Vital Spark
Fyne Ales Ltd

Vital SparkVital Spark
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From:
Fyne Ales Ltd
 
Scotland, United Kingdom
Style:
Scottish Ale
Ranked #29
ABV:
4.4%
Score:
86
Ranked #18,252
Avg:
3.82 | pDev: 7.59%
Reviews:
13
Ratings:
24
Status:
Active
Rated:
May 14, 2023
Added:
Apr 26, 2005
Wants:
  2
Gots:
  1
Vital Spark is a beer that is hard to categorise, occupying a space between stouts, porters and milds, but it’s unique character has created a loyal following, including among many of the top beer writers and judges. Starting with hops on the nose then giving away to rich, dark malt flavours, this deep red ale is full of roast barley in the grist and well hopped with Amarillo and Cascade hops to give a unique and delicious flavour.

Vital Spark is named after a fictional Clyde steamer boat that was captained by Para Handy in the humorous short stories written by Neil Munro in the early 1900s. The stories documented the life of the Vital Spark and its crew as the ship serviced the Argyll area in the early 20th century.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Photo of Sigmund
Reviewed by Sigmund from Norway

4.16/5  rDev +8.9%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Sep. 2012: 500 ml bottle, from a potential importer. ABV is 4.4%. Chestnut colour, large to moderate beige head, leaves a nice lacing in the glass. Pleasant aroma of mildly roasted malts, hints of coffee and caramel, but not sweetish. The flavour has first a medium dry mild roastiness, also some fruity notes with hints of blackcurrants, and ends in a more distinct roastiness and dry hoppy bite, Very good - the best bottled beer I’ve had from Fyne Ales so far. Got my "Aye!" vote for import to Norway.
May 14, 2023
Photo of charlatan
Reviewed by charlatan from Scotland

3.69/5  rDev -3.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Bottle from Aldi. Have had this on cask at festivals before. Mahogany colour, head dissipates pretty quickly. Smells of dried fruit and blackcurrant. Slightly smoky toffee flavour to start, bit of berry as the hops begin to kick in, then more bitter and caramel as it fades out. Strong flavour for the abv as I've come to expect from Fyne. Very good beer. Much more bitter than usual for the style.
Nov 19, 2022
 
Rated: 3.53 by Chuckdiesel24 from Illinois

Jul 11, 2022
 
Rated: 3.59 by Dave1999 from North Carolina

Apr 16, 2021
 
Rated: 3.85 by shelby415 from Oregon

Jul 12, 2020
Photo of stevoj
Reviewed by stevoj from Idaho

4.13/5  rDev +8.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Draft at Churchkey. After a night of over the top hops, finishing with a "mild" malt bomb. How tasty! Dark brown, light bodied, huge frothy head (cask). Sweet nutty malts in both aroma and taste, silky smooth. This one’s all about the taste, pure and simple. Very simple, very tasty.
Jan 06, 2020
 
Rated: 3.97 by Hanglow from Scotland

Jul 07, 2019
 
Rated: 4 by bigred89 from Maryland

Mar 12, 2018
Photo of MisterBanks6
Reviewed by MisterBanks6 from Scotland

4.38/5  rDev +14.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.75
Pours a very dark brown, closer to ruby with a nice half inch head that leaves nice lacing. The feel is not as silky as i would have imagined but is not unpleasant. The smell of is slightly roasty yet there is scents of dark fruits such as plum and slight black current which compliments the dark, fruity and rich taste of this beer. I enjoyed this very much as a beer to sip on through the night and would be pleasant on a winters day or with a winter menu of meaty or roasty foods.
Aug 15, 2017
Photo of metter98
Reviewed by metter98 from New York

3.88/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
A: The beer is clear but very dark brownish red in color (very dark brown when viewed from afar) having no visible carbonation. It poured with a finger high frothy beige colored head that took a long time to die down, leaving a collar around the edge of the glass and some lacing down the sides.
S: Light to moderate aromas of black currants and dark malts are present in the nose.
T: The taste follows the smell, but has more in the way of flavors of roasted and burnt malts, which stand out in front of the berries. There is a light amount of bitterness.
M: It feels medium-bodied on the palate and has a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: This ale is quite flavorful for a beer with a relatively low abv.

Serving type: bottle
Jul 02, 2016
Photo of EmperorBevis
Reviewed by EmperorBevis from England

3.95/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
gorgeous dark body and tan head full on granary aroma Really rich malty taste with a good treacle whack more solid than it's abv great stuff that must be amazing on cask
Aug 06, 2015
Photo of vauxhaulastra
Rated by vauxhaulastra from Scotland

2.97/5  rDev -22.3%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Too many acrid notes, very little smell, little malt character.
Feb 14, 2015
 
Rated: 3.81 by dcmchew from Romania

Dec 19, 2014
 
Rated: 3.25 by BartMcStout from Belgium

Feb 09, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by samEBC from Belgium

Sep 29, 2013
 
Rated: 3.5 by Brewer1980 from Scotland

Sep 09, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by mick303 from Canada (ON)

Jun 12, 2013
Photo of CwrwAmByth
Reviewed by CwrwAmByth from England

4/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Poured from a 500ml bottle into a pint glass.

Pours a dark reddish brown colour with a decent looking head, and some lacing.

Smells sweet and a little bit boozy, oddly.

Tastes quite nicely complex, rich dark fruits which are overwhelmed by sweet caramel malts. Slight hoppy bitterness but the malts dominate.

Overall a pretty decent beer, as usual from this good brewery.
Nov 22, 2012
Photo of woosterbill
Reviewed by woosterbill from Kentucky

3.88/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
Gravity halfpint at the Euston Tap.

A: Clear chestnut-red body with a solid, ultrafine head of cream-colored foam; solid retention, tons of lace. Great.

S: Densely caramelized, very sweet malts on top of some roasty chocolate notes. I'm a fan.

T: Follows the nose; very sweet maltiness, and not much else.

M: Creamy medium body. Excellent carbonation.

O: Very nice ale. I would have liked a bit more complexity of flavor, but it was thoroughly enjoyable.

Cheers!
Mar 28, 2012
Photo of Zimbo
Reviewed by Zimbo from Scotland

4/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Relatively rich treacly roasty beer with a lightly bitter tang this strong mild type beer's malt dominance is quite morish. Orange and brown amd creates a seasonable dense thickish head which is rocky and clings to glass. Tasty and glowing, it really delivers more kick than its ABV would suggest.

Still to have this on cask.
Dec 24, 2011
Vital Spark from Fyne Ales Ltd
Beer rating: 86 out of 100 with 24 ratings