Old Ale Project – San Diego Brewing Co.’s Saxon Old Ale (#13)

11oz draft pour in a goblet.  8.5% ABV.  Served a little cold, but allowed to warm. 

Appearance:  Tinted chestnut with a beautiful, velvety crown of foam.  Brilliantly clear.  It’s a beautiful beer and well presented (5/5).

Aroma:  Very restrained aroma.  I get a little noble hops and a bit of fresh brown sugar.  Maybe some water treatment too.  I’m really looking for more, but there just isn’t anything coming out (2/5).

Taste:  Some moist raisins and a bit of hop bitterness.  There’s a bit of brandy- and sherry-like character.  I also get the impression of whole cherries (pits and all).  It tastes, very fresh, which is often and advantage in beer, but doesn’t necessarily help this one (3/5).

Mouthfeel:  I get a hint of an astringent bite, almost like I would with an oak barrel.  There is definite warmth from the alcohol.  Full body and low carbonation (3.25/5).

Overall:  I can only guess, but I’d be willing to bet that this beer was brewed within the past couple months.  All of the edges are still a little sharp and bordering on unpleasant.  It’s a decently made Old Ale, but still too young.  I’d love to meet this same keg next year when freshness turned into maturity (3/5).

-Matt

Old Ale Project – Hangar 24’s Vinaceous (#12)

22oz bottle decanted into a snifter.  8.7% ABV.  Served cold and allowed to slowly elevate to room temperature. 

Appearance:  Deep coffee color, a little murky, with multiple columns of rising bubbles and a thick, billowy head (3.5/5).

Aroma:  The dominate aroma here is booze.  It doesn’t sound like this was aged in a spirit barrel, but I would have guessed that it was.  I suppose that it’s a combination of the grapes and the oak that are fooling me.  I also pick up a little bit of molasses, brown sugar, dates, raisins, and bready malt.  It has a fairly appealing smell, but the alcohol is a little over the top (3.75/5).

Taste:  Still boozy.  It’s hard to pick up many other flavors because the alcohol is so intense.  It’s also very sugary.  And I guess there’s also a bit of overripe dark pitted fruit.  As it warms up the grapes may be coming out some, but I may just be talking myself into finding them.  If “grapes” weren’t written on the bottle, I’m not sure I would have (3/5).

Mouthfeel:  Beyond warm… hot.  I’ve got heat all through my chest.  Full body and medium carbonation.  There’s also a bit of astringency, maybe from the oak or maybe the grape skins (3/5).

Overall:  Hangar 24's first "Local Fields" beer is an Old Ale brewed with freshly crushed Mourvedre Grapes from Temecula, California and aged on French Oak.  8.7 ABV should definitely be a level where I perceive an alcohol strength, but this beer is way out of balance.  It’s so boozy that I have a hard time identifying any other flavors.  It’s just too hot.  I like the concept of mixing an Old Ale and grapes, but I would like to see a little more grape and a little less booze (3.25/5).

-Matt

Old Ale Project – O’Hanlon’s Brewing Co.’s Thomas Hardy’s Ale (#11)

8.5oz bottle decanted into a snifter.  11.7% ABV.  2008 vintage.  Bottle No. T 27791.  Served at cellar temperature. 

Appearance:  Deep crimson red with a thin ring of beige foam.  Brilliantly clear, but sporting a few floaters here and there.  They must have come with the aggressive pour (4/5).

Aroma:  Figs and dates.  Brown sugar and molasses.  A little earthiness and wood, that is followed by a hint of soy sauce.  Very interesting and inviting (4.5/5).

Taste:  Sweet brown sugar, molasses, raisins, figs, and dates up front.  There is an aged mango flavor in the background.  Maybe some vanilla as well.  It also has some port or sherry-like characters.  I suppose the latter is from age (six years at time of consumption).  Overall it is an incredible beer.  I am very lucky to have found a bottle (5/5).

Mouthfeel:  Thick and chewy.  Full body and light carbonation (5/5).

Overall:  There appears to be some debate on whether this beer should be considered an English Barleywine or an Old Ale.  The alcohol is a bit high for an Old Ale, but the flavor profile matches up perfectly to the style guidelines.  Michael Jackson called it an Old Ale, so I guess I’ll go with the expert.  This beer was brewed once a year by Eldridge Pope Co. from 1968 to 1999 to commemorate the death of writer Thomas Hardy.  O’Hanlon’s picked up the brand in 2003 and brewed it through 2008.  The bottle I had was from the last year of O’Hanlon’s ownership.  I absolutely loved it, and want to thank the Brick Store Pub in Decatur, Atlanta for building such an incredible cellar.  It sounds like the brand is trying to be revived again, so I’ll be keeping an eye out for new vintages (4.75/5).

-Matt

Old Ale Project – Ballast Point’s 8.9 on the Richter Ale (#10)

12 ounce draft pour into a snifter.  8.9% ABV.  Served a little too cold, but allowed to warm up some. 

Appearance:  Deep, stained, cherry wood body with ruby highlights.  A few scant bubbles grace the surface.  Brilliantly clear with low carbonation.  Very pretty beer (5/5).

Aroma:  My nose is immediately struck with a coordinated attack of booze and cherries.  Forcefully rich.  My blood sugar is starting to go up and I haven’t even consumed any of it yet.  The cherry is so intense that it almost smells artificial.  I may even let someone talk me into thinking that this was spiked with cherry cough syrup (4/5).

Taste:  Tastes like cherries soaked in bourbon for several months with a rich, bready malt to provide a foundation.  There is an astringent bitterness and a touch of wood, which combines with the cherry flavor create the perception of chewing on cherry pits.  And the nose did not oversell the sweetness.  It’s all in there (3.5/5).

Mouthfeel:  Warm and astringent.  Medium body and light carbonation.  The astringency is a bit off-putting (3/5).

Overall:  This isn’t a bad “Ale”, but I think it’s missing its “Old”.  I don’t know when this beer was brewed, but I’m guessing it’s young.  If my theory is correct, and this beer was given some time, I think that the astringency would mellow out some and it would become far more drinkable.  Maybe that intense cherry sweetness would round out a little bit on the edges as well.  As it is, it’s good but not great.  I finished my pint, but I definitely would not order another (3.5/5).

-Matt

Old Ale Project – AleSmith’s Old Ale (#9)

25.4oz bottle decanted into a snifter.  11% ABV.  “Bottled On” date 07/02/13.  Served at 55F and allowed to elevate to room temperature. 

Appearance:  Dark mahogany with thin streams of fine bubbles rising to the surface to create a faint, beige cap (4.5/5).

Aroma:  I can smell this damn thing from two feet away.  It’s a mixture of incredibly rich, dried, dark fruits, molasses, and toasted bread.  It also smells very boozy.  I’m surprised that the bottle doesn’t say anything about bourbon barrel aging, because it smells like it’s seen a barrel.  All-in-all it is an incredibly inviting aroma (4.75/5).

 

Taste:  Malt.  Super-malt.  Malt all over the place.  Bready and intense.  I also get roasted marshmallows, fresh tobacco, figs, dates, and raisins, pumpernickel, brown sugar, and that tobacco flavor that comes with many beers in this style (4.5/5).

Mouthfeel:  Beautiful warmth from my tongue all the way down to my belly.  Full body and light carbonation.  I love it (5/5).

Overall:  I think this may be my best Old Ale yet.  The only thing it’s missing is that interesting brett character that comes with either wood aging or inoculation.  Otherwise it is nearly perfect.  It’s roasty, malty, sweet, and warm.  Well done, AleSmith (4.75/5).

-Matt