Fuller's Vintage Ale 2001

Bottle Conditioned.

Only 30,000 bottles were produced. Maris Otter malt and Goldings hops. The first year that all the ingredients were standard rather than champion.

3.8

195 reviews

Chiswick, England

Community reviews

3.4 1 pint 2.6 fl oz bottle. Pours hazy amber with a small off white head. Aroma is overripe fruity. Overripe fruity and toasted malty. Yeasty and smooth fruityy, dark malty and light wooden to earthy. Dry and dark malty finish.

3.0 Bottle 50 cl. Courtesy of Pinball. Bottle # 07111. Pours a clear amber with a small, rough off-white head. Oxidized and lightly fusty aroma with quite some caramel. Rich body, lowish carbonation, caramel and manure, quite some overripe fruit. Warming alcohol finish. Oxidized of course, but still enjoyable - after all these years. 200912

3.8 BeerOle’s Birthday Bash. Part of a rather long and much appreciated vertical. Copper colour with a small off-white head. Malty aroma with lots of raisin, and some vineous alcohol. Mildly oxidized, but has managed well, great complexity and a lovely beer

3.1 Shared bottle-poured cloudy-little oxidized Aroma: fruit, caramel Taste: fruit, leather, earthy, touch of caramel maltiness

3.5 Bottle shared by footbalm, thanks Appearance: Hazy brown/gold with a small off-white head and spotty lacing Aroma: Caramel, toffee and bready Taste: Toffee and caramel Well balanced, held up good for a 10 year old beer.

3.8 500 ml bottle thanks to Eric bottle number 11002. Pours a clear golden color with a medium white head. The aroma is some oxidation, dusty dry caramel and a light English hop. The flavor is very mellow, bready, caramel and sweet port like notes, grassy almost. Hasn’t held up perfectly like the 1999 did, but still nice.

3.4 Bottle at the 5th Annual Richmond Industry Gathering on 11/28/2010 courtesy of Mike. Mostly clear amber body with a small tan head. Big caramel, fruit and earthy aroma. Fruity and earthy flavor. Medium body with moderate carbonation.

4.0 post GABF tasting with Walt, Dickinsonbeer & Rudolf. Mahoghany pour, little head, whiskey/bourbon, oak & vanilla fill both aroma & flavor. Very nice rich malt presence. very good beer that has kept for quite awhile. tasted a tad old but still wonderful. Thanks Walt

3.8 Bottle, thanks Søren. Had this after 1997, 1999 and 2000. Pours hazy orange, practically no head. Aroma has light metallic oxidation, caramel, toffee, viniousness, light berries. High carbonation, nice dry mouthfeel. Flavour has caramel, dryness, fairly bitter, softly roasted malts, liqourice, some herbal notes and a bit of oxidation. Long, lingering light bitterness with a hint of milky chocolate. Fine.

3.7 2/6/2010 tasting of 2001 bottle - pours a cloudy deep amber color with almost no head. Aroma is full of deep, rich caramel, apples, toasted oak, chewy malts. Flavor has sweet toasted malts, toasted caramel, hints of lemon zest and cherries, faint notes of oxidation. Finish is fairly sweet, but short of cloying. Overall this is a very good brew, although not quite as good as some of the vintages that I have had.

3.7 Bottle # 15779 caramel nutty aroma. Cloudy hazel brown color with little to no head or lacing. Sweet malty taste, with berries and or/ raisin. Not bad, I have another bottle that I am defiantly going to age, I think it is going to improve a lot!

3.7 With sincere thanks to HogTownHarry for sharing this vintage with me on his balcony pre-ballgame :-) Appearance: Beautiful pink orange with a small off white head. Aroma: Lovely caramel, malt orange, pineapple, quite tropical. Flavour: Toffee, Christmas pudding, alcohol, lots of oak, hops and a nice oak finish.

3.9 Bottle #14698. Medium amber and brown, with a slightly sticky tan head. Beautiful aromas of raisin, prune, port, cinnamon and sugar cookie. Winelike palate, little carbonation, medium dry finish. A nice sipping beer. As the beer oxidized, however, the honeyed, jammy flavors subsided and took on a papery characteristic.

3.7 1pt. 2.6oz bottle. # 21218. Definite notes of cardboard oxidization. Honey malt, maple syrup, molasses... overripe dark berries. A touch of alcohol. Fairly simple and straightforward... other than the slight oxidization, this one has held up well. Pours a hazed dark amber with a nice sized off white head. Flavor has held up quite well. The hops are pretty much gone, but the malt profile is still quite nice. Toffee, caramel, dark fruits, cinnamon and nutmeg (?)... a definite spice presence. Medium bodied, carbonation is still alive, with a toasty, caramel and malty finish. Thanks Eugene!

4.2 2001? A beer Odyssey? Hard to imagine a better way to celebrate another century of ratings. Pours dark copper, full tan head, gorgeous. Nose of honey, toffee, hops and malt. Wonderful. Taste of sweet caramel, ginger and maybe clove, malts, and hops, with a long hop and spice finish. Also wonderful. Hard to imagine a better British Ale. But who cellars a beer for 7 years?

3.8 Pours copper with a thin white head. Smells of caramel, honey, some toffee, hints of fruit, spice, earthy. Tastes earthy with some nice spicy hints, sweet caramel, minor fruit presence, hints of citrus. Enjoyable.

3.6 Sampled at Delilah’s Vintage Strong Ale fest. Sampled along with the 99, 00, 04, and 05. Pours copper with an off white head. The nose is sweeter than the others. Toffee, brown sugar, caramel, dough, apples, oranges. Caramel toffee malt flavors that are fruity and slightly sour. Finishes with burnt anise notes, alcohol, and spice. This one was really fruity compared to the others, and that isn’t a good thing. Not into this one as much as the 99, 00, or 04.

3.5 2/23/08, bottle samples of vintages 99,00,01,04, and 05. similar to 00 but a little more sweet red and dark fruits in this one while the finish was a bit sour doughy. enjoyed this vintage the least.

4.6 500 ml. brown bottle. Part of a vertical tasting held for my close friends. This year’s vintage has aged better than the 1999 for some reason. Maybe it was handled better? Poured out a dark copper color, with a minimal tan head. Aromas are mostly malts, some earthy hops way off in the background. Flavors are all malts, some oak barrel & vanilla here also. Thick & chewy mouthfeel. Finished slightly sweet.

4.1 Bottle. Pours a dark amber brown with creamy tan head. Aroma of dark fruits (plum, raisin), caramel, and some earthiness. Flavor is earthy with heavy vinous flavors. There is a little bite in the finish. Seems to have aged pretty well, but not as tasty as the ’99.

2.9 Bottled #18801 Pale hazy nut brown, very small beige head. Earthy, cellary, mould aroma. This one has not aged so well, lots of cellary flavors. Behind that wood and nutty - typical Fullers flavors. Warming alcohol in the finish. Maybe leaked bottle or just one of the vintages which has past its prime.

3.9 Bottled. Amber colour, small beige head. Aroma is earthy cellar, raisins, fruits and some alcohol. Flavour is very much the same, long earthyness, fruits and alcohol. Also some raisins in the aftertaste.

3.8 18.6 oz bottle, #23152. Clear rosy brown with light tan froth. Smoky caramel and apple butter. Taste is more muted than expected. Apple, golden raisin, plum and toffee with a grassy, bitter finish. Easy to drink but packs a kick. Maybe past its prime.

3.6 Hazy red brown with a warm offwhite head, thinning quickly. Big sweet vinous malt. As sweet, if not sweeter, than JW Lee’s with the obvious addition of grapiness. Leather, woody, and a bit dusty perhaps. Thick, but not quite syrupy. Relatively average carbonation level. Big sweet and slightly leathery. Vinous. Wood. A bit of subdued alcohol. Very very dry tannic finish. Actually leaves my tongue feeling a bit abraded. Not a bad beer, I think this could have sat for longer to be honest.

3.6 Sampled in 2006. Brown in color with nice off-white head. Caramel and grassy hops. Bready and sweet.

3.5 Considering the style, Scores ranging from 1 to 5, 5 being the most intense Appearance: Body: Clear(1)->Murky(5) : 2 Pale Yellow(1)->Dark brown(5) : 3 Still(1)->Sparkling(5) : 3 Head: None(1)->Large(5) : 4 White(1)->Tan(5) : 2 Lasting: 2 Lacing : 2 Aroma: Intensity : 3 Yeast : 3 Bread : 4 Apple : XX Tropical Fruits : XX Soap : XX DMS : XX Diacetyl : XX Sulfur : XX Malt : 4 Biscuity : 3 Hay : XX Toasty : 3 Caramel : 3 Nuts : XX Honey : XX Cereals : XX Grainy : XX Hops : 2 Noble(1)->American(5) : Leafy : XX Spicy : XX Floral : 1 Lemon/Lime : XX Grapefruit : XX Orange : XX Herbal : XX Grassy : XX Pine/Spruce/Resin : XX Notes : Peach/Apricot : XX Earth : 2 Mint : XX Butterscotch : XX Smoke : XX Flavor: Initial Flavor : Dry(1)->Sweet(5) : 3 Finish Dry(1)->Sweet(5) : 3 Sourness : XX Bitterness : 2 Complex : XX Length : XX Palate: Light(1)->Full(5) : 3 Flat(1)->Fizzy(5) : 2 Clean : XX Sharp : XX Watery : XX Oily : XX Chalk : XX Astringent : XX Alcohol : 3 Mineral : 1 Oxidation : XX Metallic : XX Comments: A more obviously aged example with little hop character left, but a vinous, bready galore.

4.1 Bottle courtesy of Tpaliga(drank in 2007): Poured a deep clear brown color ale with a nice foamy head with good retention and great lacing. Aroma of sweet malt with dry fig and plums qualities. Taste is sweet with again the dry figs and plums qualities really coming out. No hops were discernable which is probably right due to the age on this bottle. Body was quite full with some lively carbonation and no alcohol was discernable. Another great vintage ale that aged very gracefully.

3.9 Bottle 14487 via trade with Walt - Pours dark amber with a nice creamy tan head that stays well and laces the sides of the glass. Aromas of caramel, plum, raisin, some woody notes, and a little tobacco. Flavor is all of that plus a lot of vinous notes as well. I really don’t pick up that much oxidation in this. Seems to have aged pretty well to me.. Quite flavorful and complex. Palate is very smooth and creamy with just a touch of bitterness at the finish. I liked this one pretty well..

3.5 Bottle #8826. Poured a slightly hazy peach with not much more than a swirl and a looser ring of caramel headage. The nose found a solid dose of vinous and plum notes on a caramel foundation with herbal and medicinal notes... some apparent (and expected) oxidation too. The flavor had plums, aged vinous qualities, and drawn, smoky caramel at its core.. building floral bitterness as it reached the edges of the mouth.. and rum-laden caramel + dark fruit on the long, warm finish. Syrupy on the palate with low carbonation, moderate, well-placed bitterness, and prickly alcohol near the throat. Tasty brew that is likely past its prime, but still holding up quite well.

3.9 Bottle. # 00111. Pours a clear amber colour with a small off-white head. Malty vinous aroma with hints of dark fruit and caramel. Sweet malty dark fruit flavor with some caramel hints. Has a warming malty finish.