St. Ambroise Vintage Ale

Brewed by McAuslan Brewing
Style: Barley Wine
Montreal, Canada

Bottle from the great DougShoemaker!!!! A very nice barleywine!! Well balanced in the nose and in flavor. Pours a clear medium amber color. Off-white head is thin and dissipates somewhat quickly leaving decent Belgian lace. Aroma is rich. Malt and alcohol blend well. Overripe fruits are present also. Medium bodied, smooth. Malt, fruit and hops are all in the taste. Nicely done!!!

L’edition 2001.Odeur de sucre et d’herbe.Gout de d’herbe de sucre de raisin tres liquoreux.Je ne connais pas beaucoup le style mais j’aime bien.

Fantastic. A rich, deep garnet brew with heavy mouthfeel and sweet red licorice overtones. Fruity and crisp despite the heavy mouthfeel. A really fine introduction to St. Ambroise. Thanks to _________, I need to seee who shipped this to me as my emails have been deleted for some time.

2001 vintage; Pours a rich orange brown colour with a thick off white head, great lacing. The aromas are complex and I can only name a few, big thick sweet maltiness, caramel, raisins, mild floral hops and some alcohol. A great tasting beer definately a "sipper" tastes of sweet massive maltiness, caramel, cinnamon, some mild sourness and a good hoppy finish.Quite enjoyable. Remnants of a trade with Rasta. Thanks !

2001 vintage: Ruddy orange. Tight and puffy pearl foam. Wonderful aroma of raw, broken down malts dripping with caramel and milk chocolate. Slightly vinous with touches of vanilla, woody malt, and vibrant hop accents. Densely creamy carbonation. Begins with a lush caramel and chocolate envelopment. Gooey and refined Maris Otter-like malt character brilliantly overshadows the alcohol. Restrained tannic tingle and airiness continually back the soothing malts amid notes of vanilla, milk chocolate, and fig leaves in the background. Loses some body as it breathes, but the malt thickness remains. Tolerable rubbery alcohol astringency accompanies the plump dried plum flavor. Finishes bitterly hoppy and leafy-edged along with touches of pencil eraser, caramel, vanilla, and highly dextrinous malt. This is even more delicious than its older sibling.
Earlier Rating: 8/26/2003 Total Score: 4.3
Clear russet. Crawling rocky, custard-like froth. Lively aroma, bursting with underripe dates, sweet plums, sherry, and toffeeish Munich malts. Zesty and tangy. Captivating biscuity pale malt interplay with dabs of medicine, coconut, and maraschino cherry. Lightly vinous. Elegantly soft and silky. The creaminess compensates for the medium body. Lightly numbing and resinous palate. Ravishing flavors of medicine, black cherry, and luscious bready malts. Late hints of sherry and earthy hops. Finishes harmoniously chewy, vinous, dry, and leathery, with a delectable glazed malt backing and traces of dried plum, straw, rubber, and lemon rind. The hop bitterness gracefully stifles the titanic malt onslaught. This is a remarkably balanced, luxurious malt-laden, bottle-conditioned beauty, still somehow managing to execute some effective, shining hops.

2001 Edition: Utterly delicious. Thanks to Muzzlehatch for sharing this delight with me! Massive malt body with tons of sweetness and delightful caramelized fruit notes. Light on the hops, and medium brown in color. The 9.6% abv was very well hidden, and this was a strong ale for the ages.

My poor dwindling supply of this beauty! I had my second to last yesterday as a birthday treat. It really is a complex and wonderfully eclectic mixture of flavours. Like a fine scotch it has distinctly different notes from first taste to lingering taste to aftertaste...all of them wonderful. I tend not to use flowery prose to describe beers but this one deserves reverance.

Cloudy dark amber, medium head fades fast, light carbonation. Classic old ale fruitiness. Persimmon, raisins, dates. Well balanced to avoid cloying in its heavy maltiness. Long finish, heady alcoholic malts, near floral bitterness. Rich and vibrant, strong and drinkable, ready to age for many more years.