St. Ambroise Vintage Ale

Brewed by McAuslan Brewing
Style: Barley Wine
Montreal, Canada

The last in the big box of brew received from beerbuzzmontreal. Deep copper/rudy liquid with a small but stable taupe head. Full rich, fruity aromas. Prunes, plums, raisins, butterscotch, light anise, caramel, and cookie dough are among the scents. Full malt flavors abound. Lightly earthy with a touch of peat. This has aged well and the depths of malt are long and lasting. RIch chocolate and heavy caramel are embraced by the lightly oaken malt. Plenty of white pepper spice to liven the sweetness. The body seems to have thinned out and the carbonation distracts slightly. A long and lasting caramel flan linger. A brew at its prime. Again, many thanks to beerbuzzmontreal.
Earlier Rating: 9/21/2004 Total Score: 3.8
2001via Rastacouere, the last from his awesome delivery earlier this year. Dark amber color with a few small bubbles creating a beige cover. The aromas warm up nicely on this one. Starts with as a floral brown sugar and ends with a dark caramel and brandied fruit. Smooth and mellow feel. Sweet malt start leading to darker fruits with vanilla and spice. The finish pulls this one down as a harsh wood and spice emaciates the malt and fruit body. So close, but yet so far.

Vintage 2001. Huge sweet and sticky aroma, notes of plums, overripe pears, sweet cookie dough, a very pleasant hint of alcohol. Murky dark red to brownish body, with a nice creamy light tan head. Lots of sweetness in the flavor, like caramellized fruits, figs, dades, some cane sugar, a bit oaky in the end. Just the right amount of alcohol, it gives a wonderful warming sensation in the throat and stomach. Very smooth and full bodied palate. Although it has been leaking a bit from the cap under its journey, its not noticeable in the beer. Thanks a bunch to radiomgb for sending this gem.

Many thanks to friend and beer trader Rastacouere for sending me this extraordinary beer sometime last year!

Rating # 825
Vintage 2001
Pours an almost muddy brown body with edges of amber and gold. I can note a hint of oxidation in the aroma and flavor… but I can tell it is going to work to the beers advantage. Lightly sour submissions from the yeast. Hints of apple and pear, rather yeasty and doughy at times. The flavors from the malt bill are terrific… a tasty and exceptional blending of brown sugar, caramel and toffee, green raisins and ripened fig. The hops are earthy and have hints of spruce tips and oak cask in the finish… even some lighter natural tobacco wrappings! What a wonderful palate… very creamy and sinuous… a very enjoyable beer and a terrific way to kick off a well deserved weekend!

Bottle# 10386. Cloudy, red/amber body; caramel, malty aroma. Very tasty. barley wine; one to savour.

RBESG05: Strong caramel and raisin aroma. Dark amber with a dark beige head. Sweet caramel, dark fruits. A little cloying in some parts, but nice and warming. A real winter sipper.

Bottle. Vintage 2001. Brown colour with a baige head. Hoppy, malty fruity aroma and taste. Medium to full body and a light alcoholic finish.

Bottled. RBESG -05. Amber colour. Gognac-like nose, with dried fruits. Flavour is clearly alcoholic and has notes of dried fruits and cognac. Body got lighter I suppose?

Bottle, tahnks to MPA for sharing. Hazy golden coloured with a small white head. Sweet and fruity aroma of caramel and dried fruits. Flavour of malts, caramel, dried fruits and hops.