Fish Tale Old Woody English Old Ale

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

Review form Dec 2006. 9.5%. Purchaced in Dec ’06. Beer has sat and warmed and then sat after pouring for quite a long time. Colour is a caramel brown muck. I swirled all the junk on the bottom of my bottle and dumped it in. I got a huge pile of fine light brown sediment settling. Very little head but ended up with a good showing with lots of spotty tan lacing early on. Very good aroma consisting of some roasted malts (not strong), vanilla, possibly a touch of chocolate, plums and maybe a slight citrus (?), caramel and some notable remnants of the oak kegs. Taste is excellent and at the temperature that I’m drinking it, the alcohol is very well hidden but is noticed in the aftertaste. This is sooooo good. Sweet with rich caramel malts, plums, stiff spices and enough wood to notice. Mouthfeel is quite smooth with some carbonation. Feels quite thick. Has a firey spice and good bitterness - one that is not over the top, just pleasant - for aftertaste. Breathing in after a sip almost burns the throat - this seems to intensify the bitter spice burn. Long seemingly endless aftertaste. The bottom of my glass is loaded with sediment and now the spice burn is pretty heavy duty! Down the hatch with the sediment! Damn. That is one fine brew. I did not expect this from Fish Tales. I am having strong memories of stiff Belguim stuff. I’ve noted the lack of over the top bitter hops. For me, this is probally the finest American brew available in my area at this time. Will buy more for cellaring and casual consumption. Too bad it’s after midnight and I polished this in no time flat. Highly drinkable - totally enjoyable.

"Body looked opaque milk chocolaty brown , large white floaties where suspended everywhere in it, a small white cap was produced during the pour only a small skiff remains after a short while. Aroma is awesome noticeable alcohol, sweet chocolate, and I swear on deep inhales I smell raspberry this stuff smells awesome very complex and warm making my mouth drool. Strong smooth alcohol presence in the taste but it really works for this brew, very malty and the entire flavor has a mild bitterness that is off set from the sweetness of the alcohol. The mouth feel is warm and full, this stuff really warms the throat and stomach, aftertaste is slightly bitter but clean and didn’t last too long. Very tasty beer very complex and very drinkable me likes a lot."

Wine? I definitiley tasted some bourbon. some light oak and a lot of malty sweetness. Sweet chocolate and a creamy body. Really nice.

PPRBSG09. Bottle. Pours a brune body with an off white head. Chewy caramel malt with a nice woody maple character and chocolate notes.

Bottle. Pours a dark amber color with a small off-white head. Has a malty hoppy piney aroma with some hints of wood. Fruity malty hoppy bitter chocolate flavor with some hints of caramel aswell. Has a warming fruity woody malty hoppy bitter finish. Very nice!

It pours a nice dark amber w/a little head that goes away pretty quickly. To the nose it is sweet and musky. First taste is BOURBON, wow!!! It is really something different, especially from a northwest brewery. No hops present whatsoever, but it is a nice stroll down a path less taken, if you get my drift. I am rambling just a bit and will get back on topic. It is an excellent beer, it is 10% acv, and did I mention it is an excellent beer. Cheers.

Great aroma, reminds a bit of Old Chub, but not as invitingly smooth. Very strong alcohol--cut the alcohol in half and this would be very good. Last minute note: discovered that the end of the bottle had some sediment; with this mixed in everything mellowed a bit and was pretty good, actually.

2008 bottle at home after returning from Cooper’s IPA fest- surprisingly good and an excellent way to cap the night. Pours cloudy dark copper with a decent yellowish white head. Nose is buttery toffee with some whiskey, earth, and chocolate. Taste is mostly the same, but with a slight hop kick toward the finish. Smooth mouthfeel that could probably stand to be slightly thicker given the rich flavors. I’ll be on the lookout for another bottle to see how it ages.