Fuller’s Vintage Ale 2003

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

Serve in English pint, Snifter

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Name: Vintage Ale
Date: 04/25/2007
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting
Vintage: 2003

clear blood red, wispy beige head, streaks of lace, sweet caramel and fruit aroma with very light floral hops, creamy yet thin body, rich caramel and fruit flavor, touch of hot alcohol, nice caramel sweetness throughout

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 15/20
Rating: 3.7/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: *4

Bottle #27154:
Clear amber coloured body with no head at all. Aroma of nice pit fruit, grapes and toffee. Medium-bodied; Nice full sweet taste with pit fruit and a good mild bitter malt flavour. Overall, a nice beer - a bit stronger and harsher than 2002, but still a damn good beer! I sampled this beer from a 50 cL bottle after the RB party at Founder’s in Alexandria, Virginia at Mike’s (the_beer_god) hotel room on 20-November-2004.

Considering the style, Scores ranging from 1 to 5, 5 being the most intense
Appearance:
Body:   Clear(1)->Murky(5) : 2     Pale Yellow(1)->Dark brown(5) : 3     Still(1)->Sparkling(5) : 3
Head:   None(1)->Large(5) : 4   White(1)->Tan(5) : 2   Lasting: 2   Lacing : 2
Aroma:
Intensity : 3  
Yeast : 2   Bread : 2   Apple : XX   Tropical Fruits : 2   Soap : XX   DMS : XX   Diacetyl : XX Sulfur : XX  
Malt : 4   Biscuity : 2   Hay : XX   Toasty : 3   Caramel : 4   Nuts : 2   Honey : XX   Cereals : XX   Grainy : XX
Hops : 2   Noble(1)->American(5) :   Leafy : XX   Spicy : 2   Floral : 2   Lemon/Lime : XX   Grapefruit : XX   Orange : 3   Herbal : XX   Grassy : XX   Pine/Spruce/Resin : XX  
Notes :   Peach/Apricot : XX   Earth : 2   Mint : XX   Butterscotch : XX   Smoke : XX
Flavor:
Initial Flavor : Dry(1)->Sweet(5) : 3   Finish Dry(1)->Sweet(5) : 3   Sourness : XX   Bitterness : 2   Complex : XX   Length : XX
Palate:
Light(1)->Full(5) : 3   Flat(1)->Fizzy(5) : 4   Clean : XX   Sharp : XX   Watery : XX   Oily : XX   Chalk : XX   Astringent : XX   Alcohol : 2   Mineral : 1   Oxidation : XX   Metallic : XX

Comments: A smooth, caramelly, biscuity vintage with a surprisingly active carbonation still.

Bottled at RBESG 2005. Hazy brown coloured with an off white head. Sweet aroma of dried fruits and marzipan. Sweet flavour of dried fruits with notes of marzipan.

Poured a fizzy mahogany with a small fizzy/frothy off-white head. Aroma of red wine grapes, dark fruits, a bit of piney hoppiness. Flavor follows with fruit notes, biscuit and toffee, a bit of alcohol. Body starting to feel a bit thin and flat after four or five years. Overall still has a nice flavor profile to it, even if perhaps a tad degraded.

(Bottle, No. 31435) Pours an amer body with an off-white head. Aroma of caramel, toffee, and plastic. Flavor of mild hops and sweet malt. Could use some more aging.

Reddish brown colour with an off white head. Sweet malty aroma with caramel hints and a light fruityness. Nutty caramel flavor with a fairly dry finish.

Vertical tasting with 2001, 2008, 2009 and served in Fuller no--nik pint glass:

App :Slightly hazy deep amber with mahogany highlights, small frothy head and some spotty lace. Aroma: Very heavy marzipan and crystal malt influence, grassy and noble hops, some minty and dill esters, a touch of lemongrass and heather, raisins and dates. You can almost smell an old wool sweater when approaching this beer.

The taste starts with heavy marzipan, prune, pear, bready and yeast. Unlike the great FVA of the past this never seems to go to another level. Almost one dimensional which I find almost shocking. Seems too sweet and bready versus that forceful noble hop character often found with these.

I was very happy to land a bottle of 2003 but now I tasted it, I would rather have many bottles of the easier to find 2009. This did not age nearly as well as 1998, 99, nor 2001. That makes me sad.

Bottle conditioned. Amber bronze, moderate white head with some lace and low fine condition. Low hop, malt and orange in the aroma but all quite muted. Quite dry and thin in the mouth with a hint of malt whisky and a suggestion of oakiness. Drab hop bitter finish with some trace alcohol notes. Very dry, thin and disappointing, not up to the usual standard but still drinkable nonetheless.

Bottle #31435. Vegetal, musty, green, caramel, more smoky aroma (compared in vertical to 1999, 2002, 2004 vintages). Also a brand-new poncho vinyl edge. Very drinkable, nevertheless, as the flavors are more sympathetic renditions, with some fruit and typical caramel complements. Orange with reddish huges, good head. Not as rich but a soft carbonation doesn’t intrude.