Gales Millennium Brew

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

Poured a very hazy orange with no head. The aroma was tart with notes of funky horse and leather. I am rating the aroma to my likes, an 8, rather than to style which would put the numbers low. The flavor is pretty tart and mouth puckering. Peppery finish and warming. The body was pretty thin.

(275 ml bottle: $5 at Bottleworks in Seattle, WA) Brewed 9 years ago and aging in my cellar for the past two to three years, I don’t want to push this beer any longer. Murky, muddy, amber-brown in color, this Gales beer expectedly pours with little head, but to my surprise, there is a significant amount of carbonation bubbles rising through the beer (visible only at the edge of the glass, of course). Based on my past experience with the Gales beers, this is the only one that is showing a considerable sign of carbonation; they’re usually flat and lifeless on the palate, but not this one. This beer is very fruity (lots of raisins and prunes), earthy, woody, malty and moderately sweet, but gently bitter and fairly tart for nice balance. It’s probably a bit oxidized, but sometimes oxidation is okay with me, and here, I’m absolutely fine with it. Fruity, earthy, woody, tart -- a wonderfully balanced aroma. Medium bodied, but the sweet malts and tart fruit strike a nice balance on the palate. All in all, I’d say this has been my best experience with a Gales beer. Very enjoyable, but most likely the last time I’ll get to partake in this solid Millennium brew.

Bottle (250ml). Mostly clear orange with no head, flat-looking. Has sour ale character - tart, sharp, yeasty, some wood oil and orange pith - burny alcohol too. Tastes like a watery orange-flavoured mild port - slightly burnt, musty, quickly drops off the palate. Watery mouthfeel, very flat and lightly burnt - not horrible but not much of anything going on.

Chestnut brown body void of any head. Nose held dried fruit, Soave, apples. Light bodied and watery. The flavor was simply blah.

Kind of smells like a mediocre Flemish red, moderate acetic notes, mild fruitiness, a bit of underlying caramel. Dull copper color, no head. Mild sourness, a little caramel, weak flavor overall, kind of watery. Medium body with absolutely no carbonation (it was a corked bottle with no cap - I don’t think they ever intended any carbonation), mild astringency, vinous quality, definitely hides the 10% ABV well. This beer has definitley gone a bit sour, I’m just not sure if the brewers were planning on that or not. It has a nice wine-like character, but the overall flavor is weak and watery. The brewers may have overestimated this beer’s aging potential.

Ugly brown/amber. No head, even with the bottle held nearly vertical for part of the pour. Only the faintest pressurized pop when I removed the cork. I wasn’t legally allowed to buy beer when this was brewed. Now who’s laughing you fascist bastards?! Pardon me. Aroma of caramel syrup, rich malt, past prime wine, apple brandy. Nose of dessert. Flavor to match, only turned way down, and just a touch of alcohol in the finish. Like 9-year-old-strong-ale flavored water. Palate to match. Disappointing after a rather nice aroma. I’m drinking it around 60F, perhaps room temperature would have been better.

Knightly Spirits, Orlando, Fl. 9.3 oz corked bottle. Pours a very murky light brown - no head at all - looks like beef broth. Sweet aroma with hints of orange, valentine sweethearts candy and a hint of raisins. Flavor is sweet and sour at the same time. Some tangy raisiny notes, orange peel, sour wine (vinegar) and a little bit of chocolate. Interesting combination. No carbonation whatsoever, mouthfeel is a little bit thinner than expected.

1997 bottle shared with OldGrowth on 3/4/06. Laughable (but in a laughing with Gales, not laughing at Gales way) appearance of almost no carbonation, no head, no anything; lifeless. Golden raisin with bright copper tinges and of course plenty of sediment. Nose is intriguingly dry, with dry golden raisins, chardonnay-like notes, dry, pale malted barley and some very dry peach and nectarine notes. As well, a raw, dried-cedar or oak wood note is quite sharp on end. But some bubbly, sticky fruit note, even past that, rounds it. Wow, a rollercoaster of an aroma.
The flavor has taken a little slide over the years, unfortunately. Bready oxidation, yeast dullness and too soily/dirty a brett or lactic note? I swear there’s some other yeast in it. But something lightly dirty, ultimately. Sharp alcohol notes, dry, yellow fruit skins. Some stickiness fails to hold the loose body together. Even looking it as a wine-like body, it still fails, in my opinion.