Gales Jubilee Ale

Formerly brewed at Gales
Style: Barley Wine
Horndean, England

Serve in Snifter

Botted 2002; tasted at cellar temperature November 2006.

The cork comes out with nary a whisper, but even before I pour the rich brandy-colored liquid into my glass, I can smell its caramel richness. There is no head on the pour at all, and beer is entirely flat; nonetheless it’s beautiful, rich in tone and texture, deep in color.

The aroma is powerful and very British-barleywine, full of rich caramel with ample woodiness and just a hint of orange. I personally find British barleywines to be a challenge in their flavors: like others of the style this is an acidic, vinous barleywine. Early flavors of caramel and prunes blends with complex wood flavors before turning to the acidic, almost sour flavors that I find so difficult especially at first sip but which become more appealing as my palate adjusts over the course of five ounces or so. The woody complexity is really impressive; the finish comes back together nicely and is still adequate dry, even after four-plus years of aging. The mouthfeel is completely without carbonation and the texture is very smooth, with the alcohol more apparent in the rich texture than in any heat that comes through.

This is clearly a beautifully crafted beer, and I’m enjoying a lot, though it certainly is much more challenging for me to get around than most of the American barleywines. It’s well worth the effort.

2002 Vintage Poured a hazy copper color with a minimal off-white head. Almost still. Sweet dark fruity aroma with notes of wood, raisins, dried apples, hint of spice and light alcohol. Fruity flavor wit a tart but dry and tannic bitter finish. Full bodied with a light syrupy mouthfeel.

UPDATED: NOV 28, 2006 Bottle: Courtesy of Styles. Aroma has strong notes of raisin, light grape, prunes, caramel, and light alcohol. Pours a bright reddish-orange with an almost non-existant head, only a few stray bubbles. Flavor leans strong towards watery apple juice with faint hints of caramel. There’s a touch of sourness with some woody bitterness in the finish. This didn’t hold up well at all. Thin and slight watery mouthfeel.

Nice. The body of this retired ale is a cloudy chestnut; its white head barely living past the pour. It smells like an aged wine with scents of figs & dates, alcohol, molasses, and dusty caramel & toffee. It’s quite smooth, warm, and friendly on the tongue. Tastes like a wine made of dried fruits, caramel, light brown sugar... wood. The alcohol is there, but it blends in wonderfully. The finish is slightly tart with a low alcohol burn. Nice.

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Big thanks to my co-worker Josh (from Capical Ale House: Innsbrook) for sharing this beauty. Great beer from this now out-of-business brewery. 2002 vinatge that starts with a nice ruby-brown body with a thin off-white head. Great aroma, somewhat musky and earthy, though with some distinct fruit accents. Taste was typical of Gales, tart and sour, though in this case there was a very nice peach mid-taste with a nice tart ending.

Finally a beer from this brewery I like. Smells like a molasses barleywine, as it should. Very very woody flavor and a funky finish. Different, but nice.

Bottle at RBESG 2006. (at least i think so, my notes tell me that it said 1935 somewhere on the label) Beautiful aroma, smelt like a very nice port. Tasted more like a hybrid. Didn’t quite work for me. A bit syrupy as well.

UPDATED: JUN 30, 2009
10/16/2006: I always get excited about a corked bottle of beer for some reason, but I also get fearful that the cork will be dried out and I will break it off in the bottle. Luckily that was not the case this time! My mouth started watering as a pulled the cork and started pouring this beer. Color is brown with an amber hue. Mostly clear with some sediment suspended in it. No carbonation (probably due to the fact that it has been in a corked bottle for 4 years!). Aroma is mouthwatering and deep - Malt, port, sherry, and well aged alcohol-soaked wood. The flavor is even also deep and complex with hints of malt, caramel, grapes, apples, and oak. The finish is a little dry and some nice bitterness gets a comes through as well. The alcohol is also detectable in the finish, but not quite as obvious as I thought it might be for 12%. The mouthfeel is on the full side, but quite smooth and not syrupy at all. As it warms, the beer becomes more vineous and some of its complexities disapate. I didn’t have this beer when it was released, but I think this beer has aged nicely and has many good aged-like aromas and flavors.

9.3 oz bottle (12% alcohol, corked bottle), $2.99 from Party Town. Rating: 8/2/7/3/15=3.5.
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2002 Vintage

5/07/2009: Gales Jubilee Ale pours a FLAT amber color. The aroma is malty, fruity, and oxidized (in a good, complementary way). I actually really like the flavor. It reminds me of a weak English barleywine... This beer is sweet, malty (prunes?), and REALLY good even 7 years later. There isn’t a lot of depth in this beer as far as complexities go, but I really like the malt profile and subtle sweetness. This beer has aged very well.. By the way, the cork smells exactly like a good cigar.

9.8 fl. oz. bottle (12% Alc/Vol.). Rating: 8/3/8/3/16=3.8.