Gales Prize Old Ale Special Reserve

Formerly brewed at Gales
Style: Old Ale
Horndean, England

Caramel and dried fruits on the nose, figs, dates, dark raisons. Pours light brown, no carbonation. Interesting flavor, warming, apple skins, alcohol. I get a lot of alcohol, its very good though, nice to sip on late at night!

Pours dark brown, no head. Smell of molasses, chocolate, and maple syrup. Thick mouth feel. Thin flavor, with a warm alcohol hit. Bit of a sting at the end. Somewhat like port in mouthfeel, but not flavorful as I feel a beer should be.

Bottled in 1997, bottle # 7177. Pours a deep ruddy brown with absolutely zero foam or carbonation. A whiff of cork and vinegar greet me as soon as the cork is removed (I can’t say popped, it didn’t pop). The beer itself smells pretty nice, if you want your beer to smell like sherry, that is. Oddly tart, not quite like a Flemish red, not quite like vinegar. Maybe like a tannic wine. There’s also some rum-soaked, holiday cookie flavor in there (I don’t remember what they are called) and a touch of bready malt. Some tart wild plum too. Definately sherry-like in the finish. Medium bodied, and absolutely flat. Curious winey tartness in the aftertaste.

Pours brown with absolutely no signs of a head, it looks like a glass of mud. Aroma of malt and sweet fruit. It taste like brown sugar, caramel, fruit and malt. Very unusual and worth trying, I may got get another to keep around for another 20 years.

2003 vintage 275 ml bottle from Beer World of Largo. Pours a murky brown that has muted red hints and absolutely no head at all, not even a stray bubble. I imagine that is how it should look though knowing that doesn’t make it look any more inviting. The aroma is boozy and fruity...prunes, stewed raisins....a general melange of ripened and mashed fruits allowed to stew. There is ample alcohol and that barley wine smell I think of as "fresh" oxidation. <P> Very boozy in that first sip then caramel, vanilla, sweet cream, burnt raisin and a lot of alcohol hotness. It’s utterly still. Some walnut skin notes appear in the finish and that flavor really lingers for a long time. Still very hot at this age....it could age much longer I think, but the oxidation might just get silly. <P> This beer is really growing on me. I think it is very important to let it warm to room temp as the flavor smooths out as it warms becoming nutty and fruity.

Bottle consumed on 10/6/2006.
Gales appearance. Flat, somewhat murky even when trying to pour carefully. Purple-magenta-maroon tinges throughout a deep copper-garnet body. Film is left as it recedes but no head and thus no lace.
Chocolate covered prunes in the nose, with very sharp cedar notes, heavy alcohol graininess and a very large helping of plummy/grapey vinousness. Oxidation present, but it’s not cardboard and works well in Gales beers, I have always thought. More of a light brandy and port mixture, though not sweet like port. I guess the alcohol harshness is rather disconcerting, but the calvados dries things out and balances the malts well. Medium strength of aroma.
Thick, oily, chocolate-caramel begins the flavor, with grapes, prunes and light brandy soaked raisins. The calvados emerges, pleasantly I have to say, in the middle, with very dry tannins and almost a charred wood flavor. It crescendos in to the finish, gathering some alcohol warmth with it. Oxidation again is more in line with something like Thomas Hardys. If you don’t like Gales beers, this is going ruin your night, but I found it strangely appealing, and though the calvados is borderline overdone, I found enough flavor from it to get me through it. Oily, nearly flat texture. Would like to try this again down the road.

Im not sure but my notes say that we thought this one was from 86-88 vintage? I know I have a 96, so maybe there are some 20 yo bottles out there? This one was one of my least favorites, and had aged so much it was starting to become like the 1902 Kings ale. Rediculously oxidized, harsh, nasty old rotting pencil, cedary, and wood in the aroma. Flavor is some wierd soy sauce, more wood and cedar, and a light off sweetness to it. Wet-paper finish and astringent as all hell. Crazy old bottle though- thanks Clark for letting us try this. I just noticed that the description says best after 20 years. Yeah right! haah.

A muddy brown beer with no head. The aroma is oxidized combined with notes of oranges. The flavor is very sweet and very oxidized, combined with notes of metal (from the alcohol) and wood. Sampled August 2006 - and in my opinion definately over the top.