Fuller’s 1845

Brewed by Fuller’s
Style: English Strong Ale
London, England

Serve in English pint, Trappist glass

She comes in a brown bottle whose cap pops in giddy delight as I take in the sights. Hazy browns under a soft khaki head wink seductively while her head proudly sports a ringlet of delicate bubbles. Treacle, that English sugar concoction for which an inordinate amount of people have no idea what it smells like or tastes like is there in proud standing. Keeping her company are fresh red apples, cinnamon-raisin toast right out of the oven, toffee, and dry nuts in the finish. A breeze of straw and baled hay flitters in the background as a subtle afterthought. I am duly impressed, but I figured I would be. Taking in her aromatics, I dive right into her liquid bounty for a sweet kiss up front with her malt dominating a goodly portion of my first impressions. Grass, straw, and baled hay provide a bitter-dry undercurrent while toffee crunchies and treacle coat my lips and soothe my palate. Her toffee profile is prominent in the middle and back, with a heavier mouthfeel than I was initially expecting. Apples and pears are ripe for the eating, and as I bite through crisp skins, their sweet juices trickle down my throat, melding perfectly with the toffee and treacle for an interesting take on fall candied fruit goodness. Raisin bread adds to her chewy mouthfeel while bitter nuts sneak into her finish; almonds come to mind. Separately her menagerie of flavors would have been a jumble mess, but her palate melded each flavor together in seamless quaffing enjoyment. Where one ended, another one was already beginning, and before I knew it, another flavor was already there making merry and keeping the party going. Well played, and an excellent example of a classic English bottle-conditioned ale that is thankfully easy to find.

Fuller’s was one of my gateway breweries back in the day. I enjoy them now as I did then, though with a bit more of a critical eye. I can’t speak for a few of their other beers over the years, but I can say for sure that their 1845 is still as good now as it was then.

(500 ml bottle (best before 10/9/09) via trade with IrishBoy, thanks Richard!) Pours coppery, medium-dark amber, looks fairly clear. Four big fingers of fairly sturdy biscuit head. Aroma is malt-dominated - egg, vanilla and milk caramel. Mouthfeel is fairly beefy and smooth. Only a tiny bit of prickliness. Flavor is malty in the fore - caramel, vanilla and light egg followed by a bitterness that tingles the tongue and builds toward finish providing a nice hoppy bitter bite in the finish. Nicely hopped beer. Pretty similar profile to the ESB but not quite as bold. Another nice straightforward beer from this brewery.

50cl bottle. Poured dark mahogany color with a dense head. Aroma is nutty and fruity malty. Flavor is malty, with fruit and toffee. Smooth. Well balanced, quite dry finish. Very enjoyable tasty beer.

500ml brown bottle. Dense tan head sits atop a dark brown body. Beer was very bright for a bottle conditioned beer. Roasted aroma. Big body - sweet and malty with notes of spices and bitter chocolate.

Nice soft aroma of hops and some barley, but also wateriness. Looks great, nice fluffy head, nice amber-brown colour. flavour is a simple barley and hops combination, some caramel in there, but not very complexing. Very refreshing, however, feels good on the mouth.

Complex dark fruit dominates the aroma. The flavor is strongly malty and fruity, like an ESB on steroids plus some. A very lingering finish to this, an incredibly great ale, not one of this brewery’s ales is anything other than awesome and this ale more than helps to prove that.

1 pt. 2.6 fl. oz. (Best before: 19 OCT 2005, sampled 4 DEC 2004): hazed copper, with a modest tan foam that leaves sticky lacing all over the pint glass…Sticky alcohol aroma; noticeable sugar coated raisins, toasted grain, mild black pepper, burnt sugar and wet hop flowers. Nicely carbonated as evidenced by the tingling across the tongue and the very retentive cream. Slightly (surprising for me) spicy palate, with flavours ranging from a nicely striking bitterness up front to the long dry finish full of toffee, mashed red apples, hints of orange zest, and sticky honey. This one has breadth and depth. A great range of hop and malt flavour and a depth and complexity few can boast. Wouldn’t it be nice to have this one out of a beer engine?

Robust nutty malt aroma. Clear red color with a large tan head. Mild sweet beginning fading to a light bitter finish. Palate is a little light.