St. Ambroise Vintage Ale

Brewed by McAuslan Brewing
Style: Barley Wine
Montreal, Canada

Bottle from the LCBO. 2007 edition. Poured a cloudy amber with a small frothy off-white head. Caramel, pine needles and alcohol on the nose. Initial tasting reveals a thicker than expected mouthfeel, with a perfect level of carbonation. The taste is of rich dark fruits and caramel, tailing off into a surprisingly bitter finish. I’ll definitely put aside a couple of bottles for aging, because I think this one could develop nicely.

341ml bottle, 2007 version. Pours a nice murky, deep orange, with a small beige head. Aroma: piney and citrusy hops, like a pale ale, very nice. Also some fruity esters, pineapple, caramalts, and a hint of alcohol. Taste: More of the same, less hop presence than I was expecting, but still some nice goldings flavour. Fruit and caramel tend to dominate, but they work well together in this one. The ABV is pretty undetectable, no cloying or burning feelings. Over-all I like this beer, it’s much more flavourful and probably a better example of a barley wine than some other stuff I’ve had. I may buy another bottle to age and re-rate some time in the future. I really love and respect this brewery too.

Bottle (2006) at "Wining & Dining Tasting" - Thanks to MPA. Cloudy orange - offwhite head. Dusty, almonds, caramel, toffee, synthetic, artificial, raisins, wineous, essens. Not that interesting.

Bouteille 341ml Milllésimée 2006. De couleur ambrée orange et légèrement voilée. Nez malté de caramel toffee sucré, fruité (raisins, cerises, léger de prunes), léger d’alcool et boisé (fût de chêne). Moyenne-ronde en bouche avec un pétillement bas-moyen et une texture moyennement crémeuse et légèrement liquoreuse. Goût de levures fruitées (raisins légèrement vineux, prunes, notes de cerises et d’agrumes) accompagné de traces de vanille lors de l’entrée en bouche auquel vient se rajouter un goût de malt du genre caramel toffee sucré aux notes de biscuits et avec de faibles notes de pain rôti (quelques traces de sirop d’érable et de butterscotch). Parallèlement, l’on retrouve un moyen goût d’alcool liquoreux et réchauffant jusqu’en finale puis accompagné d’un léger goût boisé avec des notes de noix asséchantes et de houblon herbeux (petites notes terreuses). Post-goût long et un peu sec, légèrement amer d’alcool liquoreux, de houblon herbeux avec un goût fruité (moût de raisins et pelures de prunes) et un léger goût boisé.

2006 vintage thanks to Glouglouburp. Hazy amber color with a small off white head. Sweet toffee-like aroma with lots of caramel, some sherry notes and a strong alcohol nose. Flavor was quite sweet, with lots of caramel malt. A bit of sweet sherry and vanilla with an alcoholic finish. Somewhat cloying. Quite good, but was a bit too sweet for my tastes.

Wining & Dining Tasting. THX Mads Peter. Pours a slightly hazy amber with an off-white head. Quite bitter with some caramel aromas. Also some dust. Full bodied. Fizzy carbonation. Bitter finish with a slight alcohol touch.

2006 VINTAGE. Pours a rather hazy orange with an average size foamy off white head. Big nose of yeast, hops, malt and slight alcohol. Taste of spoiled banana, wood and slight alcohol. Dry palate with a slightly harsh bitter finish. Interesting brew but not for me. UPDATE 12/25/2008 bottle from glouglouburp that I have been hanging onto for a while. I have to say not much has changed with this one. The aroma has improved a bit with more sweentess coming through, caramel..toffee..a touch of honey. sadly the flavor hasnt improved and upon my first sip I thought this is what a urinal cake must taste like. Luckily the flavor improved from there but still is to waxy and dry. Funny thing is I thought this was going to be a new rating for me but alas once you get close to the 4 digit mark you sort of forget which beers you have already rated.

Re-rate, 06 Vintage via wetherel on Beer 9 of Officially the Best Thursday in Beer ever in the existence of my life. As my Montreal buddies say the 07 vintage is damn different. 06 was poured orange with a tan head. Sweet and syrupy nose. Blended with a sweet and sharp and nice mouth feel. Pretty damn killer Vintage 2007. Although some think this should be its own listing, I don’t know as its the only one I’ve had. Pours orange with high levels of carbonation and a 2 finger creamy tan head. Nose is yeasty and sweet. Taste is sweet, malty and has a hop finish. This 07 vintage is certainly no Barley Wine.