Gales Conquest Ale Masterbrew

Formerly brewed at Gales
Style: Barley Wine
Horndean, England

Appearance: deep, rich, ripe orange tone, looking more maroonish in the shad, with a head that begins lemony-creamy, then quits for good. Aroma: potent, spicy, huge citrus, deep lemon, sour, yeasty, peppery. Taste: Sourness is king, with large fruit factor in the flavor, little bits of spiciness on the palate, lingering in the finish. Medium bodied, fully-flavored, but not particularly pleasing to this tongue. Too much pucker, not enough pleasure. A vinous feel interjects through the citrus, and the taste is more interesting, but not quite more worthy. Finish is sour, then dry. One more in the list of far-too-expensive, far-too-small, far-little-enjoyment bottles that I’ve conquered in the George Gale line. Won’t be returning to this one.

Accidentally poured most of the yeast into the glass... Murky, amber ale with no head and tons of mid-sized dark floaties. Lots of sediment at the bottom of my glass. The nose is wonderful. Very fruity, citrusy and vineous. The flavor is well-balanced and shares the same characteristics as the aroma. Both the flavor and aroma completely mask the high ABV and deliver a tangy tartness. Light-to-medium-bodied with a watery mouthfeel and very soft carbonation. Lengthy, dry, astringent finish. Not a wonderful beer overall, but definitely a bit underrated.

Cloud orange in color with no head. Smells sour apple. Tastes like sour apple cider. Dry and flat with no sweetness. Another horrific beer by George Gale. This will be my last offering by this brewer. Had to pour this sorry excuse for a beer down the drain.

Smells sour, slightly rancid. Lots of floaters in the bottle, be careful on the pour. Orange color, with little head. Feels fizzy in the mouth. Tastes like sour apple candy with no sweetness. Very dry, no bitterness. This is more like a wine.

Had this at the Capital Ale House on 7/18/04. Bottled. 2001 vintage. Poured a rusty brown body with absolutely no head. When I poured in the sediment it became a clouded brown. Aroma is alcohol mixed with a strong cider-ish body along with some malt and candy notes. Taste is a bit sour while having more alcohol and apple coming through. Some spicy notes as well as some sweeter hints. Perhaps a taste of brown sugar and cinnamon. Mouthfeel has a nice alcoholic warming feel to it along with a bit of bitterness. Some sourness towards the finish with more alcohol and some acidic notes. Pretty good beer!

Hazy amber. Dense white head that diminishes rapidly. (This is relieving after reading all the other ratings and then having trouble with the cork.) Vinous aroma. Sour, fruity/spicy. Some woodiness and a nice earthy, old-books funk as well. Slight leafy hop notes. Alcohol quite well-hidden. Is this really from England? If someone set a glass of this in front of me without telling me what it was I would instantly have said some sort of gueuze. I think this will lose appearance points for coming in a bottle that I can’t use for homebrew, but I find it very pleasing.

2001 vintage Dark amber with no head, lace or carbonation. Aromas of brown sugar, cinnamon, alcohol, caramel and roasted malts. Slightly woody, oak maybe. Bitter hops in the flavor, more cinnamon coming out. A tad wine like in that it’s sour. Earthy and woody, bourbon hints throughout. Thick bodied, sticky palate and an earthy finish.

2001 Bottle: Dirty amber color, No carbonation (or head or lacing), corked bottle so it probably leaked out. The aroma is very spicy with some banana and a little alcohol mixed with earthy hops and sweetness. The flavor is balanced, a little burn in the finish but some well rounded hop notes throughout. This wasn’t too bad but still wasn’t carbonated enough and had a little of a salty tail in the mouthfeel.