Thomas Hardy's Ale (2018) - Golden Edition 50th Anniversary
(Batch of Thomas Hardy's Ale (2018-2022))
Interbrau in Villafranca Padovana (PD), Veneto, Italy 🇮🇹
Brewed at/by: MeantimeBarley Wine - Barley Special Out of Production
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Score
7.51
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Amber coloured Barley Wine laden with bronze glints.
On the nose, straight away the bouquet has impact, intensity and complexity with notes of both candied and alcohol-soaked fruit, dried figs, fresh tobacco and chocolate, while a caramel sensation is perceived but remains in the background.
In the mouth, the initial sensation is of incredible density and softness, a silky warmth accompanying memories of bitter orange marmalade, dried fruit and chestnut honey. The finale provides a refreshing, slightly sharp hint that adds harmony and balance.
The vintage 2018 Golden Edition celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Thomas Hardy’s Ale, first produced in 1968.
Ingredients: Warminster Marris Otter and Light Crystal malts. Fuggle and Golding hops. Top fermenting yeasts.
On the nose, straight away the bouquet has impact, intensity and complexity with notes of both candied and alcohol-soaked fruit, dried figs, fresh tobacco and chocolate, while a caramel sensation is perceived but remains in the background.
In the mouth, the initial sensation is of incredible density and softness, a silky warmth accompanying memories of bitter orange marmalade, dried fruit and chestnut honey. The finale provides a refreshing, slightly sharp hint that adds harmony and balance.
The vintage 2018 Golden Edition celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Thomas Hardy’s Ale, first produced in 1968.
Ingredients: Warminster Marris Otter and Light Crystal malts. Fuggle and Golding hops. Top fermenting yeasts.
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8/10
30-11-21 // this can age for a while.
Tried
from Bottle
on 04 Dec 2021
at 12:02
7.9/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Bottle #41675 imported from the continent. The aroma is rich and unctuous, oily, sticky, fudgey, dried fruits, raisin, sultana, candied peel, marzipan, panettone, fruit cake, oak, spice and leather. The taste is slick, oily, unctuous, sticky, bitter - sweet, pleasing alcohol warmth, raisin, sultana, candied peel, toffee, fudge, nutty, panettone, fruit cake, oak, leather, toothy, spice, earth and light tannin with a drying, warming finish. Fulsome body, fine carbonation and thick, oily mouth - feel. Coats the mouth. A really nice traditional style barley wine. Drinks very well.
Tried
from Bottle
on 03 Oct 2021
at 13:05
7.4/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
Red brown with a trace soapy head. Malty & sweet with toasted caramel, molasses, ripe fruit, leather and dough. Long finish. Full bodied but undercarbonated.
Tried
on 30 May 2021
at 02:18
7.5/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
33 cl bottle @ home. BBE 19.09.2027. Bottle# 22854 of vintage 2018. Vertical with O’Hanlon’s version from 2008 (#06021) to celebrate my 40th birthday and 10000 ratings! Aroma is surprisingly mild with ripe fruits and sweet raisiny tones. Almost no carbonation at all. Flavour has ripe fruits and raisins. Finishes with warming alcohol and sugary licorice. Quite nice slow sipper.
Tried
from Bottle
on 06 Apr 2021
at 12:11
8.1/10
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Appearance 2
Aroma 10
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Smell of raisins. Brown colour, negligible head. Aroma of toffee, syrup, dried fruit, marmalade, other sweet flavours. Super sweet. Viscous, heavy texture and body. Finishes with overripe fruit and plums. Intense flavours. Very nice barley wine.
Tried
on 27 Mar 2021
at 22:20
8.8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 10
Overall 9
This is the English version from Meantime. Muddy brown pour, a few bubbles. Malty, woody aroma, alcohol. Taste reveals a hint of sweet malts before giving over to the dry, nutty, woody flavors, and ending with a fair amount of alcohol warmth. Beer worthy of my 60th birthday.
Tried
on 07 Dec 2020
at 02:46
7.2/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 8
Bottle. Copper color. Vinous aroma. Malt, hints of oak and caramel. Plums. Malty sweet, caramelly flavor. Slightly alcoholic with plums. No carbon. Some remaining grassy hops. Well matured British barley wine.
Tried
from Bottle
on 21 Aug 2020
at 22:19
7.6/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7.5
Flavor 8
Texture 7
Overall 7.5
Fast gone yellowish head; copperish brown beer, faintly hazed and big-bubbled. Sweet caramel, toffee, lot sweet malts; smelling of alcohol and fusels. Sweet, caramelly, toffee, X-mas cake (with crème Anglaise). Warming up gets a liquorice/drop flavour, and a sharper bitterish note. Oily feel, alcoholheat, not very carbonated. 2 tasters agree; Meantim is doing a fair job, but just cannot reproduce Eldridge Pope, and O'Hanlons was also more to the point.
Tried
from Bottle
at
Siris Pop Up Bar
on 22 Jun 2020
at 08:37
7.4/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
330 ml bottle, as Thomas Hardy's Ale Golden Edition 50th Anniversary, Vintage 2018, bottle No. 01037, from Bestofbeers, Denmark. ABV is 13%. Hazy reddish brown colour, minimal and shortlived of-white to beige head. Low carbonation. Aroma of malts, molasses, tobacco, oak and caramel, hints of dark dried fruits. Moderately sweet flavour with the same elements, distinct oak and tobacco, moderate hops. Warming mouthfeel.
Tried
from Bottle
on 14 Feb 2020
at 00:20
6.9/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
Bottled. Deep burgundy colour, small head, low carbonation. Caramelly nose with prunes and pine needles. Sweet with full body and dense, rounded mouthfeel. Caramel and madeira, pine needles and dates. Warming finish with resinous bitterness. Still young and somewhat raw.
Tried
from Bottle
on 13 Feb 2020
at 22:22