Gales Christmas Ale

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

An unclear brown beer with a disappearing head. The aroma is dusty combined with overripe fruits and berries. The flavor is like the aroma with a very dry background.

(Bottle 33 cl) The intention was to let this bottle age and condition, but things don’t always go as expected. After about nine months in my beer closet it shot the cork through the plastic coating and released most of the liquid - what a sticky mess!! I did manage to save a bit though. Rodenbach used to have a commercial saying: "This is not beer - this is wine". With Gales X-mas you could rephrase that to "This is not beer - this is sherry". Reddish amber colour - almost like sherry. No head and completely flat. Sweetish, spicy, caramel-like nose. Again lots of spices and alcohol in the flavours. Must try this again sometime - in a fresh version. 170705

Bottle. Wine-like, sour aroma. Some port flavour. Not very much carbonation. Strange beer, but not bad in small quantities.

Bottled (2002). Amberish red colour, minor head. Extremely wineish nose with sweet grapes and a bit of alcohol. Flavour was plummy and spicy, a bit sticky palate. Very pleasant Christmas beer. Thanks to Beer Hunter’s in Pori for this one!

So these nice guys at New Beers Distributors (New York) covered the production year with a price tag…
Never mind; Vintage 2001, 5+ years old, classic Gale’s corked bottle
The cork is of very good quality, well preserved, and with a very nice aroma of fruity malt; pours a cloudy amber color; there is still some carbonation but not much head retention.
The room is pervaded by the strong aroma: malt, sweet, raisins, spices… in line with a Christmas pudding, but more elegant than other beers.
Probably the age has cut down the sugars, the body has a good structure but it’s not too sticky; the dominant flavor is caramel, with malt and raisins, a bit woody, and fruity; the alcohol is warming the mouth, another sign of age. The final shows an increasing bitterness, with caramel and a light oaky sourness.
Beatifully aged; complex; pleasant.

Aroma is grape/red wine. Vinous, moderately sweet, fairly full-bodied.

Bottled (2002 edition)
Nut brown. Practically no head. Sweet and yeasty aroma. Very low-carbonated. Mouthfeel is like christmas-pudding: thick and yeast+ginger. Ale where alcohol really kicks. Warming bittersweet aftertaste. (6/2/6/2/9 2.5)
Re-rated, same vintage a year later
Ruby, no head. Glue aroma. Portwinous palate, spicey and fruity. Flat. Complex. (4/4/7/3/12 3.0)

Bottle. Hazy Amber color with a small white head. Spicy light cherry cinnamon aroma and a malty taste with a hint of hops. Medium body and a light bitter finish.