Fuller's Vintage Ale - Limited Edition (2008)

Dead Soldier

Where to Dig Up More About This Beer
Fuller's Vintage Ale - Limited Edition (2008)
Fuller, Smith & Turner P.L.C.
The Griffin Brewery
Chiswick Lane South
London, England 
Est. 1845
www.fullers.co.uk

Brain Damage Quotient = 8.5 % ABV
Fluid Oz. = 16.9

Postmortem Brew Review
Rich thick looking dark caramel color on the pour.
Sweet aromas of malt and fruit; orange predominance.
Tan colored, one finger high head that dissipates rapidly.
Scant cover of lace on the glass.
Very sweet malty taste with a bit of rich fruitiness.
Carbonation is at a minimum.
Full rich bodied mouth feel; alcohol warmth at end. 

Grim Reaper's Eulogy
The 12th Vintage Edition of Fuller's is run to a production of 145,000 bottles.  This one here is No.122901 and was purchased for me as a gift (thanks Dean) on St. Patrick's Day.

It was cold, lying in state in its own box.  No handles, hrmpf.  Still, you gotta' love a dead soldier that comes equipped with it's own coffin.  Muahahah.

Ffffpt, bahhhh, I digress, back to the ale.

Fuller's features two English hop varieties, Northdown and Challenger combined with Maris Otter malt.  Or so says the box bio.  That's funny.  I didn't detect a hint of otter in the taste.

This ale is rich and "luxurious" as the folks at Fuller's call it, and I'll certainly give them that.  And while you can't compare it to anything else, we all agreed that it was a bit like Sam Adams Utopias, in a smaller way.  It had that alcohol bounce and fullness of malt character, all the while being on the sweet side.

So if you can't get your hands on some Utopias, you may want to get a bit of that experience in a less expensive version.

Harviestoun Old Engine Oil Black Ale

Dead Soldier

Where to Dig Up More About This Beer
Harviestoun Old Engine Oil Black Ale
Harviestoun Brewery
Hillfoots Villiage
Alva, Scotland
Est. ????
www.harviestoun.com

Brain Damage Quotient = 6.0 % ABV
Fluid Oz. = 11.2 

Postmortem Brew Review
Dark black in color.
Chocolate smell and aromas.
Tan to brown colored, well forming head with significant lacing.
Full bodied.
Roasted caramel flavor with bittersweet finish. 

Grim Reaper's Eulogy
Viscous - Chocolatey - Roasty is right on the label of this proper English ale. I enjoyed it immensely. It also has an old English roadster on the label. This leads me to think that, what with the (lack of) reliability of old English cars, this fellow was a mechanic in a previous life. When his auto broke down, he started to make beer. Well, it flows out of the bottle thick and black just like old engine oil. But it tastes soooo much better. It's, "Brewed in small batches", so I'll have to keep an eye out to find more of this stuff.

2/5/11 Reaper Update - Enjoyed myself another of these beauties and it reads exactly as it did from nearly three years ago. Down to the letter of writing in the 'postmortem', this ale delivers. Will seek out again and again. Delicious and consistent.