4 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
UPDATED: NOV 20, 2011
Date: September 23, 2011
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting
Vintage: 1987
Appearance: hazy amber, scant head
Aroma: sweet fruity aroma, candy sweetness, touch of hot wine
Flavor: sweet fruity flavor, drying out compared to vintages half this age, light bitterness
Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 14/20
Rating: 3.4/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: *** /4
Date: January 01, 2010
Mode: Bottle
Source: Cellar Stock
Vintage: 1988
Appearance: clear dark brown, frothy off white head
Aroma: sweet and fruity aroma, brown sugar sweetness, touch of sherry, light oxidized cardboard
Body: big sticky body
Flavor: sweet fruity flavor, caramel candy sweetness, light earthyness, fruity sherry, just a touch of the oxidized character
Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 8/10; Palate: 8/10; Overall: 16/20
Rating: 3.9/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: *** /4
Date: February 24, 1998
Mode: Bottle
Source: Total Beverage, DC
Vintage: 1990
Appearance: hazy rusty amber, whispy head
Aroma: strong malt with strong floral hop aroma
Flavor: strong malt flavor, bitter sweet, lasting bitterness, like a strong scotch ale, warming
Date: November 12, 2004
Vintage: 1990
Score: ii to iiii
Appearance: muddy brown
Aroma: sweet winey malt aroma that gradually gets smokier and smokier and then turns to strong rich ripe figs
Body: big body
Flavor: super rich complex malt flavor, thick sweet brown sugar character, only a slight of alcohol
Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 8/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 17/20
Rating: 3.9/5.0
Score: **** /4
Date: March 25, 2007
Mode: Draft
Source: Brick Store Pub
Vintage: 1995
Appearance: hazy dark amber, fine beige head disappers to leave a sparking clear amber ale
Aroma: sweet fruity aroma with strong ripe fruit and a hint of alcohol that comes off as a rum raison character
Body: body starts off velvet smooth and develops a thick sticky sweetness
Flavor: rich fruity flavor, all fruit with plum and apricot, lots of vanilla sweetness but not too sweet, light bitterness
Aroma: 8/10; Appearance: 8/10; Flavor: 8/10; Palate: 8/10; Overall: 17/20
Rating: 4.1/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: *** /4
Date: May 21, 1999
Mode: Firkin
Source: Taco Mac, Sandy Springs
Vintage: 1998
Appearance: dark amber, headless
Aroma: rich sweet winey aroma
Flavor: rich flavor, very winey, very warming, raspy oak character, touch of bitterness
Date: September 02, 2006
Mode: port cask
Source: summits cumming
Vintage: 1998
Appearance: muddy brown, headless
Aroma: sweet fruity sherry aroma with figs, dates, and soggy raisons
Body: thick creamy body with very little carbonation
Flavor: rich sweet flavor, tons of vanilla character, endless ripe fruit flavor, toffee, touch of sweet butterscotch, candy carmel, only a touch of alcohol, rich chocolate comes through upon warming, a nice hot buttered toffee, residual brown sugar sweetness
Aroma: 10/10; Appearance: 8/10; Flavor: 10/10; Palate: 8/10; Overall: 18/20
Rating: 4.6/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: **** /4
Date: November 05, 2004
Mode: Bottle
Source: Harry’s
Vintage: 2003
Appearance: clear dark yellow, headless, lots of visable carbonation
Aroma: sweet fumey aroma
Body: thin body
Flavor: rich sweet flavor, a bit fruity, warming, almost cloying
Date: November 10, 2004
Vintage: 2003
Appearance: muuddy burnt orange, scant head
Aroma: sweet fruity aroma
Flavor: rich malt flavor, a bit sweet and spicy, not cloying in a full size sample
Aroma: 5/10; Appearance: 8/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 5/10; Overall: 16/20
Rating: 3.5/5.0
Score: *** /4
Date: January 22, 2007
Mode: Bottle
Source: Blind tasting
Vintage: 2004
Appearance: muddy amber, wispy beige head
Aroma: tich caramel malt aroma with a nice fruity sweetness and light floral hops
Body: huge sticky body
Flavor: big sweet caramel flavor, lots of fruity character, little to no bitterness, quite drinkable in spite of all of the sweetness
Date: March 07, 2008
Mode: bottle
Source: blind tasting
Vintage: 2004
Score: 4.1
Appearance: dark ruby red, fine beige head, drippy lace
Aroma: sweet caramel and fruit aroma with lots of earthy hops
Body: big thick sweet sticky body
Flavor: lots of sweet fruity caramel flavor, very candy like, the sweet fruit and caramel complement each other very nicely, touch of hot caramel in the finish
Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 8/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 10/10; Overall: 15/20
Rating: 3.8/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: *** /4
Date: April 10, 2007
Mode: Draft
Source: Brick Store Pub
Vintage: 2005
Appearance: opaque burnet orange, frothy dirty white head, touch of lace
Aroma: sweet fruity aroma with a very caramelized sugar sweetness
Body: thick sticky body
Flavor: huge sweet fruity flavor, lots of caramel sweetness, not the usual cloying sweetness of a young harvest but not yet the ripening fruit of the mature one, picking up a smokey character in the aroma and flavor that has to be a total figment of my imagination, plenty of butterscotch character from the aroma through the slick body and sweetness in the flavor
Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 8/10; Overall: 15/20
Rating: 3.7/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: *** /4
3.6 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 14/20
Ruby brown, thin head. Aroma of dark fruit-rasini, plum, fig, along with molasses, bready malt, earthy. Taste is rich and complex, lots of dark fruit, leather, tobacco, molasses, mellow sweetness.
3.6 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
Bottle from Booths Ripon. Cloudy dark red brown with a sweet sugary warming red fruity flavour, leather and smoke with more sweetness on the finish.
3.7 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
275ml bottle from the 2006 crop. Pours out dark amber with zero head apart from a dozen or so bubbles. Wonderful toffee aroma. The taste moves through stages: first the deep caramel tones with added campfire hints, then the fruitiness (possibly aided by the ageing process) comes to the fore. It then gives a blast of heat before finishing on a few of those unfortunate cardboard notes. I notice the cardboard finish decreasing as the glass empties but I don’t have too many qualms about its presence; after all this is six years old now. Overall it’s a well-crafted barley wine but I think I’ll have to try a fresher one, as I suspect I’d enjoy it a little more.
4.6 AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 10/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 19/20
VINTAGE 1987! Holy fuck was this a good beer. Pours a cloudy brown with a respetable off white head for a beer this age. Tons and TONS of huge floaties. Huge woody, nutty aroma. Pure bliss in the nose. Impressive taste. Very smooth, sweet, nutty, caramel, toffee. Amazing vintage. Tasted and smelled like a campfire. WORLD CLASS.
3.2 AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 5/10 PALATE 2/5 OVERALL 13/20
2006 edition.pours cloudy burgundy with quite a bit of sediment.has the appearance of apple cider.aroma is malty sweet with caramel and over ripe apples and pears with perhaps what i think might be nutmeg.flavor is very sweet.caramel,apples,pears raisins and nutmeg and the alchohol is very well hidden at 11.5 abv.has a oily mouthfeel and a long sweet finish.harvest ale is perfect description because this will definitly remind you of autumn.aroma is wonderful in this but then its all average from there.well hidden alchohol but it takes on almost a carmel apple pie flavor which for some might be pleasant,but for me is over the top sweet.if i had this in a two ounce pour as a dessert beer i think that would have been more fitting.glad i had it but i wont search it out again
4 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
2006 Vintage. Muddy cider-caramel with almost no head / Musty, nutty nose of cooked orchard fruit, caramel, and oak / Medium to full body, some astringency, sweet and malty but mellow, with good balance but very bitter finish / Flavor of apple cider, caramel, big tobacco, nut, grass, and oak / Score is very tentative as haven’t tried a more contemporary version of this 6 year old. It is a treat to try something this old.
4.3 AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 18/20
The 2006 vintage. Ruby red to dark brown in colour with a weak head. Very vinous nose, grapey port-like aroma with a nutty, meaty background. Full bodied mouthfeel. The taste follows the aroma, nutty, grapey and port-like, with a slightly sour, meaty flavour in the finish.
4.2 AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20
Bottle - 2008 vintage sampled in 2012. Murky orange pour with a smaller white head and lots of sediment. Huge nose of caramel, sweet sugars, molasses, plum, and some booze. Full palate. Taste is sticky sweet sugars and fruits, with plenty of caramel malt. Really good stuff!
3.7 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
Vintage 2000. Sampled on 2/15/10.
Poured into a snifter. Pours a thick, syrupy mahogany with a thin tan head on top. This disappears to just a ring around the edge. Little spotty lace. Scents of toffee, molasses, syrup, and wet wood.
The body still retains a good amount of carbonation, but the finish is extremely smooth and warming. This is a very sweet beer after all these years. Big toffee and caramel notes. Sugary syrup finish. Sort of a chalky mouth on the back end. This is almost too sweet for me. It’s definitely a slow-sipper. Not a bad bottle to split among friends, and enjoy by the fire.
4.1 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20
2008 bottle at home tasting, having tried 06 and 07 in the past. Murky amber/brown pour with barely any head and some sediment. Aroma dominated by sweetness with caramel, toffee and a little fruit. Flavour is the same, dominated by sweetness but in a nice way similar to a Stille Nacht with a few years on it. Full bodied with low carbonation. A really great beer.
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