Fuller’s Vintage Ale 1997

Formerly brewed at Fuller’s
Style: English Strong Ale
London, England

Serve in English pint, Snifter

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Bottle. Numbered 84055 (yes, the same one in the picture, as I took the picture). 1997 vintage, obviously. Murky ruby colored brown. Nose is raisins, caramel, sweet malts, light alcohol, and hints of cardboard. The aroma has most likely gone downhill as I can’t imagine it smelling like it does now when fresh. Hopefully the taste is better. Taste is dry and pretty much pure raisins in the taste. Light caramel, hints of alcohol, rum, and maybe some brown sugar. It’s pretty oxidized. Body is smooth but dry with some chalkiness and light warmth. Finishes with more raisins, dark fruits, cardboard, alcohol, and light toffee. Not bad but past it’s heyday.

Vinous, chocolate cocoa, grapey aroma with some maderization and light alcohol notes apparent. Opaque amber-brown with a decent and lasting cover of fine-bubbled head that leaves some slight lace. Vinous flavour has notes of green leaves, pine, grapes, marzipan, pastry dough, alcohol and plenty of sherry-like oxidation. Mild bitterness. Medium body seems somewhat tired with low carbonation. Bottle (#84041) enjoyed with beerbuzzmontreal, MartinT, Olivier_MTL, Rastacouere and Yowie.

Bottle #84029 (1997 bottle drank in 2004) – Poured a hazy nut-brown color ale with off-white medium head with average retention. Carbonation is quite good for a 7 years old barley wine/strong ale. Aroma is comprised of sweet plums, in fact very sweet plums, with strong malt. Taste is quite warm, but no alcohol taste discernable, with again some sweet plums. Also, as expected this as a full creamy body. This is another great one from Fullers but I still think that the 1998 was more balanced with a bit less sweetness which made it more enjoyable.

Bottle. Hazy amber colour with a medium creamy head. Rich malty aroma andt taste with notes of fruits and spice. Very balanced.

Bottle shared Saturday night at BCTC, 7/21/07
Nicely settled out, clear ruby-amber with thick lacing and still a lovely head. Sweet, this is promising!
Nuts, marzipan, rich caramel and wonderful sherry oxidation tones fill the nose. Maris otter has gone buckwild in both the aroma and flavor, leaving that rich honey-caramel note. The yeast has thrown out countless esters and taken with the malt and oxidation, it’s heavily fruity and a bit bready on the end. No flaws or alcohol noted.
Sweet, almost fatiguingly so! I would never have expected this to be so full bodied and well-malted at this age, thinking it would instead be more bready, dry and with more oxidation. Nope, not at all. Chewy, sugary vanilla wafers, caramel and brown sugar with cherries, strawberries and peaches. Strong sweet sherry notes and a bit of port from the darker malts. Really interesting. If my tolerance for sweetness was a bit higher, I’m sure I would have enjoyed it more. Despite that, you still have to appreciate this 10 year old filtered beer having survived this elegantly. Low carbonation at this point, but certainly still ample. Slick, nearly creamy at times, texture.

[ Bottle shared by Clark at BCTC ’07 ] Poured a dark orangey amber with dark brown hues. Carbonation has held up well. Brown sugar, rich caramel malts, slightly vinous in the finish. This beer held up extremely well. Thanks Clark!

Pours a murky dark amber color with a very thin head. Excellent aroma and flavor of candy and caramel with heavy malts and mild alcohol. Light to medium body, creamy texture, soft carbonation. Great stuff. Merci David !

Bottle @ Stone Sour Fest shared by Bman1113vr. Poured orange with a bright white ring. Nose was sweet. Taste was rich, and quite nicely aged despite a touch of oxidation.

I never thought I would see this bottle. Never. Ever. Ever. But here it is, in a white box (not the regular maroon), bottle 84043--Walt, this is special. It has a cool aroma, like it has caramel, vanilla, and the exhaust of the fans outside a steak restaurant. The flavor has a strong "vintage" quality--that nearly universal "vintage" flavor in beers more than five years old. Silky smooth palate and very easy drinking...oh my, this is good. It isn’t the ’99 but it may be better than any other year. Walt, thanks a ton.

Bottle at Akkurat. It pours deep mahogany brown, with a medium white head. The nose is fruit cake, toast, wood, honey, floral notes and dark fruit (figs and dates). The taste is toffee, leather, wood, vinous, honey, dust, prune, date, cherry, raisin and some coffee, with and very dry finish. Medium-full body and fine carbonation. This one has aged gracefully in the Akkurat cellar. Enjoyable stuff.