Gales Jubilee Ale

Formerly brewed at Gales
Style: Barley Wine
Horndean, England

Deep rich amber in colour, no head, no lacing. The aroma is very rich and sweet, lots of alcohol, plumy, dense fruit cake topped with brown sugar. The flavour has moderate alcohol, is very rich, malty, lots of fruit, quite sweet. Red wine like mouthfeel, medium body, mild carbonation. Finishes very long, alcoholic, sweet and quite hot. I’m pretty sure this is either not an ager or it wasn’t stored well before I bought it. Quite thin for a Barley Wine.

275ml bottle from the <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Place/new-york target=blank>Premier Gourmet in Buffalo, New York.
Purchased in November 2004 and opened on September 14, 2007.
Vintage 2002.

Off notes from 3/2007. Pours a nice dark, but clear amber ruby with no head. Nose is woody, cherry, chalky. Flavor is sticky sweet with some wood influence there. I can’t really get any noticable alcohol off of it. Feel is standard. No bubble and a thicker almost syrup like liquid feel. Somewhat drinkable. Even after four years it seems to be a bit overdone and lacks any serious quality that would put it above the rest. God save the Queen!

Name: Jubilee
Date: 11/01/2006
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting
Vintage: 2002

clear brown, headless, sweet dark fruit aroma, nice plum, rich malt flavor, lots of ripe fruit, light tart bitter character

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 5/10; Overall: 12/20
Rating: 3.1/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: *4

Bottle. Brown colour with an off-white head. Aroma is sweet, alcohol, caramel. Flavour is sweet, alcohol, , fruit, lacorice.

9.3 oz bottle. Clear deep brown orange beer. Perfectly still appearance. Sweet malty aroma, soy, licorice, toffee, brown sugar,spice and chocolate covered dried fruit. Plummy fruitiness, port/sherryish oxidized notes. Flavour is very sweet, light pepper, orange peel and cocoa over sweet plums, dates and prunes. Very leathery and chewy as well. A bit of smoky whisky malts as well. The flavour is intense and still well-balanced. Earthy hops but hte bitterness has faded to the back. A lovely UK-style barleywine that has aged quite gracefully.

(Bottle 27,5 cl) Hazy, amber golden with a rough, off-white head. Rustic aroma of overripe fruit. Medium body and completely flat. Distinct aroma of caramel, sherry and overripe fruit. Very subdued bitterness. An odd bird indeed, but I like it. 100507

Bottle. (vintage 2002) Unclear pour, with a golden-orange to brown color and a minimal off-white head. Beef-stock and sweetness dominates the aroma. There’s alcohol, sugar, beef-stock, some caramel and hops in the flavor. Full body with sugar and alcohol lasting quite a while. It was a quite nice beer, but it was too oxidized all the way, I guess the cork went dry and caused that, after all it was only five years old. A beer at a massive 12% ABV shouldn’t get oxidized this fast. (070510)

Vintage 2002, apparently. Thick mahogany body with no head, violently poured. Plain raisin aroma hints at cinnamon sweetbread before alcohol arrives in a sterilizing fury. Hot and intense. Some chestnut, fruitcake tones and bonfire flavors, massively pruney and pungent. Completely flat palate, highly alcoholic, bitter and wet. Offensively oxidized. Long since dead. Poured it.