St. Ambroise Vintage Ale

Bottle from boutip. Pours hazy, sparkling deep copper with an average sized fizzy off-white head, diminishes to patches, spare lacing. Aroma is heavy malt (candy, caramel, bread), average hops (perfume, fruit), average yeast (dough) with notes of honey, alcohol and apple. Long duration, average sweetness, acidity and bitterness; creamy alcohol and nutty caramel malt candied fruit and yeast flavor. Full bodied, creamy texture, soft carbonation and metallic finish.

2006 Vintage, Slight hazy golden -amber beer with a deep cognac like glow. The beer pours a nice off white yellowish head and the aroma is very complex. First impressions in the nose are herbs, honey, barley, flower pollen, butter caramels and a fine accents of warm spices like cardemom, nutmeg and birth wood. The aroma evoluates in a great way when it warm a little, the cognac and brown rhum touches are integrated in a perfect way. The taste is rich and very elegant, it is very Barley wine like, The butter Caramel, the smooth slight sugary cereals, and the Baba au Rhum and Cognac touches are so well in composition. In the second fase, the interesting selection of hops are comming to the forground. The mild, warm, and slight sugary body is very well countered by the refreshing hop-bitters and the refreshing accents of herbs. A great beer with a complex afthertaste. I do hope to try this again from an older vintage. Thanks Joris for sharing this one.

(Bottle, 2001 vintage) Pours a murky brown body with descent beige head. Aroma of brown sugar, citrus, roasted malt, toffee, and vinous. Flavor of toasted malt, maple syrup, and spicies. Thanks for sharing Walt! (Bottle, 2006 vintage) Pours a clear amber body with a small white head. Aroma breadiness, sweet caramel malt, light candish berries, and florals. Flavor of malt, lightly skunky hops, dried fruits, paint thinner, and caramel. Thanks for sharing Peter! 7/3/6/3/12

Crap, I’m not sure what year this was, and my digitcal camera picture is too low-res for that. Anyway, aroma of pear, and light caramel mostly. Flavor includes more dried fruit and plums, molasses, caramel and dark sugars. Fairly dry finish, and a toast aftertaste. Very good stuff.

[2001 bottle] Sweet pumpernickel aroma with dried fruits and a touch of nuttiness. Pours an opaque almost purplish garnet with only a thin ring and central patch of white. Delicious and smooth cereal grain married very well to sweet dried fruits and a tangy bitterness. Full body with modest carbonation and a rounded finish. If you have a 2001 bottle that you’ve been saving, IT’S READY! Epitome of smooth.

Bottle Vintage 2006. Hazy amber with a nice creamy head. Wonderfull aroma of butterscotch, roasted malt, nuts, alcohol, hops... Taste is caramel, roasted malt, plums, sweetness, a complex bitterness and an interesting hops profile. Amazing beer!

This is NOT AT ALL THE SAME BEER AS THE OTHER VINTAGE ALES (2006)... Beautifull long lasting creamy head... fantastic looking body... Amazing looking beer. Creamy caramel, butterscoth, toffee, nutty, prunes, Honey... Increadibly amazing nice tasting beer... nice sweet mellow bitter taste thats long lasting... the taste is long lasting... I have a strange feeling that this beer will be worth a big 5 on 5 in another 5 years. Buy 2, drink 1 and let the other age... enjoy! ...

1999: In a red wine glass: Hazy amber body with an off-white/orangey head. It’s not too generous though and while aging probably is a cause, this remains one of the only blames I can give this fine beer. The aroma is to dream of, aroma itself is warming with alcohol peaks, complex dark malts giving it a nice balance of fruits(berries, and caramel with. The taste is very good, but not quite up to the delicious aroma. It remains rather complex with hints at bread, spices, caramel and a nice balanced hoppiness. Bitter, but mostly sweet grapes aftertaste. Excellent full mouthfeel. It sure did age well, especially that the keeping conditions in the store I found this in .(Liqueurs Populaires on Taschereau Boulevard in Montreal’s South Shore). 9/3/8/5/17=4.2

2001 Version: Evocative malt layers aroma with obvious citrusy hops -that are, imo, not overexpressed as in a Hog Heaven for instance- which resembles to Columbus (pine, vanilla, toffee). As it enters the mouth, what surprises me is the very creamy sensuous body, I don’t remember it being that corpulent from earlier vintages, very pleasant to say the least, the malts are chewy, not too sweet, but complex and pronounced. The hops are abundant, but not necessarily providing much bitterness, just giving it a chewy biting aspect. I’m really hooked on that malt profile though, desperately trying to suck the flavors out of my tongue as I finish the glass. 9/4/9/5/17=4.4

Vintage 2006: Clear orangey auburn. Feeling quite hoppy at this young stage and I suspect possible tweaking on the hop bill as earthy, citrusy grapefruit rind accompanies the otherwise bittering, spicy and lean hops. The head is initially dense enough, but fades at a constant, rather quick pace. More spruce than I remember. As far as the malt goes, perhaps its a youth effect, but I don’t quite quite catch as much vinous factor as I remember, though there’s plenty of toastiness, and fruit-soaked rum bread flavors in there, finishing with more than honest preserving bitterness. Not so silky as I expected, but quite smooth. I’d bring it down from past years, but I’m less fond of intensity nowadays. 8/4/7/3/15=3.7.
Earlier Rating: 7/17/2003 Total Score: 4.1
Massive caramel and vanilla scent. The aroma is great really, very inviting. Sweet taste of caramel flirting with good drew hop bitterness while alcohol watches on top of it all. Marvellous degustation ale.