Eldridge Pope Thomas Hardy’s Ale (all vintages to 1999)

Formerly brewed at Eldridge Pope
Style: Barley Wine
Dorchester, England

Serve in Snifter

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UPDATED: OCT 4, 2010 1991 vintage consumed in March 2010. 8/3/7/4/16 = 3.8 Infinitely better than the 1986 example I sampled below. Much drier and more sherry-like, as much welcomed oxidation seems to have affected this bottle far more than it did the other. Aromas are of dried figs, dark cherries, dates, and caramel, with a hint of port soaked oak and some vanilla. Flavors follow suit, showing wave after wave of rich, caramelized dark fruits, with some oxidized toffee and molasses notes. The palate is definitely heavy and sugar-laden, but it doesn’t come across as syrupy as the younger (and, in the case of the 1986, older) vintages do. Clearly, oxidation is this beer’s friend. I still couldn’t drink much of it, but that’s where the genius of the small packaging comes in. Nice dessert beer. 1986 must have been a bad year, or perhaps storage conditions (which are unknown to me) caused the variation.

1986 vintage, bottle # 06366, consumed in May 2008. 5/3/4/2/10 = 2.4 Pours an extremely dark, inky black color with the faintest possible hints of mahogany at the edges. The body looks thick and syrupy in the glass, with virtually zero head or lacing despite a vigorous pour. The nose is as sweet as I’ve ever encountered in a beer. Pure, unadulterated, burnt cane sugar, caramel, and molasses. Dark fruits lurk in the background, but it is so damn sugary I can’t really decipher what they are. The nose is alcoholic, with just the faintest possible touch of hop bitterness making a futile attempt to add balance. Flavors follow suit, and are nearly enough to send one into a diabetic shock. This beer should be titled "Thomas Hardys Molasses". I thought that a 22 year old example certainly would have dried out a bit, but somehow this is even sweeter than the 2005 vintage that I recently sampled, a dubious distinction that I thought to be impossible to achieve. The body is thick, syrupy, and cloying. I wouldn’t purposely drink more than an ounce of this brutal concoction. I hate to go so far against the grain on this one, but to me, this beer is absolutely horrible.

Bottle courtesy Alex. Frothy white fair mostly deminishing head. Amber colour. Moderate malty and hoppy intense wonderfull aroma. No oxidising notes at all. Vanilla notes. Heavy bitter light sweet powerfull flavor with very strong vanilla notes. Long complex nice finish. Creamy palate. Wonderfull.

light vintage port aroma,red, clear, minimal head, light sweetness, lightly bitter, medium body, creamy, soft carbonation, nice soft alcoholic finish.

Pours a clear russet-orange into brandy snifter. Hard to detect, but I haphazardly smell oaken soaked alcohol, Candy corn, copper alloy, grass and lemonade. Tastes of Candi sugar with a nice burn and a lingering spicy aftertaste.

1989 Vintage bottle... Poured deep brown with no head. Nose had dark fruits like prunes and raisins. Low carbonation, some oxidization, brown sugar, fortified fruit alcohol flavors. Nothing cazy, but sti a great to have.

This is the 1994 vintage, which was drank in May 2011 in honor of hudsonphotog’s college graduation after all these years (he graduated high school in 1994). The beer pours a clear, dark brown color with a few white bubbles but no real head. The aroma has a lot of chocolate and raisins, as well as a little bit of soy sauce character and some alcohol. The flavor is a lot more complex. I get a lot of chocolate and oak notes, as well as some rum, raisins and very little alcohol. The beer is very port like. Low carbonation and medium mouthfeel. I am very happy I got to try this and very happy that it was drank on such a special occasion.

1998 33cl bottle . pours an opaque mid brown with no head .light carbonation. aroma is a luscious mix of malt , caramel , christmas cake , faint cinnamon and alcohol . taste follows the aroma - sweet malt , caramel , dark fruit with a nice bittersweet aftertaste like burnt sugar to counteract the overall sweetness a little . a glorious alcohol warmth sets in but is controlled very well for a 12% abv . good body with oily mouthfeel . A classic that ages incredibly well .

A full flavoured and deceptively strong ale / barley wine with excellent depth and satisfying lingering taste

1993 bottle. Pours clear tawny with no head. Aroma is lightly oxidized, heavy sherry, caramel, and toffee malt, a dark fruit bouquet of figs, plums, and dates with cookie malt, earthy notes and light alcohol completing this bountiful aroma. Flavor is malt dominant, light spicy alcohol, no hops, the same dark fruit bouquet of dates, figs, and plums with caramel and toffee malt, sherry and a sweet finish. Full body, high warmth, and low carbonation. In the past year, I have enjoyed the 1996 and 1999, and I have to say that the 1993 is holding up better than the other two.

Bottle. Pours dark Brown with a trace of off-white head around the rim. Aroma is figs and other dark fruit, booze, oak, sherry, and sweet malt. Flavor is sweet malt and dark fruit esters; sherry/booze taste throughout with dry finish. Medium body, low carbonation, and high warmth.

1997 vintage bottlePours a deep caramel color with light carbonation but no head. The aroma is malty, fruity, sweet, caramel. The taste is very malt with big notes of butterscotch, raisins, and caramel. A really nice complex brew.