St. Ambroise Vintage Ale Millésimée

Brewed by McAuslan Brewing
Style: Barley Wine
Montreal, Canada

Serve in Snifter

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Dark red brown beauty with a milky white head. Aroma is malty hops and caramel. Smells super tasty. Flavour has lots going on. Complex, but smooth. As it warms, nice caramel sweetness comes into play. Constant mild bitterness throughout rising off the hops. Maybe some fruit in their also. The finish is a nice bitter sweetness. Good times.

2011 Vintage. Lovely colour and pours beautifully. Good head retention. Very light carbonation, but with lovely threads. Plenty of nose, hints of fruit and burnt sugar. Tastewise, it’s not complex. Alcohol and sugar, with quite a long bitter finish. Looks and smells excellent, but the taste doesn’t live up to the promise. Maybe needs a few years?

2012. 341ml bottle. Pours a hazy amber body, good cappuccino head, good retention. Aroma of sweet caramel, dried apples, floral hops, roasted nuts, whisky. It hits your taste buds with an incredible amount of bitter herbal hops, sweet caramel and malt, dried fruits. Unbalanced. Was expecting much more after tasting the 2010 edition.

bottle. Pours amber, small head. Aroma of caramel and whiskey. Taste is a little sharp, wonder if aging will soften the edges a bit. Good but not great.

2011 bottling from a trade a while ago. Pours with a hazy amber hue with a minimal off white head. Complex and floral as well as malty aromas. Marmalade, rich toffee, creme brûlée and cara malts with some light brandy notes, elegant esters, toffee and fruit. Flavors are elegant. Rich alcohol, heavy bitterness that balances, rich esters and malt. Nougat, strawberry like esters, raisins, brandy, leather and maple doused pancakes. Despite all the sweet descriptors the beer finished relatively dry, with esters, alcohol and a bitter, nearly tannic finish. Moderate carbonation with a thicker body. A well done and complex Barleywine.

Copper with no head. Sweet caramel and fruity. Sweet and a touch tangy. Good mouthfeel. Nice sipper.

I had one of these originally when I first started liking barleywines. Didn’t think much of it at the time. As my tastes have matured in the last year or two, I have to say this is one of the best English barleywines I’ve had. I poured this into my snifter and there was not much of a head. There is some lacing as I slowly sip this into my belly. Oddly, of any beer I’ve ever had of any kind, this one seems to have no aroma. If I glue my nose to the glass rim and sniff hard, a very subtle sweetness but really, an obviously weak aroma to none at all. The taste though is right on the money for an English barleywine. Prunes come to mine on my first sip. Moderately sweet as I’ve certainly had sweeter and less sweet barleywines. Little hop profile which is par for the course. All in all, I hope to get another one of these and maybe put some additional years on it. Very tasty and one you will want to add to your collection if you like English barleywines.

341ml 2012. Apres avoir constaté la jolie couleur ambré qui éclate notre iris, nous profitons de l’odeur agréable de fruit rouge séchés et d’alcool nous insite à nous desalterer. L’arome franche de fruit des champs est facile à détecter à travers le gout d’alcool qui se désipera si nos bouteille gagne en maturité. A conservé quelques années dans votre entrepot!

Bouteille 341ml. 2012. Couleur orangée foncée translucide, mousse beige laissant une dentelle crémeuse. Arôme de malt, caramel, sucre d’orge, houblon, alcool. Goût de malt, houblon, sucrée, alcool qui tapisse le palais, bonne amertume. Carbonation élevée, corps moyen, collante.

Pours deep ruby amber. Aroma is vanilla port wine. Flavours include vanilla, port, rum and brandy. Very deep flavour ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone