Gales Jubilee Ale

Formerly brewed at Gales
Style: Barley Wine
Horndean, England

Serve in Snifter

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Glowing amber color...clear with a little debris floating around...no head. The aroma was full of sour grapes, sour cherries, green apples, wet wood, and alcohol. The flavor was very similar to the aroma with a little more emphasis on the alcohol...very bourbon-like. The feel was completely flat...no carbonation at all, thick...semi-dry finish.

Almost brown color with no head. Dried fruits and malt dominate the flavor, like a malty fruitcake. Somewhat chocolate dryness that was also sweet. Rich and complex.

Pours without any head (bottle was straight up) so the glass is squeaky clean. Cloudy amber color with yeast left in bottle. No carbonation and medium bodied. Nose is alcohol and vinious. Starts on the sweet side not cloying, the high abv is not noticeable, some sourness (raisin??) is there, great barleywine. The 275ml bottle is not enough, $5.49 from Oliver’s Beverage Albany, NY.

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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Pours copper and still. Smells of oak, lots of figs, raisins, brown sugar, molasses, touches of spice, hints of warming alcohol. Tastes oaky and sweet with a tarte finish. This beer has really come together.

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.

Bottle @ Yespr tasting.
[thank you, BelJohansen]
[vintage 2002]
Pours a hazy red-amber with a small off white film head. Aroma is port, vinious, caramel, musky, prunes. Fine oily mouthfeel with low carbonation. Flavour is sweet, lots of caramel and port. Good, cellared BW.

Bottle. Reddish brown color with no head or carbonation. Sweet, vinous and acidic aroma with notes of apple, vanilla, oak, cherry, pencil and bouillon. Sweet and acidic flavor with port wine, raisins, apple, oak and cherry. Very long and warming finish with apple, raisins and oak. Very deep flavors!

Jet black tar pour. Very sweet and woody nose. Taste is pine, cedar, molasses and sweet finish. Rated 3/16/03

Bottle .Pours red brown with almost no head.Aroma is dark berries,bready malt,alcohol and wood.Flavor is sweet malt,alcohol, berries,alcohol and bread.Full bodt,soft carbonation.Smooth and nice beer.