St. Ambroise Vintage Ale Millésimée

Brewed by McAuslan Brewing
Style: Barley Wine
Montreal, Canada

Serve in Snifter

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16th May 2011
2007 Vintage. Very hazy brown beer, good ivory head. Dry palate. Even malt, trace of dried fruits and a whisper of brandy. Dry finish. Okay but somewhat one dimensional.

Poured into chalice glass. Small one finger head with some carbination. Darker clear ready color. The smell is a light fruity swetness. Taste some plumy pudding/fruit cake taset,some sweetness,some bitterness and mabye some spice. Some sips in the throat I get a little warmth from the 10%. I also have a 2012 version againg. I’d rather pass on this but not the worst thing cheer’s.

Bottle. Beautiful hazy gold pour with thick creamy head that sticks around. Sweet, mildly boozy (not as much as the % would suggest), with a hoppy backing. Barley wines aren’t necessarily my thing, but this was a surprisingly drinkable and tasty version.

12oz bottle. 2009 vintage. Pours a translucent garnet amber with one ring of white head. Nose of orange, malt, a little leather, caramel, a little rum. Flavor was fairly standard, malt, caramel, orange, light tropical fruit. Maybe I caught this at a weird time; too many years on for solid hop presence, too few years to allow oxidation to do its thing.

Bottle, pours an dark amber, aroma is heavy malty and flavour is very harsh and really heavy, a difficult one to drink for me, wasnt to big on this one

Quite nice. If it was cheaper and sold in six packs I’d be sold six times at least. Nose is butter rum lifesavers drizzled with maple syrup. Appears typical amber but of quality. Decent lacing; lotsa tiny bubbles. Rich syrupy mouthfeel. Long complex finish. Bittersweet. Burnt toffee and marshmallow engulfed hops action going on. Does that sound pretentious enough? Quite the lingering bite. Very hoppy to back up the initially way sweet goings on. Overall I really like this, afterall barley wines are right up there for me. I wish I woulda saved a Russian stout from last year to see which one I prefer. Based on memory though last years by a hair.

2009,Yeast floaties in an otherwise clear amber. Not much going on in aroma but a slight mineral/sweet malt. Taste of caramel malts,mildly roasty/toasty,toffee-raison,mild fruit tones,some alcohol,kinda grassy finish. Has some hop flavor and a balanced bitter. Some tart/acidicness in the end. Not real impressed but its not bad.

Bottle (341 ml) vintage 2011 & 2012 side by side. Amber/orange color with a small persistent off-white head. Aroma of the 2011 is of malt sweetness, candy sugar, slight wood and nuts notes and some alcohol. Aroma of the 2012 is a more hoppy and all the other characteristics are the same but significantly hidden by hops, except for the malt sweetness who’s also very present. Taste of the 2011is sweet and fruity with wood and alcohol being present too. Taste of the 2012 is also sweet with hoppy notes and some alcohol. Slight bitter finish for the 2012. Mouthfeel of both is sirupy. Warming alcohol. I slightly prefer 2011 vintage over 2012 but none of them are great Barley Wine and I don’t think aging will do miracle with them. That being said, I remember enjoying a 2009 vintage much more than these two. Still one of the good bottle barley wine made in Québec.

St-Ambroise Vintage 2012 Bottle into a snifter. Trying it fresh for comparison to older versions. Looks: Off-white head which quickly dissipates to the sides of the glass. Ruby infused copper colour with some floating particles. Smells: If you know the malted wheat smell that makes St. Ambroise Pale Ale so distinctive then you’ll pick it up here for sure. On top of that is some rich toffee and brown sugar. Tastes: Starts with a rich sweet, toffee, some light chocolate, and dark red fruits. Some spiciness from the hops cuts through the middle reducing the sweetness. It finishes with a nice assertive bitterness and some lingering cherry flavours. Really pronounced dark red fruit flavours throughout and very balanced sweetness. Feels: Thick, pretty actively carbonated. I’m not really detecting the 10%, largely because the heat from the alcohol is hidden by the spicy hops. Though it is somewhat hot. Overall: This is a very balanced and rich vintage ale. It has a lot of complexity in the dark fruit flavours (almost big rich red wine territory) that are well matched with an assertive bitterness.

An amazing beer. 2012 vintage. Pours amber with a medium head and lots of lacing. Nose is sweet... Like candy. Aromas of maple syrup, candy with a big alcohol burn, although it works. Taste is big sweet. Mouth is creamy. Big massive beer. Be fun to age.