Gales Prize Old Ale Special Reserve

Formerly brewed at Gales
Style: Old Ale
Horndean, England

2003, I think from Kramer, drank side by side with a 1999 non-BA vintage. This stuff is pretty gross. Aroma is actually pretty nice, some calm, lightly sweet apples, old, oxidized, musky malts. It’s all down hill form there. Flavor is at once thick and thin, muddled, crushed, 2 month old apples and some acidic grape skins. Palate really burns for a beer that is only 9% and is 5 years old. It’s actually not as bad at room temp after sitting out for a couple hours than it was fresh from the bottle. It was undrinkably disgusting then. Now it’s almost decent.

Bottle 2005 vintage poured a hazy dark brown with no head. Aromas of toffee, carmel, fruitiness, alcohol and a hint of wood. Palate was light to medium bodied and crisp. Flavors of oak, prune and light chocolate with a smooth lingereing lightly tart finish.

From Badgerben. This is great stuff, and I can’t believe there are only 31 ratings. A stereotypical English style, but at the top of its class, and I think it is more of a barleywine than an old ale. Butterscotch aroma with malt. No carbonation. Some apple and spice, like calvados, and oak. Very smooth and easy to drink. Excellent.

9.3 oz bottle, Vintage 2003, via beerbeing. Pours a slightly cloudy amber brown body with absolutely no head. Completely still. Nose is classic Gales, very vinous with some fruity apple, light oak, light alcohol, and just a little oxidation. Flavor is a nice fruity vinous mix of apple, toffee, light oxidation, and slight alcohol. Finishes with some hints of oak tannins and moist tobacco. Mouthfeel is medium to full bodied with a slight sweetness that clings a little on the finish. Completely still carbonation level, which really enhances the vinous nature. Overall, this was another winner from Gales, wish this would come back. Delicious to a Gales fan, not so sure about if you aren’t.

Sampled at Badgerben’s Cellar Reduction Night. Pours a hazy burnt amber brew with no head or ring. Beverage itself is pretty much thick and chewy. Aroma of dark sweet caramel malt, butterscotch, apple and a touch of sweet pear. Taste is syrupy, smooth, creamy with flavors of molasses, aged oakwood and apples. Finish is semi-sweet with an aftertaste of butterscotch and apples. An interesting old ale.

Cellar Reduction Night, Oct 20, 2007. Murky brown color with no head. Very sweet malt aroma. The taste is much the same, with some mild apple from the Calvados cask. Some molasses. A little syrupy. Delicious. Wish I would have bought a few more a few years ago.

Not what I expected. No carbonation to speak of, completely flat. Dark brown, cloudy color. Warming alcohol hits you with the first sip, both in the nose and on the back of the throat. Almost a scotch whisky flavor, somewhat smooth and just a hint of saltiness at the end. I did not notice any fruit flavors, nor any sweetness. I guess that I expected more for this one.

Cask @ Octoberfest tasting, Kolding. Vintage 2001 in cask! :o)
Pours a lightly orange with a thin small white head. The liquid looks stale and a little flat. Aroma is great - there are berries, sherry, lots of oak, apples and caramel. Flat and oily mouthfeel. Powerful taste, lots of toffee, herbs, a little vinious with a good deal of spices. Great!