Gales Christmas Ale

Formerly brewed at Gales
Style: English Strong Ale
Horndean, England

Sampled at the Richmond Beer Industry Gathering 2006. Bottles 2001-2003. Clear amber body with no head. Sweet spice and caramel aroma. Dry clove flavor, with some vinegar in the background. 2002 Bottle had noticable butter to the aroma and flavor, possibly an off bottle?

2002. I’m not sure what to think of this. Reminds me of an English barleywine. The beer is still. There is lots of sourness which I believe is from the oak aging. Some balsamic vinegar, a little fruit. The alcohol is well hidden. The only flaw is the very thin palate.

Pours dirty orange. Flat with no carbonation or head at all. The flavor is slightly fruity with a bitter aftertaste. Unusual style of beer for a Christmas Ale.

Poured out a slightly hazy light amber with no carbonation or head. Smells like a spiced hard apple cider. Taste is nearly the same, a thin watery hard cider or sake mouthfeel and alcoholic burn. High level of acidity and astringent tannins

Pours a cloudy golden amber color. Aromas of malt, caramel, fruit. Flavor is kinda sweet, fruity, mildly spicy, with a nice hop background.

Bottle. Vintage ? Pours a flat-looking hazy orange-amber with no head and lots of floaties and chunks. Aroma is, well, different. There’s hops and sweet malt but there’s also a significant amount of Xmas spices and a fruity tartnesss to it -- like wine and a spicy apple cider? Like I said, it’s different. Flavour’s very similar: a fruity tartness, quite spicy, some hops and sweet malt and a mild alcoholic bite. Medium bodied, pretty much no carbonation. An acquired taste, I can see why some don’t like it but I thought it was interesting and pleasant enough -- I wouldn’t want it very often but one every now and then is fine.

Bottle (275ml, corked). Poured slightly hazy bright gold tapering to copper at the top of the glass, decent foamy-creamy white head. Bizarre aroma, funky yeast, dust-musty woody malt, a background of citrusy lambic funk and sourness - reminds me of musty old primary school textbooks; I like it, but it gets a bit cowbarn-like as it warms. Tastes like a mild lambic, with black pepper and burnt candied citrus rind, light hops and toasted malt - really nice. Mouthfeel is astringent, average bodied, lightly carbonated - packs a nice punch, don’t really taste the alcohol, but you really feel it.

cask at richos gravity head 2006. vintage 2005. dark amber with a huge white frothy head. aroma of currant green apple and white grapes. flavor sweet currant tart apple and bitter caramel. medium to full bodied with a long roasted bitter tart apple finish with a hint of hops. smooth and creamy on the palate. a very solid beer.