Fish Tale Old Woody English Old Ale

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

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.

Malty ,maple fruit,oak and a tinge of alcohol, alcohol becomes more evident in the taste,along with a dry strong cranberry taste, plus a lot of oak,alcohol becomes overpowering at the end. Tastey ,bot overpowering

22 oz Bomber-Trade w/after4ever-Poured a ruby red color w/ a small foamy head. Definite woodsy aroma. Seems to have a solid structure & the flavor of a nice English Ale way down in there somewhere deep, but the oak just comes thru too strong. Overpowers everything else, definitely seriously out of balance. This brew has a lot of potential but it is just way too gamey, too young. Could probably lay it down for @ 5 years & than see what develops. Might be a good brew once it mellows out some.

Leather aromas with a little plum. Big malt flavors. Slightly alcoholic upfront. Medium bodied bitter. The oak does not come through so well. Maybe another 6 months in those babies and you get yourself a bigger beer.

Pours a deep clear amber with a lasting white head. Aroma is heady, malty and supremely balanced. The oak just doesn’t really come through that well, maybe some vanilin, but that’s it. The body is med. The flavor is very malty, caramel and dried fruits, no hop presence. This finish is very smooth. All around a very nice beer if not a bit underdone and a bit too much abv.

Poured a very hazy brown color with a small beige head. Malty aroma with some light fruit and a good bit of chocolate. Prunes show as well and mild tobacco notes. Semi-sweet malty flavor with chocolate and some dark fruit. Dry finsih. Nice warmth. Very decent beer. Surprised I didn’t drink this sooner. I have an old 750ml. If it is different from this 12oz I might have to pop that one too.