Fullers Vintage Ale 2011

Brewed by Fuller’s
Style: English Strong Ale
London, England

Serve in English pint, Trappist glass

Cask at White Horse Parson’s Green. It pours deep amber-brown, with a thin beige head. The nose is cinnamon, caramel, golden syrup, gingerbread and lemon. The taste is wood, caramel, toffee, varnish, brown sugar, alcohol warmth, dark fruit, syrup, pear and melon, with a dry finish. Full body and soft carbonation. Perhaps a bit too sweet. Could be done with a big of aging.

Bottle #125454. Copper beer with a nice dark cream colored head. Malt and light dark fruit aroma with earthiness. Malt and caramel flavor with light toffee and light dark fruit. Medium bodied. Malt and caramel lingers with light darker malts and dark fruit.

500mL bottle, pours a clear copper with a medium off-white head. Aroma of bready English malts, toasted nuts, raisins, toffee and some marmalade. Flavour of raisins, marmalade, bready malts, and toffee. Quite a prominence of raisins and a decent booziness on the finish. Good, but I’ve preferred the past few years’ incarnations of this beer.

A beautiful, reddish brown beer with a medium and beige head. Aroma is overally sweet, raisins, toffee, hint of strawberries and alcohol. Taste is similar than aroma, quite sweet, raisins, toffee and some wooden hoppyness, that dries the taste but not overally, no alcohol. Full bodied, slightly sugary and sticky to drink. Enjoyable beer even with high sweetness, enough of complexicity and so this beer is interest enough until end of the bottle.

Bottle 047892. Pale orange colour with a fast fading white head. Fairly fruity aroma with a little bit of soft herbal hoppiness. A touch of light mint and some light spice as well. Orange peel and a touch of crackery malt. It’s a fairly simple brew really - I suspect that, like with some of the other vintages, it needs a bit of age to add some complexity to the brew. Comes across quite plain. There is a little bit of estery flavour, mostly stewed fruit and some light cherry as well. A touch of pepper as it warms up. Moderate bitterness. Meh - maybe with two more years on it.

Bottle care of Chris O. Colour is tawny amber, lighter than more mature years. Nose has all the usual elements such as orange marmalade, sweet barley malt, caramel, citrous peel, but there’s also some peachiness. Taste has not softened yet so there’s dryness and crispness from bitter hops and lots of raw alcohol. Also some minerally stuff with the sherry, marmalade, caramel and sugariness. Quote raw and potent at one year.

Bottle number 117306. Pours with an almost completely clear deep orange to lightly copper hue with a massive bone colored off-white head. I do not remember the head being as gigantic in years past. Outstanding lace and retention. Aromas are quite hop forward, and more so than a few of the others in the past. Lots of marmalade, orange and citrus peel, grassy, herbal and even a bit minty. Some currants, berry and baked apple yeast esters. Malt profile seems complex, bready, toffee, biscuity, fig, vanilla. Light alcohol, and even a bit of a musty quality. Overall, quite a fruity expression of hops and yeast, with the rich malt taking a back seat. Flavors don’t quite live up to the 2009 or 2010 when fresh. Bready up front, malty, biscuity, crackery. Medium to slightly sharp, unrefined bitterness, orange peel, orange and angostura bitters. Marmalade. Dried apricot. Malt profile seems a bit thinner than in the past. Toffee and burnt caramel as it warms. Mildly floral. Medium fruit esters, peaking alcohol. Lightly astringent alcohol presence as well. Creamy, slightly fuller carbonation. Medium bodied, fruity during the long duration that finishes a bit bitter. Warming. Not my favorite of the recent vintages fresh, although I can see this mellowing into something quite nice in a 9 months to a year. Hop character on this one isn’t my favorite expression.

Smelled a little bitter poured deep golden colour. Better than normal fullers good need but not the hest

Dark copper color with a quickly falling medium head. Floral and very fruity hop aroma. Some caramel notes. Fruit-forward flavor, with pear and mango standing out. Caramel and light biscuit malt. Moderate bitterness, full bodied.