RateBeer

St. Ambroise Vintage Ale

Percentile
98
overall
Brewed by McAuslan Brewing
Style: Barley Wine

Montreal, Canada

bottled
common

on tap
unknown

Broad Distribution
Find this beer

Add Distribution Data
send corrections | shelftag |
RatingsAverageScoreABVStyle PctlServe in
2983.86/5.03.84/5.09.8%90.4Snifter
Commercial Description:
Also known as St.Ambroise Millésimée.

In honour of our tenth anniversary, McAuslan Vintage Ale has been brewed to continue the centuries-old tradition of strong ales and barley wines. Vintage Ale is rich and malty, with a surprisingly well balanced and clean hop finish provided by classic Goldings hops. The ale is unfiltered and derives its orange hue from wheat malt blended with pale and Munich malts. The malts also provide a hints of caramelized fruit reminiscent of a Christmas pudding.
McAuslan Brewing will celebrate each new year by brewing Vintage Ale on our anniversary. As a vintage product, we estimate this ale will remain in good condition for a number of years.
The 2006 edition is down from 9.4% to 9.2%. In 2007 this went to 8%. In 2009 this went to 9.8%.

All vintages of this barley wine are to be rated on this page.
 Most Recent Top Raters Highest Ratings Who's Rated This?  
 hellbilly (1515), scottsdale über alles, Arizona, USA
3.6 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/103/57/103/516/20
Jun 21, 2008  
2007 bottle sampled with the phoenix crew courtesy of rustychiles. pale honey color with a small off white head. smells like it will be really sweet.... honey, pale malt, orange, earth and light spicy hops. the palate is on the sweet side but not nearly as the aroma... flavors of honey, toffee, spices, light pine, grass, earthy hops, fruit and slight oxidation (not off putting at all. akin to aged sherry). a little thin in the mouth feel but that could be a good thing given how sweet it is. seems more like an old ale in flavor than a bw?...


 SuperDave70 (1157), Beautiful Sunny Mesa, Arizona, USA
3.7 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/103/58/103/516/20
Jun 4, 2008  
Sampled at Hellbilly’s Hellraiser II. Thanks Rusty! Caramel colored pour with a small white head. Pretty straightforward aroma of sweet malt, hops and some fruit. Sweet malty flavor fading into a bit of a hoppy bite. Good.


 Sparky27 (1586), Phoenix, Arizona, USA
3.6 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/103/57/103/516/20
May 27, 2008  
Sampled at Hellbilly’s Hellraiser II. Bottle courtesy of Rustychiles. Pours a clear amber with almost no head. Nose is hops up front with a sweet malt background. Palate is the opposite – malt upfront with a mellow hop bite in the finish. Medium mouth feel. Decent Barleywine.


 rustychiles (1026), Mesa, Arizona, USA
3.8 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/103/58/104/516/20
May 26, 2008  
Bottle shared at Hellbillys Hellraiser II. Pours an amber color with a small white head. Aroma of barley, malt, hops. Flavor of malt, and hops. Nice palate. Pretty good barleywine.


 JMFG (1514), Florida, USA
3.8 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/58/103/516/20
May 18, 2008  
2006 vintage acquired a while back in trade with beerbuzzmontreal. Cloudy copper-red color, thick viscous white head. Sweet caramel malt aroma - nice and candied aroma that stops short of cloying. Rich amlt base with a sweetness and hop mix that is well-balanced, considering it is a sweeter barleywine. The hops give a nice finish. Very nice.


 kramer (2465), Sunbury, Pennsylvania, USA
3.6 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/103/57/103/515/20
May 16, 2008  
12 oz bottle, 2006 Vintage, via TheCheeseMan and SoLan. Pours a cloudy amber body with a tight bubbled creamy beige head that left some sparce lacing. The first thing to strike me off of the nose is oxidation, but the good kind, not cardboard, more of a sherry aroma. Some alcohol, some juicyfruit sweetness, yeastiness, spicy alcohol, and some various Christmas beer-like spices. The flavor is sweet caramel malt that has been overtaken by oxidation, leaving a little bit of a cardboardy flavor, unlike the aroma. Very spicy and yeasty, it actually has some similar characteristics as a Hefeweizen in that it seems like a lot of the flavor comes from the yeast. Mouthfeel is medium to full bodied with a fairly smooth creamy texture. Moderate soft fizzy carbonation. Overall, this was decent, but I can’t seem to see this beer holding up real well for an extended period of time. This 2006 bottle seems to be showing much more age than it should be.


 unclemattie (2402), Georgia, USA
2.8 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
6/103/54/104/511/20
May 13, 2008  
St.Ambroise Millésimée, Vintage 2007. 12oz bottle. 8% ABV. Clear amber color. Aroma of cinnamon roll and a stick of butter. Flavor is buttery and with a nice malt.


 Cletus (5052), Connecticut, USA
4.3 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
9/103/59/104/518/20
May 8, 2008  
2007 Bottle courtesy of hogtownharry. Pours caramel with a thin white head. smells fruity with some sweet malt, earth, roses, oak, some nice tea qualities. Tastes lightly tarte and bitter with some earthiness. I really like the light fruity character in this one. Finish yields some touches of bitterness and pepper. Excellent!



CONSIDER FREE RATEBEER MEMBERSHIP



Join us! RateBeer is made by beer enthusiasts for the craft beer community. Your basic membership is free and allows you to read all beer ratings. Click here to create your account... and give your opinion!

SIGN UP NOW »

View Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30


About RateBeer | Add A Beer | Log In | Edit Personal Info | 100 Beer Club | FAQ | Feedback?
Copyright © 2000-2009, RateBeer LLC