St-Ambroise 20th Anniversary Vintage Ale (2009) - McAuslan Brewing

jampics2

Ohio

4.13/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 2 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

12oz bottle into a pint glass. Easily the best tasting "new-to-me" beer I’ve had this year on the Winking Lizard World Tour. Purchased for around $7.

This beer doesn’t start off well. Yes, it has a caramel color with touches of amber and gold around the edges. The color isn’t brilliant and bright. Instead, it’s dingy and subdued. Clearly, there are some yeast in suspension, giving this a slightly dirty look overall. I swear I poured carefully. Little head and lace are observed, even when egged on.

Then, things get way better. The nose is to die for, full of notes of caramel, toffee, brown sugar and dark fruit. This is so expressive and awesome, it’s like the perfect Barleywine base. There’s even a hint of chocolate lurking in the nose. Notes of sherry and earthy hops round out an excellent sensory experience.

So, the appearance turned me off, but the smell won me back Thank god, as this is simply an amazing beer. Oranges from the hops sit submerged in toffee and caramel. Some raisin and fig join the party, grooving with some brown sugar. Sure, there’s some booze, but this is a party, right? For what it’s worth, I think the booze is well hidden in that it’s not distracting. I wish all beers I rolled the dice on turned out this wonderful.

The mouthfeel was a bit lacking in terms of carbonation, which made the viscous, hefty body seem a bit syrupy. That being said, the beer was still an overall success and a pleasure to consume. It really is too bad it looked so bad, this was great!

Serving type: bottle

04-22-2011 13:05:07 | More by jampics2

Kelp

New Hampshire

3.75/5  rDev -3.1%

05-11-2013 05:04:27 | More by Kelp

Eighty

Washington

4.25/5  rDev +9.8%

04-21-2013 07:10:52 | More by Eighty

e30todamax

Virginia

4.25/5  rDev +9.8%

04-05-2013 07:15:24 | More by e30todamax

vidguy17

Iowa

3.75/5  rDev -3.1%

03-30-2013 14:59:25 | More by vidguy17

Howlader

Virginia

4.25/5  rDev +9.8%

02-13-2013 23:31:20 | More by Howlader

barczar

Kentucky

3.98/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a hazy amber brown with floaties and a tiny beige head that dissipates fairly quickly into a thin layer of foam.

Figs, dates, prunes, raisins, bruised cherry, booze, and caramelized brown sugar form the aroma. There's a now of oxidation, cardboard and a vinous note present.

Cherry, cardboard, dates, brown sugar, figs, raisins, and bready malt, lightly toasted, start the flavor, which finishes surprisingly dry and bitter. More cardboard oxidation surfaces as it warms, along with tea-like herbal hops.

Body is fairly thick, with somewhat low carbonation and significant alcohol warmth.

Might be on the edge of too old. Good esters, but the stale flavors are starting to take charge.

Serving type: bottle

01-18-2013 04:58:43 | More by barczar

Odysseyalien

New Jersey

4.01/5  rDev +3.6%
look: 5 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

I had one of these originally when I first started liking barleywines. Didn't think much of it at the time. As my tastes have matured in the last year or two, I have to say this is one of the best English barleywines I've had.

I poured this into my snifter and there was not much of a head. There is some lacing as I slowly sip this into my belly. Oddly, of any beer I've ever had of any kind, this one seems to have no aroma. If I glue my nose to the glass rim and sniff hard, a very subtle sweetness but really, an obviously weak aroma to none at all.

The taste though is right on the money for an English barleywine. Prunes come to mine on my first sip. Moderately sweet as I've certainly had sweeter and less sweet barleywines. Little hop profile which is par for the course.

All in all, I hope to get another one of these and maybe put some additional years on it. Very tasty and one you will want to add to your collection if you like English barleywines.

Serving type: bottle

01-13-2013 22:37:53 | More by Odysseyalien

BMMillsy

Florida

3.5/5  rDev -9.6%

11-23-2012 18:23:51 | More by BMMillsy

beermanbrian

Pennsylvania

3.25/5  rDev -16%

10-15-2012 23:52:03 | More by beermanbrian

Molson2000

Ontario (Canada)

4.75/5  rDev +22.7%

09-20-2012 23:06:20 | More by Molson2000

brystmar

Texas

3.08/5  rDev -20.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

2009.

Good looking barleywine -- orange and copper hues emit from the body, surprisingly good head and lace for the style. Aroma is strangely absent, though, showing a hint of booze and nothing else. Strange.

Malty base tastes a touch stale somehow, sweetness in support cannot cover this up. Booze shines through like a pro, minimal age-y qualities. Nice creamy body.

This is the example of an average barleywine. Entirely forgettable.

Serving type: bottle

09-20-2012 01:15:13 | More by brystmar

BennyL1

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I've had this one sitting for a couple of years now, figured why not tonight? Poured into a globe glass.

This Barleywine pours a dark and stormy amber with a slim off white head that quickly dissipates back into the brew. Streaky lacing is left along the glass which makes it a solid looking brew.

Many different aromas including caramel, brown sugar, and some dark fruits. The nose on this brew is simply great. It seems that every time I inhale I'm getting a new smell. Very nice.

The taste is on par with the nose. Complex and layered, you can get a few different tastes up front. Malty sweetness is the first thing you notice. Some of the same notes that were in the nose definitely come through in the taste. Also getting a hint of vanilla and a tad of bitterness which rounds it out very nicely.

Full bodied with carbonation on the lower side. This beer has a nice feel to it and still has a nice warming effect from the alcohol.

Glad I decided to try this one out tonight. A very solid beer that I'm glad I aged until now. No complaints here, wish I had another.

Serving type: bottle

09-14-2012 00:29:12 | More by BennyL1

rolltide8425

Pennsylvania

4.25/5  rDev +9.8%

07-23-2012 00:59:20 | More by rolltide8425

frontalot

Washington

4/5  rDev +3.4%

07-22-2012 23:33:33 | More by frontalot

jmathis

Florida

5/5  rDev +29.2%

07-17-2012 02:10:18 | More by jmathis

claspada

New Jersey

3.73/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a translucent amber color with a smallish off-white bubbly head that recedes and leaves some minimal spotty lacing along the glass.

Aromas begin with a lot of fruity esters combined with a great deal of lighter sweet caramel candied maltiness. There is almost a fruit liqueur essence of macerated peaches and figs.

The tastes begin with a strong blast of caramel candied maltiness once again. Next I get that fruitiness again with some apricot, peach, ripe juicy pear and fresh figs. Little to no hop character after 2 or 3+ years but there is an underlying drying, earthy characteristic but I think that is the alcohol.

Mouthfeel is medium to full bodied with medium carbonation. Finish isn't as super sweet as you would imagine after the aging of this beer but more fruity and sweet mixed.

Overall this was a nice beer, but probably one I should have save for late fall or early wintertime when I would have appreciated it more. I can imagine this must have been much more rough upon initial release as there is still some alcohol presence but age has done this well and given the nice cylindrical traveling vessel is came in, the oxygen and light affects are little to none. Def worth a go for fans of the style because of the lower than normal price point for an already "cellared" beer.

Serving type: bottle

07-13-2012 01:05:22 | More by claspada

BEERchitect

Kentucky

4/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

McAuslan Brewing rings in their twentieth year with their vintage ale that celebrates the milestone with dessert-like confection, brandyish gentlemanship and tawny port succulence. Although I'm three years behind the celebration, the beer makes celebration worthwhile in retrospect.

Russet and garnet in color, the viscous ale carries a hearty cloudiness that amounts to a terse white head that's somewhat short-lived. But her lack of withstanding foam yields the brandy legging with a glossy swirl of the glass.

Brown sugar, maple syrup- all from the malty tones that rise to the nose allow an intoxicating aroma to exude complementary notes of grape, cola, cherry, pecan, apple, and dates. Sweet port wines and advances sherries come to mind as much as beer as that twirling of the glass seduces the nose as much as it does the eye.

Flavors are even more succulent with the full intensity of malty sweetness hitting the tongue. Maple syrup, brown sugar, and vanilla come alive with flavor in much the way that french toast does but with the backing of port wine and brandy complexity. Rummy alcohol, burrowed wine-like acidity, and bitter cider complement the fold with a pruny and figgy wave that carries the beer throughout its nutty masculine finish.

Of course the full bodied beer does that full-bodied thing that Barleywines do, but there's a finesse to the beer that makes my impressions pull back. Restrained sweetness, oiliness, and viscocity makes the think of younger English olde ales more so than that of English Barleywines. Regardless, the strong alcohol warmth, semi-sweet, and supply bittered ale lingers indefinately with a calm and satisfaction that evokes retrospect and seduction.

Serving type: bottle

06-14-2012 05:40:38 | More by BEERchitect

liamt07

Ontario (Canada)

3.73/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Bottle shared by Steve, 341ml into a tulip.

Brown body with orange highlights. Beige head, with modest legs, good lacing and retention. Quite a bit of sediment here too. Nose has toffee, caramel apple, almond liqeur and bit of alcohol. Somewhat oxidized, twist-off caps certainly don't help this beers case. More sweet maltiness on the palate, clearly more oxidization evident, dark breads, brown sugar and caramel. Alcohol has yet to subside, still quite a bit of heat. Full and sticky feel, oxidation notes are most evident at the end of the mouthfeel. Good on the nose, a bit of a let down on the palate. Still OK though.

Serving type: bottle

05-13-2012 18:46:26 | More by liamt07

DaftCaskBC

British Columbia (Canada)

4.33/5  rDev +11.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A: 1/8" tan head that collected around the edges of the glass over murky deep amber liquid.

S: Sweet barley malt and honey. A second smell gives a hint of figs.

T: Figs, cherries, honey, caramel tasting barley malt and yeast. Sweet initially with a somewhat bitter finish. Quite nice.

M: Medium to thick viscosity and a low level of carbonation. Somewhat puckering in the back corners of the mouth.

O: One of the more memorable barleywines I have tried due to the useage of Belgian trappist yeast. Quite drinkable and pleasant.

Serving type: bottle

05-02-2012 22:07:39 | More by DaftCaskBC

BoringBunny

Russian Federation

4.5/5  rDev +16.3%

04-23-2012 00:32:19 | More by BoringBunny

Infamous7100

Ohio

3.85/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: pours a hazy light brown with hints of orange into my snifter. Thin head, no lacing.
S: very intriguing and very sweet. All kinds of fruits and malts melding together.
T: loads of malts, carmel notes and hints of the fruits,perhaps plums and figs. However, i get a ton of boozy notes throughout.
M: Thick and creamy with a low to medium carbonation level. A pleasant boozy, sweet hang at the back.
O: nice brew. Walks the line between and Belgian dark and a barleywine. The dark fruit notes and sweet malt on the nose are more prevalent than in the taste. The booze overshadows what i feel is the best quality of this type of beer, the flavor. Its aggressive in taste, yet a smooth sipper. Nice pick up.

Serving type: bottle

04-19-2012 01:59:31 | More by Infamous7100

papat444

Quebec (Canada)

3.95/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Thanks to hoppypocket for this one.

Poured from a 341 ml. bottle into my St-Ambroise Millésimée 2006 snifter.

Appearance: The same bubbly thick foam with a look like swiss cheese on the sides of the glass. A dark red-amber body.

Smell: Raisins, dried cranberries and other assorted fruits.

Taste: Strong dark fruit with a hint of wood and some candied flavor. More candy than actual sugar.

Mouthfeel: Real low carbonation with a medium body and the feel is not greatly expansive.

Overall: ABV is upped from previous versions but it drinks just as well, if not better. Has more of a sweeter edge.

Serving type: bottle

04-10-2012 17:22:15 | More by papat444

LiquidAmber

Washington

4.47/5  rDev +15.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Served in an Ommegang flute. Pours a dark somewhat cloudy orange amber. One finger fine light tan head and lacing. Very interesting aroma of fruit esters; light fruit, caramel malt. Very nice, well integrated flavor of caramel malt, dark fruit, plum and cherry. A very pleasant fruit finish dominated by dark cherry. Very well integrated. Nice creamy medium to heavy body. Very well done and distinctive English barlywine. I hope I can find some more of these on the store shelves. I will certainly put some of these in the cellar.

Serving type: bottle

01-19-2012 04:20:18 | More by LiquidAmber

irishkyle21

Ontario (Canada)

4/5  rDev +3.4%

01-17-2012 21:42:07 | More by irishkyle21