OHanlons Thomas Hardys Ale (vintage 2003 and later)

Brewed by OHanlons
Style: Barley Wine
Whimple, England

2005 vintage sampled on 4/14/08. Rich nose of dark fruits, brown sugar, maple syrup, faint wood, caramel, and green apple - pretty boozy. Flavor is huge, wrapped in a heat of booze (this’ll put hair on your chest) are a boat load of prunes, berries, caramel malts, and woody notes. This is just a young guy - very pissed off and angry...drinkable but harsh, enjoyable but pretty intense.

’06 bottle, No. 25527. Thick hazy chestnut-colored pour with a red-orange tint. Maybe a total of twenty-five bubbles, so not so much head. Sweet, figgy aroma with notes of caramel, tea, wood, butterscotch and spices I’m not aware of enough to name. Earthy and musty, yet tangy at the same time. Great to just sit and sniff. Heavier than even a port on the palate... think of drinking cream. All bubbles have disappeared by now. Taste is similar to the aromas and almost overwhelmingly sweet. More wood, and some apricot notes come out. Sweetness covers up the hug alcohol wallop. I’d really like to taste this after a few years (or decades) of aging. Good thing I have another bottle (thanks, Nate!).

2007 bottle. (Drank it 2008-01-14). Pours a reddish brown with a small off-white-beige head. Aroma is warm and powerfull with notes of caramel/toffee, dried fruits, caramel, butterscotch, molasses and golden syrup and some alcohol. Fantastic! Flavour is full bodied (let us chew this beer), sweet and very smooth in the mouth. Loads of dried fruits, caramel, toffee, molasses and golden syrup. The alcohol add some peppery notes. The finish has some salt and burnt notes together with a nice bitterness. This is some pretty good stuff! (9/4/8/4/18)

2006 Bottle (Drank it 2007-07-26). Pours a reddish amber colour. Aroma is big and complex. Loads of dried fruits - plums, raisins and more - together with some roasted notes. You can feel the alcohol. Flavour is very sweet with notes of chocolate and yet again loads of dried fruits. You do feel the alcohol (maybe a tad too much) and a nice bitternes. The finish has some salty and almost burnt notes with a good amount of bitterness. The aroma is just marvelous. Unfortunately the high ABV gets a bit too apparent in the flavour IMO. (9/4/8/4/18)

Thanks jrob_21 for this most interesting brew. 06 bottle. Cloudy reddish brown pour with minimal bubbles, it looks nearly still. Aroma of caramel, brown sugar, maple, cinnemon, gingerbread, and a pinch of raspberry, wood and scotch. Smooth woody taste, bourbon/scotch, brown sugar, caramel, rum, coconut, earth. Very well rounded, no sharp flavors at all. Warming. Finishes with an evolving hop tang. Earthy, wood, a nod to planty hops, caramel flavor lingers, then dries out. Good and complex, worth revisiting, but the near still carbonation is bothersome. I want some creaminess. Good beer anyway.

’06 Bottle: Pours a murky dark amber color with no head. Massive whole grain/wheat body with dark malts, sweet caramel and banana notes present. Syrupy mouth feel leads to a blast of sweet malts and candied sugar with the grainy aspects showing up as well. Very good stuff, I can see why I should age some of this.

2003 vintage, No 015371. Pours red/brown, with absolutely no head or carbonation. Aroma is incredible, the most rich smelling beer I’ve ever encountered...odor of figs, dark fruit, molasses. Very sweet initial taste, syrupy mouthfeel. I’m blown away by the aroma, but not used to a beer with no carbonation at all, too syrupy and strong for me. Interesting, although I’m a bit disappointed...

2006 vintage- I gave this a try on a recomendation by a friend. Poured a very dark brown very slight carbonation. It had a a nice aroma of rasins and dried apricot, hints of molasses and some carmel. I was not a huge fan of this one, it was very sweet and had a powerful flavor of rasins,prunes and some eathiness to it. It finished with a huge taste of alcohol and a big burn on the finish. a little too much for me,,but given time this one will mature nicely.Great for after dinner or instad of a port.

Pours a deep dark broen with no head. Aroma is of raisins, prunes and molasses.Taste is very sweet, pruney, finishes very roasty. A nice after dinner drink. Vintage 2004 # 24571