O’Hanlon’s Thomas Hardy’s Ale (2003 - 2008)

Formerly brewed at O’Hanlon’s
Style: Barley Wine
Exeter, England

Serve in Snifter

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   update pic

2004 version. Sugary aroma with plums, just a touch of oak and hops. Very sweet, sugary flavor with pepper, grassy hops and burning alcohol, though partly hidden by the sweetness. Hint of oak. Thick and oily mouthfeel. Tasty beer, with a complex aroma. Has potential, but need further cellaring. This sample was too young.

Bottled @ DBF2004: Vintage 2003. Burgundy coloured. Clear. Beige lasting head. Plums, malt and alcahol in the nose. Vineous. Liqourice and malt in the flavour. Well hidden alcahol. Is smooth and pleasant on the palate. Nice one.

Bottle 2006 at Robbie’s in Daytona Beach, FL. Poured hazy brown cloudy with medium frothy head that diminished quickly. Complex aroma of tawny port and alcohol. Full body with thick texture. Complex flavor of bittersweet dark fruit flavor with small bitter finish of long duration. May be better in two years.

Bottle. Average of vintage 04, 05, 06, 07, 08. Dark brown colour with a beige head. Aroma is alcohol, sugar, licorice, caramel. Flavour is alcohol, sugar, licorice, caramel, hop. full body. Nice beer.

Sehr süßer Antrunk mit angenehmen Malznoten. Minimale Herbe, zuckrig, alkoholisch, dennoch weich. Zu süß, nicht ausgewogen. 8/9/8/9/12/9

Bottle conditioned, 250ml, 2003 edition No. 02269 from Abbey Stores, Salisbury (now closed). Chestnut to auburn with short lived head. Super rich palate, full on with a barley sugar fruitiness, some treacle, some sherry flavours. The alcohol is present even with 10 years of ageing, but this gives it the required depth of flavour rather than burning the palate. Plums and sultanas are all amalgamated in to the mix. A beautiful beer.

2007 bottle Q11560 from LCBO. A dark reddish brown ale with almost no head, off white, light carbonation. Aroma is pungent, caramel, molasses, with light licorice and cognac. In mouth, a sweet burned caramel with light lactic points, woody, chocolate and licorice. Warming alcohol warms you up. Very rich and heavy. A classic BW. Room temperature in chalice.

UPDATED: NOV 15, 2004 2003 Vintage. Re-rated 11/14/04. Very deep, hazy, caramel-colored ale with a small, quickly dissipating, tan head. Very rich, complex aroma with notes of dried plum, port, brown sugar, light molasses, candied pineapple, apricot, overripe apple and wood. This one’s a sipper! Sweet and malty; tart and tangy. Nice and woody. Decently hopped... mostly as an afterthought, I assume. Medium to full-bodied with a syrupy mouthfeel and light carbonation. Lengthy, sweet finish. Good stuff. Let it sit for a few years if possible.

2003, bottle #2874 - hazy red-brown colour with a giant and slightly brown-tainted head, very complex aroma, tons of malts, earthy and nutty with notes of alcohol, some fruits too (prune ?), licorice, very oily and very bitter, creamy mouthfeel, the finish is strongly malty with an endless and explosive warming alcohol kick - a powerful pleasure ! - With the old version, I have never been quite sure if I was liking it or not, my ratings going from 2.3 to 4.2 thru the different vintages. But this one is much better than any versions I had before. It does not have the cloying sweetness present in the past versions.

Bottle (vintage 2005): A bit unclear, deep ruby-amber coloured, no head to speak of; rich sweet-vinous fruitiness (cherries, blackcurrant) in the aroma, not far from a Port; full seet flavour, full bodied; warming alcohol in the long sweet finish, ending with traces of chocolate and dry hops in the aftertaste. A good Port, made of barley.......