Fuller's Vintage Ale 2007
A classic Vintage Ale with an aroma which incorporates spicy hop notes with rich fruit character and leads on to a very full malty, fruity, sweet palate which has a surprisingly clean finish coupled with a matching bitterness.
I have handcrafted this beer from the finest Fuggles, Target and Super Styrian hops, Maris Otter malted barley and of course, our unique yeast to create a truly extraordinary unique brew. - John Keeling, Brewmaster
I have handcrafted this beer from the finest Fuggles, Target and Super Styrian hops, Maris Otter malted barley and of course, our unique yeast to create a truly extraordinary unique brew. - John Keeling, Brewmaster
3.7
343 reviews
Chiswick, England
Community reviews
Hazy orange beer, almost no head. Nose is vanilla, plummy notes, caramel, soft malt notes, lots of sweetness. Flavor is pretty sugary, fruity, plummy. Finish is oxidized, but smooth, pretty caramelly, malt, a memory of hop bitterness. Nice.
All bottles are numbered, and my bottle is no. 18069. The foam is fairly stable and the smell is full of fruit and malt. The fruit is heavy and most reminiscent of plum and berries. It tastes sweet of the fruit, and it has a richness that is bold and only slightly affected by alcohol. The sweet taste is kept nice in place of the slightly fruity aftertaste which together with a little alcohol provides a warm and slightly vinous character.
DATE TASTED: January 11, 2015... GLASSWARE: Duvel tulip... OCCASION: Golden Globes and an ice delay--good combo... APPEARANCE: dark brown opaque body that holds a decent off-white head; lacing dissipates quickly; heads ends in a swirl... AROMA: musty, winy, grapelike funk that yawn with cinnamon, currants, malts and some vodka fumes (?!)... PALATE: impressively mellow, unsurprisingly warming and full-bodied; promises to be a night in a bottle ...TASTE: dry with raisins and grapes, currants and some subtle flowery hops; malts push an equally persuasive base--formidable... OVERALL: a complex, thick, demanding beer that cellared well--eight years in the maintaining!--that is perfect for a night of awards and bad weather...
Sweet dark fruity good cellar like hoppy aroma. Very good filling mouthfeel. Sweet bit yeasty very nice dark fruity flavour with bitter hops, alcohol and well toasted caramel. Port wine like beer. Good well balanced strong ale.
Bottle - pours a cloudy medium brown , , Fruity bready aromas . Taste is a bit boozy , but palate is very smooth . Very good .
Backlog, tried at a vertical tasting 07-12. All bottles from Systembolaget.
Bottle split with JF at a Sue’s away mini tasting in the ’Sham, 11/03/14, massive thanks to Fin for digging this one out for me #85518.
Lightly hazed amber with a good sized off white covering that eventually thins to a swirl.
Nose is figgy jam, dark fruit mash up, demerera sugars, tobacco, light sherry notes.
Taste comprises prunes, dates, fruit cake, leather armchair, candied sugars, caramel fudge, hint sherrification.
Medium + bodiment, fine carbonation, sweetish closure.
Solid stuff and still holding up well at 7 years although not the best vintage I’ve sampled.
(50 cl bottle courtesy of fiulijn; cheers mate! Bottle #68168) Pours a cloudy amber with creamy, white head that fades relatively quickly leaving a thin film and a bit of lace along the sides of the glass. Poor regeneration. Initial aroma has some oxydised notes but they seem to leave quickly along with the head leaving room for notes of dried fruit, flowers and honey. Full-bodied on the palate, soft carbonation, oily texture and a nicely balanced slightly bitter finish that lingers. Flavour generally follows the nose with more fruit, less oxydation and the previously mentioned bitterness in the finish making it quite pleasant to drink. Alcohol is nicely masked. Considering that the hops used are not among my favourites I think this beer is quite a successful brew.
Drinking fantastic right now. Caramel colour, small head. Aroma is deadly, lots of fruit, leather. Plum, Raisin, Caramel, Leather, Dried dark fruits. Alcohol is nowhere to be found. Bottle 128.
Bottle at home, shared with Mathieu87.
APPEARANCE: clear dark blond beer, nice stable off white head.
NOSE: sweet, fruity, nice hoppy.
TASTE: fruity, sweet, caramel, needs more time!
Murky caramel color; light bubbles up top leave soapy foam on my glass. Smells caramely, tastes oaky sweet. Aged booze for sure. Tastes a bit dark & bitter, still some booze at the end. Falls short of Lees Harvest & Thomas Hardy.
Bottle thx to ekstedt cons 2013-10-26 Göteborg
AR: medicine, roasted malt
AP: dark ruby orange, wee crème beige head
F: roasted malt, medicine, marsipan,
Dark amber with a small white head. Fruity and acidic notes. Fruit, malt, spice and hops. Medium to full body with a bitter sour finish.
Feb 2012 Chris O’s Fullers/Gales Tasting. Dryish. Some toffee. Few hops. Quite dull really. Hmmm. having a bunch of of these Fuller’s beers one after the other hasn’t been as enjoyable or interesting as I thought.... [2.7]
Bottle at RBAG 2013. Bottle # 34954. Dark orange pour with a small ring of white head. Orange peels and caramel in the aroma. Taste has caramel malt, a bit of alcohol, mild hops to finish, some lingering alcohol. Smooth and nice English Strong.
Big thanks to Sid for sharing this at RBAG 2013, from the verticel 2005-2008, brown copper pour, smell is rasins, carmel, malty backbone but unlike the 08 this had a bit more spice on the nose, has a sharp finish the lingers on the tounge..like the 08 better.
Bottle - Vertical 2005 to 2008 - Raisin, toffee and biscuit on the nose but also some alcohol. Cloudy brown with a tiny head. Brown sugar, raisin and the usual port suspects and some bitterness coming from the hops. The bitterness and alcohol give this one some harsh edges which I didn’t get from any others. I would let this sit another year.
Pours a dirty brown with a small off white head that quickly disappears. Aroma is raisin, fig and plum with some barley. Taste is sickly sweet, raisin and plums with barley and the faint hint of alcohol. Very nice, starting to turn. May have to dig into my other bottles.
500ml bottle, no.103822, bought at Fullers Brewery Bottle Shop, Chiswick last November. Served comfortably chilled in a tulip glass. Decent, bubbly, off-white head remaining as a layer on top of a slightly cloudy, orange-brown body. Fragile lacework. Smell of bread, almond and dried fruits. Blended taste profile of marmalade with apricots and oranges on a subdued, sherry-like backbone, as well as hints of earthy malts, mid sweet. Rich and rather fresh bittersweet finish. Well balanced and smooth. Enjoyed for an hour celebrating 17th May 2013 at home in Tromsø.
At 5 years of age this was the best of the vertical tasting including the 09, 10, and 11.
Aroma: rounded, yet intense raisin, prune, candied orange, honey and caramel.
Flavor: balanced raisin, orange, orange peel, with candied cherry and caramel on the mid-palate. Finishes with above plus lightly charred caramel, with firm hop structure.
This is going to be a weird rating. My brother bought this beer at a gas station. I didn’t have high hopes at the time. Pours with big head and classic color. Smells fruity. Little nose. Taste is well balanced hops and malt
Very good beer.
500 ml bottle. Deep golden body with a fine off-white head. Weak aroma of caramel malt. Flavor is sweet caramel malt, fruity with a light but delicate bitter edge, some yeast and a hint of warming alcohol. Very smooth and nice with more subtle flavors.
Bottle. Gift from Neko-chan. Tasted in a flight with 2009, 2010, and 2011 vintages. Very small nose. Sweet, rich caramel and apple. A touch of orange in mid and final. Maybe a little oxidized. Good.
50 cl bottle.
Originally rated on 20101126.
Pours clear mahogany color with a minimal head. Aroma of ripe fruits, caramel, some toffee, sweet malts and some alcohol notes. Flavor of caramel malts, ripe fruits, toffee, mild alcohol and some resin notes. Nice.
Really nice taste and aroma, this is a good thing to drink. [short review due to it coming from my backlog]
Würziger Beginn, leicht honigartig. Würzig, rund, geringe Süße. Schmeckbarer aber eher unwichtiger Hopfen. Rundes, zum Ende etwas trockenes Bier. 11/12/12/12/12/12
Pulling my vintage Fullers vintage from the cellar this winter. This is the first of several that have a year or more cellaring on them. Pours a clouded amber with a small cap.
Pleasant aromas of caramel, dark dried fruits. some earthiness and light grassiness. Aging gave the favors wonderful amalgam - treacle,figs,caramel,light hop bittering - long silken melow finish. Great sipping on a cold winter night. Had this with some Munster cheese and rye bread.
Noticed I hadn’t reviewed this vintage, so I dug one out of the cellar. 500 mL bottle. Muddy copper with a small beige head. The aroma is fairly standard BSA. The flavour began with some earthiness, followed by sweet, then surprisingly, some booze at the end. Not as fruity as some of the other vintages - taste is a little thinner. To me, this one may have peaked a year ago.
Bottle No 79844 Tenth Anniversary
Bottle nose showed some spikiness, roastiness, a touch of slight white pepper. Very very easy head, magnolia to beige. A copper oranginess with typical sparkles.
Body is medium to full, some sap, some glossiness. On the tongue there is banana, dried fruit and an almost whiskiness to it. Dried glace fruits, some brown sugar. So complex with a long dry end.
As good as any beer you’ll ever have had from any brewer, anytime, anywhere. Maybe better. Just spectacular.
Bottle # 103559.
I’ve been saving this for a few years: tonight is the night!
Poured slowly into my ’Abbot Ale’ glass tankard.
Nice looking brownbody with a red hue: on top a full, deep head of off-white foam.
Port like in aroma and intial taste: a rich fruit cake infused with Port and Vanilla. This is so good it frightens me. I only have this one bottle: nothing like any other British brewed beer I’ve had for many a year.
The flavours just keep coming and as the beer warms in the glass the aromasand taste change a little: Sherry replaces the Port, the Vanilla takes on a dark chocolate hint and caramel easters begin to appear. This is sweet and I like it.
Really, really inpressed. I hope my 2011 version is as good when I open that.