Amber coloured mead, light complex honey nose, with a similarly deep compley honey flavour. Another great mead (9,4,8,4,17) TK 2 Rated. Apis Póltorak Jadwiga , Apis Dwójniak Staropolski and Gales Mead Wine alongside each other at home. ... Many thanks to RickGordon for letting me take the Apis ones home from RBESG07... Brown/red colour ... Light sweet Honey ... initial sweet hit with a deep honey finish ... little bitterness in back of throat but some sweetness on tongue... Thiner than the other two ... but the most honey if less complex honey.

Seems to have been released in 2002. Aroma of dark fruit and alcohol. Not plummy, just dark. The color is brandy with ruby glints. Head? At 12% and aged, I don’t think so. Starts with wood, smooth malt sweetness, some arguable raisin. Finishes astringent rather than bitter. Very smooth. There is some bitter in the finish, and it arguably balances the malt. The finish suggests aging in brandy barrels. Get this if you can. There will be no more. In February there were a very few at Tops in Phoenix. Reminds me of the stronger Sam Adams beers. Like weak Calvados, rather than strong beer. Here’s to Gales. May it long be remembered.

Deep red, wine nose with a hint of spirit, deep mouth malt tones again with a hint of spirit linger, syrupy with raisin or sticky date...4.3 TK2 bottle that we recon is pre 80’s Deep red ... lovely sweet woody hop... bit thin little woody nice caramel edge ... quite sherry like ... Its not realy beer, it was quite nice but it wasnt really beer like more sherry or wine. 3.3 Last from gales 2006? ...much lighter ... brown ... thin lacing ... light spice ... vinous nose ... barest sour hint nose ... dark vine fruits ... figs ... definite green raisins ... 3.9 2006 version again ...deep brown ... thinest lacing ... soft dark malts ... softest brettt nose.. dark malts ... soft rich figs... totally christmas cake .. raisins and marzipan ... its wierd but at same time really woinderfull ... nice 4.2

So these nice guys at New Beers Distributors (New York) covered the production year with a price tag…
Never mind; Vintage 2001, 5+ years old, classic Gale’s corked bottle
The cork is of very good quality, well preserved, and with a very nice aroma of fruity malt; pours a cloudy amber color; there is still some carbonation but not much head retention.
The room is pervaded by the strong aroma: malt, sweet, raisins, spices… in line with a Christmas pudding, but more elegant than other beers.
Probably the age has cut down the sugars, the body has a good structure but it’s not too sticky; the dominant flavor is caramel, with malt and raisins, a bit woody, and fruity; the alcohol is warming the mouth, another sign of age. The final shows an increasing bitterness, with caramel and a light oaky sourness.
Beatifully aged; complex; pleasant.

Chestnut brown with no head. Great funky aroma with some port, some malt. Acidy flavour with some malt, funk and alcohol notes. 6years old bottle in 2008: Pretty much the same notes, with more pronounced funk and less alcohol. Rated 4.4