Fullers Vintage Ale 2007

Formerly brewed at Fullers
Style: English Strong Ale
London, England

500ml bottle, 8.5% a/v Bottle # 31011 Well carbonated, though its natural in appearance, with a fiery copper colour and a decent tan head. The beer smells of sugar, sweet fruits, almost a bit of passionfruit, and some slight hops. Taste is burnt sugar/toffee, dark woods, alcohol and dark fruits with a decent hop completion. Good mouthfeel and despite the high alcohol content, not too boozy.

Tasted 2008-02-01. Pours clear amber with an off-white head. Burned sugar dominates. There is a slight hoppyness to it - very slight! Also I get wood, port, and alcohol. It’s OK. Not as compex as I’d hoped!

Bottle #18549. Bright amber with a white head. Malty aroma with a peachy fruitiness. Rich, alcoholic Christmas cake taste, sweet, malty and utterly smooth. Little bitter touch at the back of the throat. Top ale.

courtesy of oh6gdx, bottle #91889 - pours a clear reddish-amber colour with a slightly beige head; aroma of caramel, red fruits and malt; nice flowery hoppiness; full-bodied, slightly sticky, lively palate, robust and slightly astringent bitterness; long and very bitter finish with more red fruits and malts and a light alcohol touch - definitely needs some ageing

[1064-20080125] 500mL (w/ jerc; Vintage 2007, Bottle #01051). Grainy yeast aroma has a hint of grapes and fruity hops. Clear, red orange body with a long-lasting foamy off-white head. Boozy grains flavour has a hint of yeast. Medium body. Nice but pretty alcoholic.

Bottle #58283. Clear medium amber color with a large, frothy, good lacing, mostly diminishing, off-white head. Aroma is moderate malty, caramel, dark fruits, light port, light wood, notes of alcohol. Flavor is moderate to heavy sweet and bitter with a long to average duration. Body is medium to full, texture is oily, carbonation is soft, finish feel is light to moderate alcoholic. (120108)

Pours red-orange with a long lasting creamy and soapy white head. Aroma shows a bit of white chocolate and caramel, and a good amount of semi-rotten apples after stirring up the glass a bit. A slight licorice or cinnemon spice as well. Tastes very mellow, lots of the same same semi sweet malt notes of caramel, and white chocolate, but there’s a gentle wood, pepper, and spicy bitterness to it as well. Finishes with some caramel, and a warming sensation, followed by an earthy nutty hop bitterness. Medium bodied, somewhat creamy body, but a bit slick...I’d say it’s texturally unremarkable. Decent beer, but it’s my first of the Fullers vintage ales, and it really has me thinking "that’s it?".

Bottle from the LCBO (Bottle #30024). Burnished amber colour with a moderate head that quickly dissipates. Rich aroma of tea, oranges, almonds, tobacco, and a slight alcohol astringency. Medium bodied. Flavours of caramel malt, orange, raisins, butterscotch, and a warm, lingering finish with moderate hop bitterness and a hint of whisky. A bit hot, but some aging will take care of that. Great stuff as always from this series.