St. Ambroise Vintage Ale

Brewed by McAuslan Brewing
Style: Barley Wine
Montreal, Canada

2001 vintage, 9.4% abv. Dark amber colour with a thin off-white foam. Cherry, plum, raisin, and caramel aroma. Caramel and fruity flavours (cherry and raisin), still some alcohol showing. Full bodied, but not as thick and chewy as the 2000. Good, but I’m not sure if this one still needs more time or has passed its prime, as I slightly preferred the 2000. (8/4/8/4/16)

2000 Vintage, Bottle #1248, 10.2% abv. Hazy amber gold colour, thin off-white head. Caramel, fruity, raisin, plum, and toffee aroma. Caramel, raisin, slight grapefruit flavours, and a light alcohol finish. Overall very mellow. Full bodied, thick, almost sticky. (9/4/8/4/17)

Bottle from DougShoemaker. Thanks! Ruddy orange, very little head. Lots of rasins, alcohol, grapes in the nose. Flavor is slightly sour - I can’t think of the words to describe this. Tobacco, plum, alcohol, rasins, port. Finish is tobacco and grapes. I really wish that the body was a bit heavier. Still, a very nice beer. Thanks again Doug!

2001 vintage. Deep murky orange-brown body, medium tan head that dissipates a bit. The aroma screams "English," with prune, raisins, fig, toast, and caramels. Delicious. Creamy body that starts with sweet caramels and candied fruits, including cherry, with strong prune and raisin notes following shortly thereafter. Earthy, chalky hops, a pinch of alcohol, and a whiff of cigar smoke round out the beer along with a light but sharp tanginess. Still has nice, tight carbonation for a 4 year old beer. The closest resembling beers I’ve tried are the Harveys Elizabethan Ale and Hair of the Dog Adam. Thanks Stephen (tiggmtl) for this delicious beer!

Deep tawny with a large and well developed light tan head. Aromatics begin with a deep caramel, fruit accented maltiness, hints of soy sauce, molasses, oranges and a touch of mint laden hops. Pretty unbelievably good quite honestly. The front palate shows hints of caramel and chocolate which continues onto the mid-palate, which also involves a variety of fruits, mainly plums. The longevity of the finish is pretty baffling, showing hints of pit fruits but mainly serving to balance the spicy, minty hop finish. Damn, I forgot how much I love beer. This one definately reminded me.

2001 Vintage. Reddish amber color, thin tan head. Full and rich aroma of caramel, plums, figs, dates, and malt. Fruity and sweet, but not overly so. If the alcohol was pretty hot when it came out, it has mellowed nicely. Rich and velvety mouthfeel. You want to savor it because it’s so nice, but you could easily quaff this stuff because it’s just so damn drinkable. If you have a bottle in your cellar do yourself a favor and crack it open, she’s ready to be opened! Thanks beerhugger for the treat.
Earlier Rating: 11/2/2004 Total Score: 4.3
Pours a great looking reddish amber color, moderate and longer lasting beige head. Big peachy aroma, some cherry, lots of malt, and some hops fighting for attention. Pretty sweet, fruity, a bit of alcohol. Smooth, rich body, still a little boozy, but not overpowering. A fantastic beer. Thanks so much DougShoemaker!

(2001 Vintage) Thin, dense, light brown head of fine bubbes. Light carbonation. Muddy, dark orange brown. Rich pungent aroma which is quite evident even through a slightly stuffed up nose. Loads of caramel, toffee, dark malts, raisin, I could go on. Silky smooth mouthfeel. Rich and sweet with loads of malts, caramel, a hint of alcohol and fruit. Slightly warming. Hides its alcohol pretty well. Very clean finish for such a dense, chewey brew. Wow, a true gem and one of the best barleywines I have ever had. Thanks to tiggmtl for this diamond. I owe you for this one.

2001 bottle shared with my brother DYCSoccer17. Slightly hazy plum colored pour with medium light tan head. Sugary, deep caramel, delicious aroma. Nice vineous notes in the nose. This is velvety smooth, absolutely wonderful. Beginning is subdued fruit, pit fruit, plums, raisins, etc. Middle is sugary sweet, with just a bit of warmth from the alcohol, although the alcohol is nearly undetectable. This is truely the best barleywine I have had to date. Thanks Rastacouere for this gem!

2001 Bottle. Many many thanks to Rastacouere for this. Elegant vinous sweet sugary and caramelly aroma. Slight notes of licorice as well. Smells wonderful. Moderately hazy amber/copper color with a fluffy ivory head. Swart is sweet and vinous plums and such. Some sweet caramel notes in the end. This is oh so smooth and drinkable and magnificent! Alcohol is hidden very well. I need more of this!