#23 – Fuller’s Vintage Ale Beer

Beer Name : Fuller’s Vintage Ale

Manufacturer : Fuller’s

Origin : United Kingdom

Company founded in : 1845

Beer Type : Old Ale

SRM : 25

Abv : 8.5%

IBU : 30

First released in 1997, Fuller’s Vintage Ale is brewed in limited batches with each bottle being numbered.

There are two splendid features of Fuller’s Vintage Ale, which set it apart from every single beer on this earth.

1. Aged Beer or Old Ale – means it can be enjoyed immediately or Fuller’s recommends to enjoy the beer when it peaks in 3 to 4 years. Vintage Ales are crafted to mature for years and I was lucky to get my hands on Fuller’s Vintage Ale of 2014 ‘Limited Edition’ as it was the best of all.

2. Bottle Conditioning – Bottle conditioned ales are a live product, bottled with a small amount of yeast that provides secondary fermentation and maturation whilst in the bottle. This leads to a much deeper character and flavour with natural soft carbonation rather than the forced carbonation used in ‘bright’ bottled beers.

As per Fuller’s – This is the 18th edition in the range and has been brewed with three of this year’s finest hop varieties from both sides of the Atlantic. Goldings from England has been used for subtle bitterness and American varieties Liberty and Cascade were used in dry hopping to give a zesty grapefruit aroma.

This is an exceptional beer that is only available as a limited release with individually packaged and numbered bottles.

Fuller’s have added a best by date of 31st December 2024

Pours a Ruby brown, butter cream colored and head is the first thing you notice. It is big, almost an inch or two with great retention considering the age.  Nice lace which eventually diminishes as well. The aroma is almost life changing, having odours of grapes, vanilla, caramel and toffee.

Tastes as smooth as silk and wonderful maltiness right up front. Followed by a rush of fruits with lots of caramel and toffee flavors. Carbonation is very soft making this a nice creamy ale. The finish is all about the warming alcohol and the aftertaste leaves you pondering with lovely complex caramel malt. Wow!

Everything blends perfectly and a true English masterpiece.

This ale is very authoritative, rich, breadier and yeastier, It demands that you sit down and enjoy it slowly till the very last drop. An iconic ale treated as seriously as fine wine and a beer like this is far too rare, one that I will most likely never get to try again. Thank you Fuller’s for brewing such a beer.

This is easily the best Old Ale I have sampled.

One needs to be fortunate to find this Old Ale. It is absolutely Classic!

PS : Special thanks to Deepak Deniz for getting this beer for me.