Bass No 1

Brewed by White Shield / Museum (MolsonCoors)
Style: Barley Wine
Burton-on-Trent, England

Serve in Snifter

Bottle from 1977 @ FOneFan from Nightfall. Very dark brown with tiny off-white head. Flavour is malt, caramel, fruit, port, earthy, little toffee, hops and a little bitter.

Queen’s Ale July 3, 2002. Bubbles around the edge of the glass and a few in the middle. Dark brown liquid allows some light. Aroma of dark wood, alcohol, rum, dark fruit and a hint of spice. Still beer. Tasty spice. Quiet alcohol. Licorice root and blackstrap molasses.

I finally found my "long lost" notes for this beer! Had to clean out a closet that had water damage from Hurricane Irene and found my notes from my 2003 Belgium trip. My notes list this as "81 Kings Ale Bass". Bottle from Kulminator in Antwerp on 5-14-03. Vintage is 1981. Deep brown pour. Slight brown head. Nose is chocolate and medicinal notes with alcohol. Strong chocolate and caramel taste. Thin bodied. Ends with more caramel. I seem to recall back in 2003 this beer was not in the database. I though I’d lost the notes.....

Big bottle. Sampled twice, in 2006 and 2009. Aroma from raisins and ripe apples, apple cake, very tart and vineous. Fantastic aroma. When we cracked it open, an enormous aroma was revealed. Horrid taste from harsh sourness. It’s dusty and immensely sour. Light and lifeless body of course.

Appearance: Pours a clear, dark reddish-brown body marked by a few stray bubbles here and there. Smell: Aroma of dark caramel, aromatic tobacco, a glass of sherry garnished with golden raisins, and bread left in a toaster oven for a bit too long. Taste: Rich maltiness tasting of sweet dark caramel with a slight breadiness in the background. Maybe a touch nutty, too. Resonant vinous fruitiness throughout. Pinch of tobacco. Hints of a tannic woody component. Earthy, medium bitterness cleans the palate of all those rampant, pesky sugars and clears the way for a drying, bitterish finish. The alcohol presence is noticeable, but not quite overbearing. Mouthfeel: Medium-plus body. No carbonation, but that only helps to facilitate a smooth, port-like mouthfeel. Drinkability: I’m happy to have had the rare opportunity to try this. There’s some roughness to it, but, overall, it’s a fine, flavorful English barleywine.

Sampled at the RBESG08 grand tasting. Brown with a tiny beige head. Fruity malt aroma with dark berries, some fudge, and warming alcohol.medium bodied with soft carbonation. Weel balanced with a dry and bitter finish.

UPDATED: NOV 15, 2008 Hand bottle thanks to Craig. What a rare opportunity this is to try a great beer that has almost gone out of existence after over 100 years. Yet they still make Bud Light, but I digress. Pours a deep ruby shade with a tiny hint of a head forming. The aroma is very sweet, full of candies and chocolate, also some fruit aspects. The taste was very smooth and quite nice; mostly a very sweet brown sugar and toffee, tons of fruit, almost vinous, and there is a hint of burnt malt and sourness in the finish. A very good beer, a dessert that would fit into the finest establishment. I am honored to have the chance, let’s hope I can try it again. Thanks Craig.　 Additionally, I have learned that the last time they brewed this beer was 1997, so probably a 1997 version drank in 2007.

UPDATED: NOV 15, 2011 Kings Ale #1, Brewed 2/22/1902, Tasted 6/11/2011. A huge thanks to Brad for sharing this piece of history. It is incredible to think of how the world has changed since this beer was brewed. This beer has a strong aroma of sherry. Some vinous character, in both the flavor and aroma. There is burnt sugar, soy sauce, old basement, caramel, and dry oak. A thick, rich beer with a great palate. No carbonation. It has lasted surprisingly well, even with a cork that was falling apart. Brad had to decant and strain the beer. What a great experience to try this.