbal. Moderate wine-like earthy tartness on the finish; with lingering notes of dark fruit, toast, roasted malt, chocolate, earth, tobacco, cardboard, and herbal earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Pretty nice flavor balance with good complexity; fair amount of oxidation noticed; slight cloying flavors noticed after the finish. Light carbonation and medium-full bodied; with a creamy, slick, syrupy, and lightly chalky mouthfeel that is decent. Alcohol is fairly well hidden with only a small warming noticed after the finish. Overall this is a pretty solid old ale. Some good flavor complexity with decent balance; though a bit cloying, it was quite smooth to sip on. This was fairly enjoyable.

Flaske innkjøpt hos Høkeren, København feb-11: et flott eksempel på en nesten utdøende stilart, engelsk old ale. Nesten vinøs i smaken. Synd at det var den siste flasken.

500 ml bottle courtesy of Victor (non-RB). Pours deep amber with a small reddish brownish white head that quickly dissipates without leaving any trace on the glass. Smell is sweet and fruity with dark grapes, wood, caramelized sugar, overripe plums, dark bread, alcohol and mandarin oranges. Taste is sweet, tiny bitter, slightly sour, fruity and malty with dark bread, plums, dark grapes, hay, overripe oranges, burnt sugar and hints of vinegar. Mouthfeel is round, vinous, tiny tart, tiny dry and medium bodied. Finish is tiny sweet, slightly sour and fruity with dark grapes,mplums,d ark bread, vinegar, wood and hints of grass and oranges. 

2010-02-21, pint-sized cap bottle, from Fuller’s this time, vintage 2007, 2 years old, 6-4-7-3-12=32
Dark brown color, smallest head. Sourish caramel aroma, feet, alcohol. Correct body strength, dark caramel flavor, light puke sourness, quite strong bitterness in the end. I don’t like the light presence of roasted malt, the puke character and the bitterness. Disappointed.

Bottle 500ml.Clear medium amber - red brown colour with a small to average, frothy, fair lacing, mostly diminishing, off-white head. Aroma is moderate to heavy malty, caramel, roasted, oxidide. Flavour is moderate to heavy sweet, light to moderate acidic and light moderate bitter with a long duration, tart, berries, dark malt, dried fruit, overiped fruit. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is soft. [20120320]