St. Ambroise Vintage Ale

[Vintage 2001 sampled 2005]
A hazy orange beer with a disappearing orange head. The aroma is sweet and quite hoppy. The flavor is sweet and very hoppy with a slight alcohol burn. Nice for a barley wine to by so hopped. Thanks, Per, for sharing.
Vintage 2000 - Sampled 2006 - it definately is over the top [4/3/5/3/10=2.5]
An amber beer with a fast disappearing orange head. The aroma is extremely oxidixed, but also has notes of oranges. The flavor is sweet and again very oxidixed but not as bad as in the aroma, but also has notes of fruit

(Bottle 34,1 cl) Hazy, amber golden with an off-white head. Fat, caramel aroma with a tart edge. Fairly full-bodied with notes of overripe apricots. Sweet caramel malts and sherry like accents. Perhaps somewhat oxidized. 290806
Earlier Rating: 8/15/2005 Total Score: 3.4
(Bottle 34,1 cl) Vintage 2001. Hazy, amber golden with a nice, beige head. Aromas of sweetish malt and hops - lovely aromatic, hoppy nose. Sweetish and quite alcoholic with loads od sweet caramel. 120805

Bottled. Amber coloured. Unclear. Light brown dense head. Sweet citric and flowery aroma. Loads of pruny and sweet almond notes. LIght herbal and spiced. Very dry and full of alcohol. A bit too much alcohol for my likings.
Earlier Rating: 2/13/2005 Total Score: 3.7
Bottled 2001 vintage: Murky orange/amber coloured. Beige dense head. Flower, liqourice and alcohol in the nose. Flavour is quite smooth and hoppy. Some alcohol and maltsweetness is present. Is nicely bitter in the end. Nothing extraordinary, but a decent brew.

Bottled. Slightly hazy amber coloured. Very oxidized. Loads of old prunes. Very sweet. Far too old and mature for my likings.

Orange-brown. Honey aroma with notes of chocolate and raisins. Honey flavour with notes of spices, hops and alcohol. Sweet with dry finish.

Vintage 2001 tasted early 2006. Orange-brown color, some particles, very little head. Some candies pierce through the very strong alcohol aroma (smells like a “baba au rhum”). Taste is very sweet, strong alcohol (feels even more than “only” 9.6%), syrupy, some grapes and various dried dark fruits. The hop profile is gone. Definitely past its prime and not worth the current high price tag. Unfortunately I didn’t take notes when I had these past few years. Used to be great, now it’s just ok, in a few years it will be so-so and a few more years and I’ll be ashamed to admit that I once enjoyed it… funny how I feel the same about many ex-girlfriends.

Vintage 2001 - Brown body with a beautiful red shine, huge beige head leaving thick laces; Very special deep nose, it has a cloggy oxidized sweetness to it that over powers its depth: wood, tar, tobacco, humidor, prune and some sweet caramel; The body is quite soft, could be a little thicker in texture, no carbonation, balanced; The finish is great and long but could be fuller in both aroma and texture, a little bitter acidity, fills the back of the mouth, a little aroma is present in caramel, good quality bitter sweet prunes, grows a bit harsh with length. Reminds me beer quality wise of their oatmeal stout, which I also find a good beer, but also a bit lacking at all points.

Bottle shared by sick boy282... thanks home skillet! Pours a rich, slightly cloudy brown color. Aroma is strong w/ alcohol and slight hints of roastiness come through. Flavor is rich with fairly strong malty presence. Fairly "hot" but is extremely enjoyable. Very big in the mouth and filling.