Fullers Vintage Ale 2007

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

With sincere thanks to HogTownHarry for sharing this vintage with me on his balcony pre-ballgame :-) Appearance: Clear orange/brown with a small brown head. Aroma: Metallic, summer fruits, pepper, pine and a nice amount of vanilla. Flavour: Bitter and hoppy, slightly alcoholic, fruity, malty with a sweet hop finish. Lovely and again different from the other vintages.

Bottle 137746 from Riverside Red X, sampled in May 2009. The body was hazy medium copper with a dense light tan head. Vinous notes up front in the nose with some toffee and a little bit of apple. The taste has some lightly salty leather notes with toffee sweetness in the back of the throat. The carbonation is still fairly lively and you get a little bit of black pepper, but it is light, in the finish. A nice and interesting brew that is lighter and more refreshing than I would have expected for the abv.

Pours copper color with a thick creamy head resembling the top of an ice cream float. head dissipates into a thinner seafoam with massive lacing. Smells of sweet apples and buttered pecan. Taste is loaded with caramel, sauteed apples, light yeast, and butter. Delicious, but still not quite what North Coasts Old Stock ale is. Surprised cause i thought this one would dethrone it. Sticky with sweetness, but not cloying at all. two thumbs up.

Bottle. Aged two years. Nose escapes like a frustrated genie upon opening, carrying notes of honey, cinnamon, sherry, a little cardamom and some more honey. Pours - unsurprisingly - much like a Fullers Vintage - deep amber, ever so slightly cloudy, strong, tan head. Flavour is rich and treacly with initial slightly burnt, estery sweetness giving way to a chewy bitterness that lingers and develops brilliantly. A slight heat in the back of the throat is the longest lasting sensation on the palate - a heat admirably doused by the next sip. What a blindingly good occasional release this is - the best of British.

Crushed with Jakebra. Very sweet nose isn’t overly sweet, just good. Flavor is also quite nice, sweet and fruity with a little bit of booze in there. Not as good as the one I just tried, but it holds its own.

Bottle. Pours a hazy orange color with a 1/2" off white head. Aroma is sweet with notes of caramel, malt, toffee and fruit. Smooth and creamy on the tongue with just enough carbonation for a little zip. Flavor is sweet with an alcohol punch. Sweet to the end with some bitterness in the finish.

About a 1 inch thick head of fine bubbles. Very dense and recedes slowly. Light fruit in the aroma (apples) along with some floral hops and light roasted grains. Color is a very impressive cranberry brown. Some biscuity malts up front in the flavor, along with a moderate hops bitterness. Roasted grains, some sweetness (toffee and butterscotch) and a bit of zippyness in the mouth. Noticable alcohol presence. Finishes roasty and bitter. A little bit thinner in body for this brew when compared to previous versions. A pretty solid entry in the line.

This one has been sitting in the back of the fridge for way too long, time to bust this baby out. Pours hazy amber with a thin head. Nice steady stream of fine carbonation bubbles rises to the surface. Nice bold aroma of sweet malt and yeast. Flavor is very sweet, full bodied, with a smooth but strong bitter kick. Nicely balanced.