Fish Tale Old Woody English Old Ale

Brewed by Fish Brewing Company/Leavenworth Beers
Style: Old Ale
Olympia, Washington USA

22 oz bottle. No vintage, so I’m guessing the most recent. Nice nose of malty sweetness with some hoppy/yeasty dryness lingering in the back. Up front, though, there is caramel and toffee with a hint of port wine. Also the tiniest bit of zesty cinnamon. Mostly malty sweet flavor which quickly fades to some dry and spicy hop and yeast notes. Fairly rich and oily on the palate with decent carbonation. This one comes really close.

Bottle. Deep reddish copper in color with a nice off white head that left a nice lacing on the glass. Sweet malty fruity aroma. Plum and raisin notes. Malty grainy honey flavor. Light citrus hop taste. Caramel roasty notes.Finish is bready. Full bodied. Smooth. Very nice. Very drinkable.

Bottle: Hazy amber with ruby tones, smaller beige head. Nice lacing. Rich aroma of sweet malts and dark fruits. A little citrus too. Taste is deep maltines with caramel tones. Some breadiness into a lively tail. Light citrus hops. Warming sensation follows.

A murky hazy ale with a thick light moka head. A rich pleasant malt aroma, with figs, caramel, treacle, with vinous notes. In mouth, a rich warming brew with sweet caramel, aniseed, molasses, licorice and a warming alcohol final. An excellent complex old ale. Brewed in April 2006, 9.5% alcohol, bought at Sherbrooke Liquors, Edomonton, March 2007.

Pours a ruddy brown color, head vanishes quicly, with a thin layer blanketing the surface. The wood is very apparent in the aroma, rih maltiness on the finish, with hops, burnt sugar and a touch of vanilla coming through on the backside. Flavor is full and cantankerous. Much hoppier than I anticipated, alcohol is very apparent. While not like an English old ale, still a very good version.

This is a robust, malt packed beer. It pours a slightly hazy chestnut body with a solid beige head. It’s got an aroma of toffee, dark red wine, molasses, and wet pine. Rich and thick in the mouth, it tastes of caramel, burnt wood, molasses, alcohol, and dark juicy fruits that are balanced by a sturdy pine and grapefruit hop bitterness. It leaves a refreshing aftertaste of bitter pine and cooling alcohol. Very nice.

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Bommer of an undated vintage, but likely the "current" batch. Very murky brownish-red color with a tiny head that quickly vanishes. Very weak aroma, but a bit of honey sweetness and port eek out. The taste is mostly like a thick tawny port with sweet malt added. Possibly some molasses. Sticky sweet. Lots of promise, but it seems to just fall short of something really good.

Pours clear and very deep mahogany in color. A sweet, oaky port aroma leaps first from the glass. Honey, fig, and crunchy toffee notes, with a bristling edge of resinous and citrus hops. The alcohol is not shy here. Jameson whiskey in its thin and somewhat sour glory hides plums, caramel and spiced rum. Finishes with an earthy touch of lasting sprucy hops. The trend here is the heat, which strips the palate of its nuances and sterilizes the mouth. Harsh at times, softer at others. Close.