St. Ambroise Vintage Ale

Brewed by McAuslan Brewing
Style: Barley Wine
Montreal, Canada

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.

12oz bottle 2001 vintage via trade with radiomgb - Thanks Jeff! - Pours murky copper/brown witha short offwhite head that fades to a ring but laces from there. Aromas of raisins, caramel, candi sugar, and some brourbon. Flavor is big and bold of caramel, raisins, plums, brown sugar, candi sugar, earthy with some smoke notes as well. Nice soft palate for a pretty big brew. Feels thick in the mouth but not overly sweet. Warmth on the finish. Very easy to sip. Nice brew..

2 bottles (1999 vintage) shared with a bunch of folks - courtesy of DougShoemaker. MANY thanks to Doug for sharing these - I didn’t think I’d ever get a crack at this one. Pours a hazy ruby-orange with a tiny head. Aroma is sweet and warm - lots of caramel, dark sugar & booze, with a hint of tobacco. Flavour is quite complex - lots of whiskey and post, dark fruit, wood smoke, brown sugar, and a mild alcohol burn in the finish. There’s a vague stale note around the edges suggesting that it might be slightly past it’s prime, but it was still a damn fine sipper. Thanks again, Doug!

Earlier Rating (2000 vintage): 7/19/2004 Total Score: 4.1
Hazy ruby-amber with a wispy head. Absolutely ripping aroma of sweet malt, brown sugar, raisins and alcohol. Flavour starts smooth and sweet, but quickly moves towards a pleasingly warm, bitter and boozy finish. A nice one for sippin’ and sharin’.

2 bottles shared with HogTownHarry, GregClow, tupalev, jerc, R., DougShoemaker and the rest of the gang -- courtesy of the very generous DougShoemaker. Vintage 1999. Bottle #4364. Pours a hazy reddish-orange with a small diminishing off-white head. Lovely aroma of whiskey and caramel malt. Flavour -- oh yeah, that’s delicious! -- caramel malt, smoke, maple syrup, fruit, alcohol and earthy hops. Medium to full bodied. Wow, what an amazing barley Wine!
Earlier Rating: 10/7/2005 Total Score: 3.9
Bottle shared with HogTownHarry, GregClow & tupalev -- courtesy of tupalev. Pours a cloudy dark orange with a small diminishing off-white head. Aroma is very malty along with some yeast, alcohol, dark fruit and toffee. Flavour follows the aroma and is almost port-like, a very tasty sipper. I’m thrilled to have finally been able to taste this great beer, thanks again tupalev!

’99 bottle. A huge thanks to Doug for sharing these two bottles of this rare, sought after gem. Dark orange, small white head. Nice booze aroma, bourbon. Lovely sweet taste, lots of booze and butterscotch. Complex lovely stuff. A great sipper that has started to show its age, but is still holding up quite nicely.
Earlier Rating: 10/11/2005 Total Score: 4.1
!Bottle shared with HogTownHarry, GregClow & blankboy --courtesy of DougShoemaker, thank you for the most kingly birthday gift! Dark brown with huge white head. Strong dark malt aroma - not necessarily sweet, more earthy and bread notes - some alcohol present as well. Wonderful sour red wine taste. Sweet, and slightly hoppy. Complex, spicy, and tons of flavour - this has aged very well. One I’ve been wanting to try for quite some time and it did not disappoint - thanks again Doug

Bottle (341ml - 1999 bottle #4364). Shared with blankboy, GregClow, jerc, tupalev, DougShoemaker, R and others - two bottles generously provided by DougShoemaker. Doug, you amaze me - bringing this, wow, I’m indebted to you my friend. Poured slightly hazy orange, almost oily-looking, with a small head, I don’t care, it looked awesome. Aroma - ahhh, thats the stuff - oily/resiny wood malt, a whiff of booze, yeasty, dry, roasty - a well-aged BW for sure, smooth smelling. Taste was pretty boozy initially for 9.4%, but it smoothed out, a wonderful melange of tart orange juice/zest, sweet caramel roast malt and dry bitter hops - really good. The body could have been a little thicker for me, but the mouthfeel was still decently syrupy and sticky, with a long alcohol/bitter woody finish. Its definitely a senior citizen, but vv nice.
Earlier Rating: 9/30/2005 Total Score: 4.2
Bottle (341ml). Shared with blankboy, GregClow and Tupalev, bottle courtesy of tupalev by way of DougShoemaker - and thank you both!. Poured hazy dark orange, small tan diminishing head. Aroma says "well-aged" - oak, musty mulchy pine forest on a summer’s afternoon, pine resin, strong thick yeast, roast malt and hops - wow! Taste was very mossy - sharp, furry, thick - otherwise follows the aroma; lovely oaky thick malt. Might be a bit too mossy for my palate, but this is a senior citizen and deserving of my respect, so I will just say it’s complex. Overall - very glad to have experienced this one, what an aroma!

(2001 Vintage bottle, thanks Muzzlehatch) Small but persistent beige head atop a murky deep copper body. Aroma is sweet, cherry, melon, orange, caramel, brown sugar. Taste is sweet, cherry, orange, melon, some alcohol, caramel, light earthy. Watery full body. Seems like it’s showing its age a bit, but still a delicious brew.
Earlier Rating: 5/19/2003 Total Score: 3.8
Medium beige head topping an opaque caramel body. Aroma is lovely sweet and sticky, butterscotch, cherry, malty. Flavor is cherry malty, quite sweet. Alcohol gives a nice belly warming.