Fish Tale Old Woody English Old Ale

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

12 oz bottle. Cloudy amber leaning towards light brown, with lots of yeast chunks settling at the bottom of my glass.

Aroma is light caramel, raisin, alcohol, pine.

Flavor is pine, oak, toffee. Some light wine flavors show up when paired with some Parmesan cheese.

This beer was much better with food than it was on it’s own. I will be aging a couple for a year or so and see what happens.

aged 6 mo. in wood wine barrels! Big and complex. Clearly would benefit from further aging but damn good as is. Leathery, rustic yet creamy smooth vinous aspect. Oak, pine resin, prune, grape/rasin. Almost candy like but not too sweet.

Dark caramel color with a small head. Aroma of musty oak and chocolate. Taste of toated malt, chocolate, and woodsy hops. A nice rustic feel to it that I liked.

Bottle. Ruby brown beer with a small off-white head. Oaky, dark fruit aroma with some spice. Nice complex flavor - oak, raisin, plum, malt that fades to more of a toffee and grape. Medium body. Easy to drink for the alcohol. Great balance that wants you to keep coming back to get more and to discover something different about this beer.

Bottle. Body-dark cola with a medium ring of bubbles. Nose-rich dark fruits, raisin, alcohol. Taste-raisin, fig, plum, light alcohol, perfect sweetness, tannins & wood, light bourbon, dry spices. A perfect mix of alcohol, malty sweetness, and dark rich complex fruits. This really is everything I look for in a beer. Thanks Patrick!

Vintage 2005, Sampled November 2006
As I pour this is shows a lightly hazy, slightly amber tinged, brown color, though it sits in my glass an opaque, drab brown color. It is topped by a frothy, quickly disappearing, light brownish tan colored head. The aroma is almost murky in character; a sort of melange of caramel notes that lean towards being lightly burnt, a touch of roasted grain character. This is quite fruity in the aroma as well there is a roasted raisin like note, notes of plums and figs as well. The aroma definitely leans towards being sweet, it is quite complex though and fits with the overall character of this beer.

The taste is sweet up front with lots of malt sugars focused here. It quickly picks up toasted & even roasted notes though, especially through to the finish where it reminds me of dark cup of coffee at times. Chewy toasted grain notes that even have an astringent edge to it are noticeable in the finish too. Caramelized notes of dark, concentrated fruits and chewy malty sweetish notes of malted chocolate balls sort of mix and help to balance out the more toasted / roasted aspects of this brew. The beer, despite it relatively light color, even finishes with a bit of roasted grain derived acidity; it is at a low level here and really seems to balance out the sweetness more than detract. A touch hot in the finish at times, or more accurately, and much more appropriately, this beer provides a bit of a warming character, which is quite nice on this cool autumn night. This is one beer which should age quite well, I’ll definitely have to pick up a few more of these.

Originally had at a festival as beer number 68 of the tasting. That said, this rating was quite similar. Nice old, caramel wood aroma. Not heavy in flavor, but some noticeable strength in the finish. Simple but good.

This is the second beer (a 2005 vintage) in our June 11th Old Ale Blind Tasting. It finished in 1st place.

It pours brown with lasting dark tan head. The aroma is just like yum with dark fruity esters, sweet malts with some caramelization leaning toward roasty and toasty kettle burnings. It also smells a bit earthy. The taste is nice and rich with earthiness mixing with caramel drizzled over plums, dates and raisins. Into the finish it gets more cherry like with an alcohol sensation that builds to nearing distraction.

Nov. 2, 2006. 12oz bottle, 2005. Murky amber color. Looks like tiny bits of sediment floating throughout the clear brew. Nice tan head. Aroma has rich maltiness. I smell caramel, molasses and a hint of chocolate. It tastes nearly as it smells. Really fresh tasting roasted malts of caramel, molasses and chocolate. I also get some vanilla and a bit of nuttiness. What little hops there are seem to be somewhat hidden. Didn’t get much of a sense of the ABV.