Gales Conquest Ale Masterbrew

Formerly brewed at Gales
Style: Barley Wine
Horndean, England

I really like this beer. It has become a favorite of mine during the holidays. The fruitiness is sour and very nice. I can’t say enough about this beer.

Bottle, 2001 edition. This is funny, it’s brewed in the UK, "for distribution only in USA", and therefore it makes perfect sense that I found a bottle in Japan. Folks, this is one of the best smelling beers I’ve ever put my nose up to. After a pour that looks like apple juice with no head, one is treated to an incredibly complex mixture of brandy, apples, pears, and red wine. You just want to take a good whiff of it every time you sip! The taste lets up a little bit and gives it a smooth and cidery character. Virtually zero carbonation to speak of. Finishes strongly of apples, nice stuff that I’m surprised isn’t better liked on here. Maybe it improved in the bottle over four years as I noticed that a lot of the other ratings are on tap.

Beautiful deep golden orange body only a very little hazy, with a very big bubbled head; Incredible nose: depth, complexity, balance, age and beauty, somehow the aromas are a mix; it is composed of all the great parts of a Spanish cider, Geuze and UK Strong Ale, lots of both rotten and ripe apple and pear, cider barrel and the yeast aroma you find in some UK ales, there is a very nice underlaying sweetness behind like ripe black plum; The body is very soft textured with only a very, very little sticking carbonation, deep and balanced with lots of salt but also sour and bitter parts; Long finish with lots of everything, incredibly well evolved aromas, lots of ripe and rotten apple, a little yeast, a little harsh wood and again this underlaying sweet plum, balanced and deep. Damn I love these old style UK brews, so much character and personality, I could drink beers like this all the time, what a beauty. Thank you so much Kramer17801.

pours light, no head at all, much sediment. Fantastic complexity of flavors, smoke, oranges, yeast, apple cider, old churches. Perfect accompanment to a really good aged cheese, like a great wine. But, strangely quaffable as a beer. As good as it gets.

Corked bottle 2001 vintage @ Falling Rock vintage beer sale poured a clear copper with a small lasting ivory head. Aromas of apple, sweet malt and a hint of honey. Palate was light bodied and crisp. Flavors of apple, honey and light spice with a crisp sweet finish.

Orange bronze hue. Dough, fruit, brandy like nose. No head. Pleasantly sweet, dried light fruit palate, almost syrupy body, finishing sweet and sour. This is excellent. Im always blown away by Gale's brews. Alcohol is very well hidden, and there is an enjoyable nature to this beer.

Draft: Beautiful aroma thanks to the colossal maris otter onslaught. Undertones of heavily breaded malt (very raw), soft spice, leather, sweet vinous edge, toasted coconut, yams, hay, fig, butter, and light fruity/nutty traces. Mellow, soft mouthfeel. Raw leather notes, sweet bready malt, faint tropical fruitiness, fig, and a whisper of acidity. Long coconut and almond finish. Slightly lacking in complexity, but the maris otter malt profile here is exquisite.

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.