Gales Jubilee Ale

Formerly brewed at Gales
Style: Barley Wine
Horndean, England

Serve in Snifter

I struggled to want to drink this, but there was a reason that an almost 10 year old beer is available for $3.45. Smells pretty good, more like a wine than an beer. Very dark burgundy color. Tastes strikingly sour and intensely sweet with a lingering cork/barrel flavor. Flavors of wine, tannins, and raisins.

Bottle 9.8fl.oz.

[ Vintage 2002 ]. [ Courtesy of Ungstrup ]. Clear medium to dark amber colour with virtually no head. Aroma is moderate to heavy malty, bread, dried berry, oxidide, raisin, plums. Flavour is light heavy sweet with a long duration, alcohol, dried berry - fruit, malt, oxidide, vintage, raisin - plum. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is flat, finish feel is light to moderate alcoholic. [20111216]

shared by ungstrup at my us beer tasting. clear brown, no head. caramelly and malty aronma, licorice. flavor is caramelly, slightly soursih, raisins, very nice. complex barley wine. has aged well.

Sample from 33 cl. bottle. 2002 Vintage. Courtesy of Ungstrup. Clear, brown colour with no head. Strong, sweet aroma with light notes of ripe fruits. Full bodied. No carbonation. Finish is sweet and lasting - coffee, chocolate, toffee and light caramel. An old beer still with some enjoyment.

Hazy brown with a small off-white head. A rather oxidized aroma with nice nuances of dried fruit, mint and spices. Dry and malty flavour with fruity notes, and again, rather oxidized

Bottle at Theis og Mette. Hazy orange coloured with a small white head. Sweet aroma of caramel and dried fruits. Sweet and fruity flavour of caramel and dried fruits with notes of spices. Sweet and spicy finish.

UPDATED: JUL 11, 2011 Bottle at home - Tasting. Cloudy amber/golden - white head. Oxidation, Nice fruity, grtape fruits, high oxidations, valnuts, berries, dried fruits, caramel. OK.

Corked and foiled, heavy bottle from 2002, consumed here in 2011 to celebrate a signature going down on paper. Even managed to get dust all over mine! Rich winy nose with molasses, cinnamon, raisin, dark fruit - like a bagel with a reduction drizzled over it. Some light caramel under the plum, grape, and cherry, the caramel reminds of Bigfoot (but obviously only a fraction of the potency). Sediment-filled dark ruby pour with no head. Thin, slightly oily body, dry and wine-ish, tons of fruit oozing around, mildly tangy with woody undertones and a brown sugar accent. Honestly, you might be able to fool a lot of people if you only gave them a glass and told them it was wine; the mouthfeel effects on lips, teeth, and gums and tongue are remarkably similar. Smoother sherry or port. No sign of the alcohol, either, which is a huge accomplishment. Flat but with soft carbonation effect into the aftertaste. Not getting nearly the levels of oxidation others are reporting, so it seems mine was kept well (or I just lucked out). I resist the urge to give points to this just for the age (hype, snootiness, gimmick, etc.); this is legitimately a complex English BW, smooth and oily, very well suited to contemplation by the fireplace (or, in my case, the lamp and IKEA desk).