Fullers Vintage Ale 2004

Bottle, small (04-06) vertical my dad and I had. Bottle number 81230. Pours a hazy brown with a thick white/tan head. Nice lacing on the glass. Smells fantastic, with notes of malt, toffee, caramel, vanilla candy, bourbon, and possibly even walnut, with a touch of alcohol. Medium thick body, and lots of malt flavor. Finishes with a light bitterness and rather smooth. The best of the three we had.

Bottle from a bottle shop in Covington, KY. Pours deep amber red with an off white head. Medium bodied but with than thinner British mouthfeel. Aroma of British ale esters, caramel, and wet grains. Flavor of tobacco, caramel, toasted malts, brandy, and dark fruit with a balancing herbal bitterness. Finish semi-dry and yeasty with a hint of alcohol. Not bad

Aged 5 years. Pours deep copper into an English pint. Off-white micro head with excellent retention leaves spotted sheets as it slowly recedes to coat surface. Dates, fig, plum and alcohol aromas. Creamy raisins, nuts and alcohol. Mildly bitter sourness in the lasting finish.

Bottle Number 72233. Enjoying this one with ArmEd and Pete Howe, christening his new townhouse in Dilworthtown. Aroma of sweet roasted malt and noticeable alcohol. Taste is sweet and has some scotch/whisky characteristics, a bit smoky along with some licorice. A slight bit of mustiness in the finish.

Nose reminded me of bad liquor like vodka or something. Butterscotchy aroma/flavor. Thin body and mouthfeel. Kind of watery finish. Like the previous rater I detect no hops at this point, mostly just a sugary sweetness. Toffee. The thin-wateriness is a deal breaker on this one for me.

<b>In short: </b>Sweet hard candies in a bottle. Past-due date but drinkable
<b>How: </b>Bottle 1 pint, consumed late 2008 (4 years old or so)
<b>The look: </b>Partly cloudy golden copper topped by an little off-white ring of foam
<b>In long: </b>Nose of barley candy. Taste is crisp and sugary sweet. Sweet dried fruits of all kinds, hard candies, some crunchy caramel, a little spiciness, brown sugar and some dry wood. The overall flavour was very reminiscent of spicy red hard candies. No signs of oxidation or any other aging related problems but the hops (assuming it was once balanced) were totally gone from the bottle I drank. A light alcohol presence. This beer is past due-date. I found this bottle mid-2008 in a New-Jersey store (?!?), the last of its kind lost among more recent vintages, an old washed-up trying to blend in with a younger crowd. I identified to it.

Bottle # 2177. Slightly hazy amber with a firm and lasting off-white head. Aroma has rich malt and marmalade with aged notes of sherry, port and prunes. Dry and malty with crisp biscuit flavour, balanced by quite some bitterness and a vineous note. I was afraid if I had stored it well enough, but that was certainly not an issue.

Bottle #91917. Reddish color and a light tan head. Sharp bitter aromas that round out as the beer opens up. Coriander, citrus acidity and eventually ripe fruit, like plum and berry. Honey and toffee, with less spice, on the palate. Medium carbonation makes the flavors a little more lively than in the 2001 I had next to the 2004. Overall a good beer to drink now.