OHanlons Thomas Hardys Ale (vintage 2003 and later)

Brewed by OHanlons
Style: Barley Wine
Exeter, England

Bottle. Vintage 2006 - bottle #48065. A rather clear ruby color with no head. A quite vinous aroma of malt, caramel, raisins, a bit of plums, notes of wood and some alcohol. Very sweet and malty flavor with brown sugar and some dark fruits. Finishes on a drier note with very subdued notes of hops and a slight alcohol burn. Medium to full body. Surprisingly for such a sweet ale, it grew on me more and more with every sip. A very good and quite complex beer (even at this young age). Let’s see how will this one do with some aging.

250ml bottle, 11.9% a/v 2007 vintage. Pours a very murky brown with pretty much no head at all. Smells like dar malt, apricots, and raisins. Tastes very alcoholic, with alot of dark notes, deep caramel, licorice, chocolate, slight coffee and spice. Full mouthfeel and a very deep warmth in the stomach from the alcohol.

(25cl bottle, vintage 2005) Slightly hazy, copper colour with a small beige creamy layer. Sweet, dark malty, moderately roasted aroma with caramel, fruity accents (apricot, pear) and a touch of chocolate. Sweet flavour, full bodied and soft on carbon with an almost oily mouthfeel. Toast-malty taste, subtle fruity with caramel, liquorice and chocolate; sweet and slightly bitter, Sherry-like alcoholic finish. Complex and quaffable brew.

2007 250ml bottle (which I got for a ridiculously reduced price due to LCBO issues)(and also claims to be 11.9%abv as opposed to 11.7%abv). Pours a murky brownish mahogany colour, with, absolutely no head! Aroma: Decent malt backbone, with a more evident presence of hops, some fruitiness, peach, and, ALCOHOL, uh oh......this could get interesting. Taste: Oh man, this beer is weird, in that it simultaneously is too much, and too little! Starts off, weird, I don’t think it was sour, but it was something similar. Then straight away, ALCOHOL, then a touch of malt sweetness, followed by a pretty significant alcohol burn. It mostly just seems like a dull, highly alcoholic ale. The aftertaste is actually quite nice, fruity esters mostly, with some yeasty sediment. I guess it’s meant to sipped on, not chugged, maybe that was my first mistake! (note: I didn’t actually chug this, please don’t be offended, I was only kidding!) Good thing I bought 2 bottles, I hope it’ll be less flat and dull in say, 50 years. Oh wait no, they say 10. Alright, well, see you guys again in 2017. I look forward to it. EDIT: Sipping on an ’08 now, and I must say my palate has changed. It’s still not quite ’drinkable’, but the highly chewy, nutty malts are actually much tastier than I remember. The hops in the aroma are a nice touch as well, although they probably fade with age. I can wait to try one of my aged bottles of these in years to come.

2006 Vintage. Very sweet, malty aroma. Appearance is a light caramel brown, cloudy with some yeast in it. Medium hops, sweet , notes of dark fruit. Alcohol noticeable but not overpowering. Excellent!! A+

A special bottle for my 100 rating, my first T.H.’s. Brown appearance with no head at all. Has a powerful aroma of malt, honey, vanilla, wooden sherry or vinous like, with a complex ripe fruit bouquet of apricots, cherries, pears, apples, raisins, plums, figs. Little toffee and butter as it warms, candy floss and a bit too ethilic, think because it’s still a baby. Never drank anything so full-bodied, but absolutely not cloying, but smooth and silky. Balanced and warming indeed.

2006 vintage poured out of its 8.5oz bottle as a slightly hazy brownish orange with thin tan head. The aroma is big with figs, dates, plums and raisins as well as a hint of olive brine. There’s a nice caramel candy note to go along with sweet chocolate and alcohol. Wow, tons of flavor that rides very deep into the after taste. At first there’s a shot of olive followed by classic dark fruitiness from figs, plums, sugar sweet cherries and raisins. Then a silky smooth and tasty caramel candy, toffee and hint of chocolate take over and seem to go on forever. A bit of olive re-joins the show into the finish and after taste. I’d love to try one of these with much more age.

murky brown, with zero head. Aroma is very malty, and there are some hops in there. I’m loving the caramel notes laced with some subtle fruit, and a touch of alcohol. Flavour is so smooth, and complex. Lots of stuff going on here. Caramel maltiness takes over, butt he fruit comes through. Subtle spice, man this reminds me of a wicked sherry/spice cake. Mouthfeel is thick, and sweet, and super super smooth. YOu can feel the alcohol as it soothes, and warms as you swallow. Wow, a true delight. I"m glad i grabbed a bunch, can;t wait to see what this turns into.