Fullers Vintage Ale 2007

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

Cask (Gallows Bird, Espoo, Real Ale Festival 2008) Fruit cake, woody, moist pipe tobacco. Sweet sticky malty body, apple pie and raisins, spicy and warming. Very young, I expect an old one to be more sophisticated.

2008-01-25. Bottle from the LCBO. Crisp copper amber body with a huge billowy off white head. Alcohol in the aroma knocks out a lot of the subtler notes at first, some modest subtle hops below, very mild malt (6+). Similar flavour, subtle English malts that are identifiable as the Maris Otter once you get past some warming alcohol. Pleasant mild bitterness throughout. Alcohol presence varies from distracting to not at all noticeable. Smooth average plus palate. (3+) Pretty solid, would be even better with a slightly less boozy aroma. I have a few in the cellar to see if it mellows a touch.

Well, I managed to save this until my birthday 01/23/1986 (incase anyone wants to send me a present next year, lol). Pours an amber orange with a lightly beige head. So far the aroma is a bit thin, mostly caramel, malt, and cardboard. The flavour is tastey, complex, earthy, with caramel malt sweetness, toffee, a tad watery in the middle but it picks up with a good licorice finish wich blends with a bit pf malt aftertaste. A tasty brew.

500ml bottle. Copper color with smallish head. Aromas of caramel and some apricot hops. Flavors were somewhat malty, with some more citrus and floral hops. Finish with more fruit and touches of alcohol. Pretty good

Bottle. No. 30144. Pours a clear bubbly amber-gold with a large lasting foamy off-white head -- looks wonderful! Yeasty aroma along with grain, caramel malt, fruit, alcohol and some light hops that come out as it warms a little. Flavour’s also yeasty along with some fruit, light hops and alcohol -- not as flavourful as some previous years but still pretty tasty. Alcohol’s fairly well hidden. Medium bodied, silky mouthfeel. Not my favourite vintage this year but still quite good and quite easy to drink.

Thanks to Stodbrew for the bottle! Poured a clear, brilliant medium orange with a short-lived cap of off-white head. The aroma was very potent, with lemon and brighter herbal notes (heavily-amplified by rubbing alcohol) over drawn caramel and toffee sweetness.. this wasn’t technically adequate, but the warmth and boozage worked OK for me at the time I drank it. The flavor had sour lighter fruits and grassy bitterness on the tip of the tongue with grainy toffee and bready sweetness washing over the middle.. oranges and buttered toffee ride out the back-end along with more rubbing alcohol and peppery spices.. sharp, not very exciting, and un-balanced. Thicker, almost syrupy on the palate with adequate carbonation.. tangy, warm finish.. sharper citric notes and booze factor.. I wanted to like this, but it seems lacking in complexity.. and the Bottle #116,736 indicates that the batch may have been stretched a bit too far.

Bottle from Waitrose, tried alongside the 2006 version. Amber coloured (paler than the 2006) with a moderate and short-lived head. Aroma of caramel, red fruit and some piney hop notes. The flavour was less complex than the 2006: no vinous notes, but plenty of sweet malt and nuts with grassy hops and a long, bitter finish.

Bottle # 81667. Amber with a large off-white head. Aromas are caramel and spiced oranges with woody pine and alcohol. Flavours are toffee and caramel malts with lots of spicy hops. Mellow orange with sweet addictive hops. Bitter on the finish with warming alcohol. Very good.