Gales Trafalgar 200

Formerly brewed at Gales
Style: Old Ale
Horndean, England

Bottle. Head: Eh my guess is white but it went away so quickly that I missed it. Hazy amber body with a lot of yeast at the bottom. Spicy alcohol aroma. Complex flavor starting to be fruity and sweet but ending in a relatively sharp though not unpleasant grapefruit like sourness. Pleased that the alcohol did not dominate.

Wasn’t expecting this to taste like a lambic. Unfortunately the sourness seems to dominate a bit much, with the malt struggling to stand up and be counted. Having said that, it’s still decidedly good and enjoyable, but it’s somewhat like an empty promise. Although my experience may have been slewed by the umpteen beers that passed down the gullet before this one, battering my tastebuds and palate into submission. Sadly I’ll probably never get to sample it again to find out if that was the case.

Bottle: Pours deep copper with a short lasted tan head. Very light carbonation. Nose is very fruity, with some funky notes along with prunes and vineous notes. Full, sticky feel. Flavour is a balance between darker fruits and grapes. Suprising lambic-like tart edge, with some woody notes. Interesting and warming.

A dark orange-brown beer with only a light effeverscence. A strong malty sweet aroma with a distinctly sherry like nose. The flavour is again sweet and fruity, with hints of plums and grapes. The sherry element comes through in the taste. The aftertaste is smooth and fruity. (Bottle - puchased from the Real Ale Shop, Branthill Farm, near Wells-next-the-Sea, Norfolk).

Yes this is a beer i could do a dangerously large amount of and probably kill myself in the process. Aroma is sweetish, with a sharpness off the acidity. Taste is complex and rich, full of depth from all sorts of malt characters. The acidity takes the alcohol away and makes it just sheer brilliance!

[bottle from beers of europe] amber with no head. Aroma is complex, notes of apple, toffee, brandy, dried fruit - figs, musky leather notes, some acidity and a good dose of alcohol. full bodied with the alcohol coming through again in the finish. very good but could do with some time for the alcohol to mellow out, after a few years this could be exceptional.

Bottle. Cloudy brownins beer with a strong head. The aroma is fruity, sour and dry and the flavour malty, vinous and tart. Overall a nice beer.

An English lambic old ale? Well, that’s how it appeared towards the end of a long session. Amber colour with a fair head. Wild lambic aroma - faint caramel, sour brettiness and sherbet. WTF? One of the most extraordinary aromas I can recall from an English beer. Quite slick in the mouth and medium bodied. Some early caramel is balanced by sour-sweet sherbet and a long dry herbal finish. Funky and fascinating. (Bottle, Duff homecoming gathering, thanks to Linc for providing)