Bass No 1

BCTC 09. Oldest beer I have tried to date. 1902 Kings Ale. Remarkable how well this held up after 107 years in the bottle. The cork seemed to be a bit crumbled. Aroma is awesome. Sweet sherry, oak, vanilla, chocolate, faint cardboard. Not as much oxidation as I thought I would smell or taste. Flavors of vanilla and molasses, dark malts and semi tangy fruit essence. Not soured just a hint of dark fruit. Plums, figs. Smooth and pleasant to drink.

Little bits of notes from two separate tastings of it. The first was at BCTC 09, and was of the 1902 Kings Ale. The second was of the later Prince’s Ale from 1929 I believe.
Bottle at BCTC. Excellent aromas, coffee, plum, chocolate, vanilla, some oxidization. Tangy and oxidized yet remarkably malty. Really delicious. 937418
Bottle courtesy of Andy at Paul’s tasting in honor of Kan’s visit. Pours a lightly hazy crimson. Light sour . Tons of oxidization. Not as good as the first time I tried it. Perhaps it needs another 27 years? 738416

BCTC 2009, Shared at the Ratebeer tent. 107 years old. A truly unique experience here. A dark muddy sludge like pour. lots of solid floaties, strange & not very good but what an experience to drink a beer that old. Big thanks to whomever brought this one out

BCTC. Many thanks to the incredible generosity of the RB crowd. Wish I could remember who brought this incredible beer. Thanks! Dark brown with ring. Oxidized caramel and nuts aroma. Toasty caramel molasses oxidization cereal and a touch of rust. Oily palate. In amazing shape after over 100 years. What an experience.

[2400-20090801] Bottle. Heavy richly roasted wood aroma has sweet vanilla hints. Murky, dark brown body with a quick bubbly light tan head and a lot of brown sludge left in the bottom of the glass. Woody cask vanilla flavour has slightly thinned steak sauce characteristics and a lovely sweet long aftertaste. Full thick body. Drinkable even after 100 years, how can such a rare and unique a beer be comparable to another of today? I wonder if it tasted like this back then when they first started their mass production.
Overheard: "It tastes like everything that’s happened since."
(w/ others @ BCTC; Cooperstown, NY)

Rating #1500. 1902 bottle shared by ggaughn and/or kkearn at BCTC. Thanks so much, Greg and Keith! Wow, P2 last year and No 1 this year. I love this fest. Pours a murky brown with a small tan ring of filmy lace. Nose was cardboard, soy, cocoa, sweet malt, molasses, sherry. Flavor was kinda sweet, kinda salty, more sherry, caramel, and oxidation. May have been past its prime 90 years ago, but its still held up remarkably well over the entire 20th century. I’m not usually too impressed by these crazy old beers, but this one was really special.

Bottle at BCTC 2009: I’m glad I got to try a 107 year-old beer. Pours a nice looking muddy brown with a tan wispy thin film. Smells of chocolates, rum, sherry, cardboard, English toasted toffee, and grapes. Slick and warm body. This bottle was in exceptional shape. Complex flavor with notes of old dried cherries, chocolate, lots of Sherry, earthy malty notes of tobacco. Evident oxidation, but it works well with the huge old fruit/earthy maltiness. I can’t believe it’s held up this well.

2009-08-01. In a way anything I write here is far less meaningful than the actual experience of opening a bottle of beer that is multiple decades older than I am. The excitement and anticipation in the group while waiting for it to be opened was pretty amazing. I saw people dump world class beers out of their glasses in order to be ready to receive a sample. As for the beer, my pour was a small poo coloured liquid, bringing with it more sludge, sediment and protein chunks than I think I have seen in a beer before. Yet it manage to look enticing nonetheless. The aroma was sweet, caramel, toffee, with light undertones of something akin to soy sauce or an earthy tang. (7+) The flavour is similar, malt forward with tangy toffee notes, the finish is a bit bitter, more touches of caramel. Interesting. (6+) Really it tastes dramatically better than it has any right to. Average to light bodied palate gains weight from semi-suspended solids. WOW. In the unlikely event of a second encounter, I think decanting or filtering some might be in order. As it was, raw and unadulterated it was great fun. A beer experience to remember for quite some time. Drinking history as one person remarked. Bass 1902 King’s Ale. Bottle at BCTC 2009