Subsidiaries
6/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6
Copper/amber color, with some darker shades. Quite clear and no sediment. Decent sized head. Smells clean and muted for an IPA. Some hops present, lots of malt. Begins with a lightly bitter hops flavor, slightly floral, that quickly is overtaken by a big caramel malt flavor. This is a pretty decent malt flavor, quite fresh and very big. Hoping the hops will pick back up, but surprisingly, the beer finishes with a dry buttered-popcorn flavor with some ligering sweetness. This is where it departs from Sam Smith's IPA, which I felt is a better rendition. I want to rate this highly, as it has a great caramel malt feel to it, but where are the hops? I know the IPA has gone through a huge makeover since the original, adding tons more hops, but I have to believe that even the original IPA style, shipped to India, had more hops than this. After drinking a few more of these, the beer gets very boring, and the excessive butter sweet caramel flavor is all I am really tasting. I'm not saying they should turn this into Victory HopDevil, but at least give it a little more hops.
Tried
on 06 Oct 2003
at 12:37
7.6/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Truly a perfect-looking beer, pouring a dark red/brown with an initially thick, creamy head that quickly dissipates. Aroma is biscuity with some earthy hops. The beer itself is one big toasted biscuit, with some caramel and perhaps a hint of dark fruit. Very well-done. I like the Vintage Ale (well, at least the 1999 version I tried), but this is easier drinking with the slight alcohol presence.
Tried
on 26 Sep 2003
at 22:04
7.9/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Bottle #65826
After trying a bottle of the 2000 version that hit the throat like Polish water, I was relieved by the 1999 version's subtlety and complexity. Upon pouring the bottle, I noted a disturbing "whiskey and coke" alcohol aroma. Fortunately, as the beer in the glass settled, notes of toffee, caramel, and toast came to dominate the aroma. The flavor was a sensory pleasure indeed, with caramel, toffee, dark fruit, bread, and cookies combining to lend a very barleywineesque nature to this brew. The cloudy, amber body was nicely balanced, neither too thin nor too thick. An excellent beer to seek out.
After trying a bottle of the 2000 version that hit the throat like Polish water, I was relieved by the 1999 version's subtlety and complexity. Upon pouring the bottle, I noted a disturbing "whiskey and coke" alcohol aroma. Fortunately, as the beer in the glass settled, notes of toffee, caramel, and toast came to dominate the aroma. The flavor was a sensory pleasure indeed, with caramel, toffee, dark fruit, bread, and cookies combining to lend a very barleywineesque nature to this brew. The cloudy, amber body was nicely balanced, neither too thin nor too thick. An excellent beer to seek out.
Tried
from Bottle
on 18 Sep 2003
at 00:12
6.2/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 6
Flavor 5
Texture 6
Overall 6
The aroma is sweet and fruity. The color is a beutiful orange and it has a beutiful head. The flavor starts out is nicely sweet malty with strong notes of honey before the bitterness from the cranberries hits the palate. The sweetness turns a little funny artificial in the end. An OK beer but for the artificial note.
Tried
on 08 Sep 2003
at 11:13
8.5/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 9
Texture 10
Overall 9
Tried this in 2003. Still fairly clear, with more amber hues than brown, tending towards red. Small white head that sticks around for a minute or two. Sediment floating around, but not overly much. Aroma is quite faint upon opening, oak, vanilla, and some sweet malt mainly. Begins with a full, velvety soft, warm texture. Lots of fuggles hops and plenty of barley malt give this a superbly balanced full flavor. Little to no carbonation as the beer warms. As beer began quite cold (way too cold in fact, 50 degrees), there was a huge amount of cherry vanilla flavor that was almost but not quite syrupy. This was actually quite dominant, and I was beginning to get a bit disappointed with the palatte. However, patience paid off (like usual). As the beer warmed, (55-57), there was drastic improvement. A fuzzy alcohol whisky flavor came out towards the finish, with some mild gingerbread in the middle. There was a clear hops presence, though understated. The overly fruity flavors that dominated the palette, now gave way and were restricted to the finish. A moderate acidity grows, that is balanced with the medium caramel malt, again more of a bittersweet than sweet. The palette exploded and was just amazing, but, I ran out of beer. In my overzealous joy to finally try this beer, I could not wait til this beer warmed to 60 degrees before starting it. Fortunately I still drank about a third at the proper temp. I wont make that mistake next time. Give it to me warm. Exquisite and near perfect when at the right temp. Must try again soon and nail down my rating. Overall, I would say this beer has been smoothed out and is less harsh than the 2001. Very similar flavors however. Typical aging results, and hard to say what difference there will be between the two after 2001 has been aged a few more years.
Tried
on 02 Sep 2003
at 15:14
7.4/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
A light shade of copper for the colour with a thin (1 centimetre) tan head. The aroma is pretty nice, with a fairly strong hoppyness. Malt and some grassyness or mustyness is also noticable in the smell. The taste is another winner for Fuller's. Almost spot on for the style, it works out to a hoppy bitterness followed by a subtle maltyness. No other complex flavours are noticed either in the taste or palate, but I don't think it's a reason to complain. A pretty high alchol content for a bitter and it is noticable in the end with the bitterness. Pretty good beer, definately worth trying if you are a fan of the style! I bought this twelve ounce bottle at Whole Foods in Vienna, Virginia.
Tried
from Bottle
on 04 Aug 2003
at 13:24
7.6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Deep chestnust brown with some lighter blonde hues as well as some red tints. Smells of alcohol, pepper and hops. Has a small lacey head of beige/light brown. Begins somewhat sweet and I am thining, lots of fruit, but then out of nowhere, the body shifts gears and towards the finish I am tasting tons of hops. This beer makes the Vintage Ale seem like a unbalanced mess in comparison. This is supremely balanced, very soft and perhaps not as challenging, but magnificently flavored and balanced. Tastes of cherries, oak, and has a nice deep dry hops flavor that comes out. Alcohol flavor is hinted at and by no means dominant. The initial taste has some zesty spices, not heavy, almost tending towards herbal/licorice, but sweeter and more caramel/candied. Well I liked this beer, and it is certainly a nice alternative to the much more stern and alcoholic Vintage ale from Fullers
Tried
from Can
on 01 Aug 2003
at 11:28
8.4/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 9
Texture 10
Overall 8.5
#02224. Had this on June 28, 2003. Amber with some red and gold hues. Very warm tones. a bit of cloudiness. Small beige/butter colored head. Lacing all the way down. Smells fruity, apples, cherries. Then there are some vanilla and almond tones. I smell oak and lots of alcohol, more fruit, though not flowery or citrusy. The aroma screams COMPLEX BEER! Opens up with a powerful flavor. Warm and rich malt flavors arise. Alcohol is present but rounded by malt in the body. Has some raisin and berry flavor. Texture is lush and velvety. Definitely detecting some cherry flavors and a more sweet, almost chewy malt. Fig newtons?? FULL body. Finishes with more alcohol and malt, WONDERFUL TEXTURE. I want to chew this even though it is beer!!! As it warms up to temperatures near 60 degrees, I can find some malt whiskey flavors. The finish has a buttercream toffee appeal with more cherry and almond. This beer is ridiculously complex. I have just finished it, the aftertaste lasts forever, but I am sad and want more. Now I am clearly tasting cookies! I am surprised at this one's lower rating. I do not feel the alcohol dominated. Sure it was certainly there, but keep in mind the style when rating this beer. Alcohol should be apparent and a sweet malt accentuated by alcohol should be apparent. This beer does that very well.
Tried
from Can
on 27 Jul 2003
at 13:43
7.6/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 5
Flavor 8
Texture 10
Overall 7.5
Cask Conditioned
Red-amber color. Light malt aroma, they should work on it...
Great taste, powerful, unexpected; big caramel and malt character, and strong hopping. Strong and long final as well.
Red-amber color. Light malt aroma, they should work on it...
Great taste, powerful, unexpected; big caramel and malt character, and strong hopping. Strong and long final as well.
Tried
from Cask
on 04 Jul 2003
at 00:18
8.6/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 9
Flavor 8
Texture 10
Overall 7.5
Bottle No. 04843
Hazy amber color; creamy head. Beautiful malt aroma, fruity; Porto wine; sweet, fresh wood. I may feel more if all those bastards around me would stop smoking!
Powerful mouthfeel, malty, liquorice, caramel, light wallnuts.
Long finish, bearing both hop bitterness and bitter maltiness (and liquorice, and light litchie fruitness).
Wonderful. Would like to taste it in another couple of years.
Hazy amber color; creamy head. Beautiful malt aroma, fruity; Porto wine; sweet, fresh wood. I may feel more if all those bastards around me would stop smoking!
Powerful mouthfeel, malty, liquorice, caramel, light wallnuts.
Long finish, bearing both hop bitterness and bitter maltiness (and liquorice, and light litchie fruitness).
Wonderful. Would like to taste it in another couple of years.
Tried
from Bottle
on 03 Jul 2003
at 01:48