Fullers Vintage Ale 1998

Formerly brewed at Fullers
Style: English Strong Ale
London, England

another gem from kawa. pours amber with a white head. aroma is plums and alcohol. upfront flavor is peppery with some sweetness and an interesting caramel. wonderful palate that is almost woody but not quite. this caresses my tongue. sorry we made you try the gose after you brought this great beer walt.

This is a good English Strong Ale. Caramel, earthy wood, and malt flavors. Finishes clean, smooth, and warming.

This bottle was believed to have been kept refrigerated for the majority of its life. Pours a clear copper with a thin off-white head with light whispy lacing. Aroma of rich caramel malt and a touch of butterscotch with some English hops and alcohol. Starts rich, viscous and malty with a nice sweetness and plenty of carbonation. Finishes more dry and bitter. This tasted fresher than bottles of the 1999 I have had that weren’t refrigerated. It has aged quite nicely. Thanks go out to TheBeerCellar2 for hooking me up with this gem!

Poured a clear copper with a golden outline. Small off-white head. Heavy malt aromas. Molasses, honey, tart cherries, apples, and alcohol aroma and flavors. Light to medium bodied. Alcohol warming and a soft carbonation. Finish is dry leaving you with a long bitterness on the tongue.

Recently opened and enjoyed. Well done and well aged. Not all that much to look at, but nice malty caramel aroma. Great sweetness in every sip with toffee and malt staving off the warming alcohol. Wow.

[Sampled 2004 - 6 years old] A hazy deep red beer with a small disappearing head. The aroma is sweet with notes of caramel and malt. The flavor is of burning alcohol combined with a little sweet malt and toffee.

Drank as a vertical tasting with ’98, ’99, ’00, ’01 and ’03 Vintage Ales. 1998 was the "tired" one of the bunch. Great dark brown appearance with solid tan head. Toffee, sweet fruit and caramel flavors. I’d say this one was a bit off when it came to flavor and a bit past its prime. Needless to say thanks for Eyedrinkale for supplying the Fullers for the vertical tasting.

Bottle #33695
Hazy burgundy coloured body with a dense tan head. Aroma of pit fruit, light caramel and malt. Full-bodied; Super sweet taste of caster sugar, pit fruit, caramel, toffee and cherries. Aftertaste shows pungent sugars and a good toffee overture. Overall, a nice treat to sample. Many thanks go out to Phil (Haddon90) for finding this and picking this up at the bar! I sampled this 500 mL bottle at Toronado in San Francisco, California on the second day of 10-June-2004...our first was spent in Sydney, Australia.