Fullers Vintage Ale 2009

Brewed by Fullers
Style: English Strong Ale
London, England

Bottle number 123946 of 160,000. Pours with a magnificent bronze body and a long lasting tan head. Great aroma that is a lot less aggressive and hoppy than last years. Aroma of port, sherry, caramel, brandy, bread, richness, prunes and raisins. Taste is rich with caramel, brandy, some alcohol burn, a bit of maderized wine. Medium to light bubbles. Very good, I would probably imagine that this would be perfect in a year, maybe two.

50 cL bottle, # 26940 - a bit of a joke calling this limited edition. Pours clear and golden deep orange with a fine white head. Aroma is mild apple, abricot and peachy hops with a light toasted malt note. Sweet caramel malty flavoured with a nice hops counterbalance. Mild warming alcohol flavour into the finish. Smooth and light fruity brew.

I picked up five bottles of this: one to drink now, and four to age for varying amounts of time... Maybe in a few years I can do a vertical tasting. Pours amber/brown with an off-white head that fades quickly. Earthy hops on the nose, coupled with roasted, bicuity malt and a little deep fruit. The fruit is stronger in the mouth. There is a smooth mouthfeel leading with malt, quickly taken over by hops, balancing deep fruit, followed by warming alcohol and lingering sweet, molasses finish. As the beer nears room temperature, the deep fruit becomes more pronounced with sweet, toffee-like flavors. Tastes like it will definitely improve with age as the hops fade and the malt becomes more rounded and deeper...

Bottle (in NZ) - courtesy on yalnikim. Struck by the breadiness of the malt. There is a hint of that spice, but doesn’t have that fruit and hoppiness you usually get with the Vintage series. Becomes more biscuity in the finish. Maybe not may favourite Vintage, but for supping at 10pm on Festivus Day...perfect!

500 ml bottle. LCBO purchase. pours clear russet with a tan head. english malt nose. the flavour starts malty with toffee, leather, apples, slight booziness, hop balancing. a nice drink but not the best vintage ale ive had.

Boxed pint bottle from BC Liquor at 39th and Cambie. Amber colored beer with a small off-white head that settles fast and leaves basically no lacings. There’s quite a lot of fruit aromas in the nose, sweetish and almost reminiscent of sweet fruit marmalade. Notes of leafy hops, wood and alcohol in the smell as well. The taste is very sweet with notes of sweet vinous fruits, dark bread and leafy and peppery hops. Here’s something that reminds me of maple syrup or resin or something. It’s very malty with decent supplementing hop notes, but the malts lack complexity and depths. The finish as some alcohol to in and is quite bitter with notes of spices and leafy hops. It has a medium body and quite a smooth texture, but the carbonation is a little bit too lively for it to come out as anything even reminiscent of a sipper. All in all, I felt this one was a bit unbalanced at the moment, kind of harsh out of tune. I doubt it will age as well as previous years since it lacks the depth in flavour. Perhaps the first misstep by Fullers with this otherwise consistently stellar beer.

50 cl bottle (#056411), Mulmur, ON, Canada. Clear deep amber with intermittent tiny bubbles. Frothy thin head, lots of lacing. Sweet bready caramel aroma, alcohol mingled in. Sweet and thick in the mouth, sharp spice with a balanced earthiness. Very enjoyable.

Clear copper in colour with an off-white head, light lacing. Aroma is of caramel malts, some chocolate, light citrus hops, light alcohol. Flavour is lightly sweet with chocolate and caramel, light fruit, some noticeable alcohol warmth. Sweet mouthfeel, medium body, moderate carbonation. Finishes pretty smooth although a little thin, alcohol warmth.

Another Vintage ale that’s very drinkable at the moment but will just get better with time.


500ml bottle purchased from the LCBO in Peterborough, Ontario.

Opened on December 16, 2009.

Bottle #39163.