Fullers Vintage Ale 2009

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

Serve in English pint, Trappist glass

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UPDATED: MAY 23, 2010 Bottled. Clear dark amber, faint head. Resiny nose with some seville orange and plenty of alcohol. Sweet with clean mouthfeel and medium-full body. The hard malt marries ill with the resin. The lack of malt depth leaves more room for alcohol to shine through. Piney resiny bitterness. Feels primitive and rather harsh. I mean it’s not really bad, but it’s not what it pretends to be either.

Awesome. I love the vintage ales. The best part of the holiday season is when I first see the boxes they come in! I think this is nearly flawless. Wood, hops, alcohol, caramel, excellent flavor progression!

Bottled. Pours out in a clear pale amber colour with a small disappearing creamy white head. Rather young and hot aroma with notes of figs, dried apricots, black cherries, alcohol and white pepper. Full-bodied with fruity liquor-like notes of oranges, apricots, spuned sugar and alcohol with subtle notes of hay like hops. Long warming finish of orange-liquor almonds and hay.

Cask (handpump) @ GBBF 09, Great British Beer Festival, Earls Court Exhibition Centre, London, England.
Clear medium amber color with a small to average, frothy, fair lacing, mostly diminishing, off-white head. Aroma is moderate malty, caramel, fresh berry, prune. Flavor is moderate to heavy sweet and bitter with a average to long duration. Way to young have to more mature, before drinking. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is soft. [20090804]

UPDATED: MAY 23, 2011 Cask at GBBF 2009. Amber with a small white head. Malty aroma with fruit and a hint of orange peel and marmalade. Sweet toffee flavour with a roasted note, and hot alcohol. Here is why they are labeled vintage: They should NOT be drunk fresh! I definitely need a few for the cellar.

July 2010 at home: Bready malt and fresh grain in the nose, with orange and other citrus, and peppery spice. Malty flavour with lots of fruit and some spice and cherry. Nice and dry with a fruity sweetness, but still rather hot alcohol.

May 2011: Adds a honey note to the aroma, and a bit more malt richness in flavour. But still unsophisticated raw alcohol after nearly two years. Doesn’t seem like the best vintage

UPDATED: SEP 14, 2010 Cask at GBBF 2009 ... Deep copper ... woody toffee nose ... big sweet toffee ... little plum ... little raisins ... little young get..3.5.

bottle 82062 (04/10)at home ... dark copper ... blackcurrant and ovaltin nose ... again ovaltine ... some rasisins ... quite yeasty. 3.5 ...

bottle at home with Douglas ... bottle 083491(09/10) ... copper ... thin tan lacing.... sweet toffee ... loads of blackcurrant ...big blackcurrant ... little ovalitne malts ... juicy fruits ... some raisins... nice soft body 3.6

One-third pint, draught at the Fullers bar, GBBF 09. Clear amber. Inviting aroma of juicy malts. Berries and bitter, dark fruits in flavour supported by sweet dark malts. Sweet, vinous texture. Brandy heating. Very nice, without being outstanding. A bit young, perhaps (Earls Court, 4.08.2009).

Cask at GBBF 2009: honey, raisins, caramel, light bitterness all the way through, rich malt, weak woody notes, light alcohol, very good but still something is missing.

Cask @ GBBF 2009. A clear red/brown colored beer, with a small beige head. The aroma of caramel with sweets. There are fruits like cherries and notes of alcohol. The taste is very fruity and sweet. A little bitter with fruits, cherries, some citrus and pear. The aftertaste is very sweet with some bitter.

Cask@GBBF2009. Deep amber colour, not much head. Aroma is mild yeast along with alcohol, caramel malts, liquorice, toffee and vanilla. Flavour is caramel malts, some vegetably and quite sweet wooden notes. Quite nice.