Gales Prize Old Ale (1920s - 2006)

Formerly brewed at Gales
Style: Old Ale
Horndean, England

Serve in English pint, Snifter

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Bottle split with Mitch, Matt, Jim, and Tom. Pours a clear amber with no head. Caramel, oxidization, plums, caramel and toffee on the nose. Tastes like caramel Kool-Aid, old toffees, and just a bit of tartness. Caramel and toffees again, sweet malt, more oxidization and old plums. Tart with a touch of old smoke on the finish. Started off really nice in terms of aroma, but everything was downhill from there.

Bottle shared by Lunch. Thanks Paul. 1999 vintage The beer is flat and appears a light brown hue. The aroma offers old, dank basement, cardboard, malt, booze. The flavor is just not appealing. Old, boozy liquor dipped in cardboard. Devoid of carbonation and off putting on the palate. I have tried this beer several times over the last several years and have yet to have a positive experience. Avoid. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 01-02-2012

275ml bottle in a snifter. Bottled in 1998. Pours brown/ruby with a small, beige head. Aroma of dark fruits, caramel and bread malts, a little spiciness, and a good amount of hops. Flavor more like a wine with all of the fruit notes and high alcohol content, but the malts and hops remind you it’s an old ale. Smooth texture. A really good beer.

I was very disappointed with this as I love old ales. I chipped the bottle trying to get the cork out It poured with absolutely no head despite pouring it slow. It has the aroma of a Belgian quad with a hazy reddish brown coloring. Flavor was a bit solventy with hint of raisins and prunes. Very thin body and watery mouth feel. Hard to finish.

Vintage 1996 bottle at the Chriso Fullers Vintage Tasting, London. I brought this one along. Pours cloudy, amber-brown with a few bubbles for a head. Tangy fruits in the nose, some definite aged malts. Interesting flavor, medium sweet with leathery and tangy fruits, berries, slight herbal bitterness, some overripe semi-dark fruits. Medium to full bodied with flat carbonation. Warming finish with big leather character, wet wood, semi-dryness, leathery fruit aftertaste. Not bad. (3.6)

Vintage 2005 bottle at Chriso Fullers Vintage Tasting, London. Pours very cloudy brown with just a few bubbles. Aged malt nose, some hints of caramel. Light to medium sweet flavor with dry fruits, light caramel, some sweet cake. Medium to full bodied with soft carbonation. Lightly warming finish, leathery, faintly tangy, with a bit more caramel. So so. (3.4)

Supposedly bottled 1996. Dark brown, tinge of red, absolutely no head. Great aroma, smells like dark bread soaked in molasses, dates, raisins, caramel. Unfortunately the taste does not live up to the aroma, it is sort of flat and thin. A little sweet, some vinegar and alcohol. Extra points for aroma and being old and interesting but only marginally drinkable. Probably was better 5-6 years ago. Will have to see if I can find a newer version.

Bought at Total Wine in Henderson, NV. Bottled in 2001. 9% alcohol, sweet malty flavor with hints of dark fruit, syrupy. You can savor a sip for a bit, this bottle will last awhile. I liked it, I'm going to buy some of the older ones. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

2003 bottle version. Pours murky brown with some chunky sediment. No head. Raisin and whiskey notes prevail along with a strong caramel malt base. While hops do not play into the aroma to any extent, the back of the tongue bitterness is still there in spades along with a sour oakey tang in the finish.

Sampled at an esbls tasting. An aggressive nose tells me this is a sipper. A lot is going on in the aroma. Dark fruit, wood, spices. A watery feel. Those same flavors are tasted but they smell so much better than they taste. Hot alcohol, too. Failure.

Pours amber, still and no head. Aroma of sweet caramel malt. Taste follows, light and sweet. Not a lot going on ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone