Fuller’s Vintage Ale 2008

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

Serve in English pint, Snifter

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   update pic

Vertical tasting with 2001, 2003, 2009 and served in a Fullers no--nik pint glass:

Slightly hazy caramel hue with reddish highlights topped by a fading frothy head. The aroma has massive biscuity, caramel, and olde skool vapours along with some grassy and herbal hops, in your face orange marmalade, pears and mango., dill and sea salt. Almost TOO fruity for what I expect for a FVA.

The taste starts fruity and malty with a shocking lack of classic hop bitterness to balance it out. Some nice spicy notes come through however and even a bit if classic earthiness. The mouth feel is slick and moderate bodied. Overall among the lest noticeable Fullers Vintages. Seemed to wander off the path to tad too much.

Varje gång jag dricker ett sådant här öl ungt kan jag inte låta bli att tänka på hur det hade smakat om jag väntat fem-tio år. Trots det ett högt betyg. Kraftfullt, maltigt, stark och sött.

Deep amber orange brown colour. Pours a creamy, smooth head with medium thickness. Aromascape is a bit hidden and shy, but it works well with the style. It consists of oak, alcohol, caramel, malts and bread, nuts, roasty scents, a hoppy floral side with a herby side-kick. A deep, musty, wooden overall scent with a hint of cream. The tastes really open up properly after you’ve tasted the beer. The taste is surprisingly smooth. The palate is very even and creamy and settles extremely well into your mouth. At the same time it manages to be musty and dusty, but them again, it feels very fresh and has a good flow. Through the taste the licorice really comes out. The tastes are subtle but strong. They don’t have a lot of attack, but the depth of the tastes is admirable. How the sourness washes the bitterness to the middle and finishes of with a nice tingly sweetness. This was the second best Vintage Ale of my life, coming right after the 2006 batch.

Pours a hazy orange with an off white head. Aroma is caramel, fruit, and a little hop. Flavor is rich malt, toffee, bready/grainy malt, fruity, with light hopping and alcohol showing toward the finish.

Bottle bought in TX. Really pretty pour; copper bronze color with a nice foamy, khaki head. pleasant aroma is sweet malt, caramel and a little booze. Flavor is dominated by alcohol (as expected) but finishes with some nice sweetness. Nice but not really my style; a little raw on the alcohol.

Excellent and very strong. The alcohol hits you like a sledgehammer. Still, it’s a very nice experience. Like the best wine you can get, but with a lot more attitude.

Pours orange amber with a small white head. Raisins, mixed dried fruit, orange and a good malty caramel base.

Pours hazy brown with red hints and a fluffy white head. Smells fruity and of alcohol, kind of like a barley wine. Tastes of fruitiness that moves toward grain and then hints of alcohol. Full-bodied with a velvety texture and mild mouth-carbonation, Fuller’s Vintage Ale 2008 finishes mellow.

Bottle. Clear dark red pour with a good finger of off white foam. Aroma of toffee, caramel, english hops still quite present, a bit of menthol - still quite discreet though, herbs and port also present. Taste is sweet, lots of toffee maltiness and peppery english hops. Medium-full body with medium-low carbonation, lingering finish. IMO this beer is probably at it’s prime, although it has the body to withstand a couple more years of aging. Good stuff.

500ml bottle, No 78911. Pours a brilliant, deep amber, with a frothy, white head. The aroma is very complex - malt, caramel, hops, yeast, apricots, tobacco, leather, marzipan, alcohol, cherry pits, almonds, walnuts, Earl Grey tea, wood (!), spices. Off-dry, full bodied, medium bitterness, fairly low CO2. The taste is likewise complex - layers of malt and fruits, lovely yeast character, spicy hops, floral notes, apricots, marzipan, nuts of all sorts, almonds, warming alcohol. In the finish, all the flavours intertwine wonderfully, and are backed up by a firm alcoholic warmth. This beer is beyond lovely, but will be even better a few years down the road. Excellent! (2011-07-11)