Fuller's Vintage Ale 2011
The 2011 Vintage Ale, our 15th, is brewed with some of the finest of this year’s malt and hops. The malt grist includes a portion produced by Warminster maltings, from organic barley grown by Sir James Fuller on the Nestone Park Estate. This will be married with the choicest Goldings, Organic First Gold and award winning Sovereign hops, to produce a beer with a firm malt base, marmalade notes and a satisfying bitter finish. Individually packaged and numbered, this bottle is one of only one hundred and fifty thousand produced.
3.6
277 reviews
Chiswick, England
Community reviews
Poured from bottle thanks Airforcehops caramel color with an off white head. Aromas of toffee caramel orange and oxidation. Shame dark fruit yeast.
Thanks AFH. 500ML? pours a crimson red, 1 finger reddish tan head. Smells very oxidized like cardboard, persimmon, mango, oranges. oh boy. certainly oxidized like bible paper. i get a little bit of bitterness, oranges, even banana and cigarettes. interesting.
Bottle from LCBO - bottle #42665. Drunk on January 3rd 2016 and reviewed on my personal Facebook page as part of a series of posts reviewing FVAs from 2004 to 2015 over the course of the Xmas and New Year holidays. Now transferring over notes for those that I’ve not yet reviewed on RB. Notes for this one: "Vanilla cookie, plum jam, dried dates, autumnal spice, hint of maple sugar, and a moderately bitter finish with strong orange marmalade character. Excellent!"
Bottle 127244. Pours a rich red-amber with a high, mixed-grained, light tan, lacy head. Nose is figs, port wine, brown sugar, toasted wheat bread, caramelized pears, and warmed whisky. On the tongue, it starts out hugely smoky and nutty, then moves into whisky-soaked fruit compote. Despite having a bit of age on it, there’s still a good strong thread of hops bitterness on it. It’s aged well. These beers are amazing, and the 2011 is no different.
500 ml bottle from LCBO (cellared about 5 years). Pours a cloudy amber colour with moderate-sized cream-coloured head. Aroma is fruity, spicy and minerally with some caramel and herbal character. Flavour has a rich fruity and caramelly maltiness with some slightly peppery spiciness, herbal character and an underlying mineraliness. Silky mouthfeel. Nice.
Flaska från SB. En av de äldre Fuller vintageölen jag druckigt och jämfört med andra lite yngre tycker jag att den peakat och vänt neråt. Lite murrigare, aningen platt men fortfarande fina dofter och smaker av torkad frukt men inte samma marmeladighet med skalbeska som de lite yngre. Dock fortfarande trevlig och god.
Mostly clear copper/orange, with off white head, that lasts for a bit, and then fades away. Aroma is big time fruit, strawberries, peaches, bubblegum. Some cereal around. Taste presents more from the plum tree, and more of a caramel/toffee tone starts to come through. Balancing bitterness, not much hop aroma, not that you would expect it. Hefty body. Mellow. Put of orange rind starts to come through. Marmalade. Alcohol is concealed. Finish lasts forever. Much preferred over the 2010 variety.
Bärnstensfärgad med medelstort skum. Stor maltig doft med torkade frukter, marmelad, liten kryddighet och toffe. Fyllig, komplex med maltsötma och torkade frukter, liten fin kryddighet, en liten bitter och torr avslutning balanserar upp, lite vinös. Den har lagrats i fem år och har verkligen växt i komplexitet; en underbar strong ale.
Disponible à l'Autre Œil, ambrée, fruitée au nez. Maltée/caramélisée, fruitée
But en 2016. Ambré rouille. Beau collet pour une bière âgé. Fine effervescence. Délicatement sucré. Fruit mûre. Caramel. Madérisé. Un peu épicé. Marmelade. Finale sucré/épicé. Très bien.
Bottled, 500ml (075064) aged 4 yrs, from Sainsbury’s in Banbury, Oxon. Amber to brown with cream head. There is a rich, fruity aroma to this, berrys and a spicy note. The beer is rich and smooth with a caramelised character, seome sweetness, some toffee hints then fruity, deep malts. The earthy hops have been combined into the body nicely. Very pleasant.
500 ml bottle # 091239. Mostly clear orange copper, lasting tan foam. Aroma of sweet malt, caramel, fruity. Taste is quite strong, rich toasted caramel malt, darker fruitiness, slightly grassy/herbal/floral. Softer carbonation, medium-fuller bodied (pun intended), moderately hopped. Very nice to share this with my British mate. NFL (Not For Lagerboys)
Bottle (shared by fatphil, thanks). Pours amber with beige head. The head stays for some time. Aroma is sweet, malty, fruits, floral notes. Flavor is sweet and malty, some fruits, vanilla, some alcohol. Overall: very nice.
Hazy orange copper, medium to small white head. Nose is vanilla, caramel, malt, slightly fruity. Flavor is caramel, hoppy and fruity notes, there is some oxidation, specially in the finish, which is a bit empty. Lingering fudge and malty caramel. Aged nicely though.
(Fuller’s Vintage Ale 2011) Bottle 500 ml at home, served into a snifter, ABV 8.5%
Deep orange to red colour on the body, mostly clear, with a small and fizzy tan head on top, with low retention.
Aroma of malts, wood, cork, sugars, light alcohol, fruity notes.
Taste is sweet with nice malts, fruity notes, jam, light wood, dates.
Medium body, carbonation on the high side.
Nice.
Bottle - Sweet caramel, plum and some bread. Clear copper gold with a rich beige head. Just as it smells, lots of caramel, plum, nice sweetness with a touch of bread. Orange notes top this off to make it taste much like a barley wine. No hint of the booze except a slight warming of the throat. Very nice.
Bottle 7083 @ home. Ramata velata, schiuma beige fine e persistente. Aroma intenso, maltato di miele d’acacia, agrumato(arancia candita) frutti rossi sotto spirito, tostato legnoso. Gusto dolce abboccato , tostato, di caramello e marmellata, finale amaro tostato e luppolato. Corposa, poco carbonata, calda, equilibrata e armonica.
Lightly hazy orange body with a medium beige head. Aroma is malty, caramel, licorice, some chocolate, some hops. Taste is sweet and light bitter. Dry finish, a bit flat. Very tasty.
500ml bottle. No. 035295. Dark orange amber colour with a white foam head leaving alittle lacing and aroma of malt, caramel, toffee, brown sugar, raisins, spice, orange fruity & nutty. Taste is sweet malty, with caramel, toffee and raisins plus some earthy leathery grassy bitterness. Medium bodied, soft carbonation, dry dusty finish. Nicely drinkable.
No 019072
Given the mediocre reviews here I expected little. How wrong they were. Dark golden orange with a dense very very pale yellow head. Orange and spice on the nose and fullish sappy sticky on the tongue. Glace dried fruit on the tongue with perfect carbonation. In its prime. Needs time over an hour or two to discover in the glass and suffers when part of a ticking assembly line tasting. Very very fine.
bottle says enjoy by 2014 end, and yet here we are in the middle of 2015 - the horrors. pours out a lovely amber with a fair amount of haze and a substantial off-white head. malt, fruit yeast notes, and eminently british elements comprise the nose. no hint of its relatively high 8.5% abv, and it embodies the british flavor profile as well - well balanced with a pleasant malt/hops interplay, and overall quite nice. fuller’s have another success.
(bottle, #067635) Hazy, amber colour with a short and slightly tanned foamy head. Ripe malty aroma with hints of caramel, fruity accents of apricots, raisins, also flowery and mildly alcoholic notes. Sweet and delicately bitter flavour, medium to full bodied with a smooth, well-carbonated mouthfeel. Robust malty base with notes of candied fruits, caramel, shades of woody and spicy hops; lasting malty finish with a lingering fruity and slightly vinous touch and a well-covered alcoholic strength. 30.XII.14
500 ml. Bottle pours a dark orange color with a small white head. Aromas of sweet malt, dark fruits, caramel. Full bodied, very nice.
Pours hazy amber color with thin white head. Nose is red fruits with a hint of caramel. Aromas are toasted malts, red fruits, raisins. Low carbonation, medium body. Sweet and dry finish. Well balanced and great beer.
Pours a very nice golden color. Aroma is strong caramel, molasses, fruit and nut honey, raisins, plums, figs, dark cherry. Tastes of caramel, honey, hay, cherry, fig, sweet plum, bread. Fantastic beer.
Bottle at Craig’s. Pours amber, nose is honey, orange, toffee, taste is similar, sweet.
500ml bottle. Rich, malty aroma of toffee, dried fruits, hop spice and brown sugar, very faint tartness in the background along with notes of raisin and apricot. Tawny orange-brown in color with a very slight, fading head. Flavor profile is lightly sweet, gently winey and tart, with sherryish tones and ample malt sweetness, augmented with dark, dried fruits and tobacco, some peppery alcohol and mild, leafy hop bitterness and flavors appearing towards the long finish. Gently warming and very low in effervescence on the palate, mild tartness at play here, and with a full body. Rather elegant and refined, very nice beer.
Bottle: Hazy, amber coloured with an orangey sheen, mid-sized lacy beige head; dried fruits, Wood and vanilla plus a touch of alcohol in the nose; solid sweet-bitter flavour, medium to full bodied and a bit tart; mild and warming traces of alcohol in the vinous-fruity and caramelly finish, some hoppy dryness in the aftertaste. Good, what else...
Bottle 0.5l at Black Door, Helsinki. Bottle no: 090377. Colour is deep orange with small white head. Aromas and flavors: Fruits, raisins, hops and malts. Surprisingly fresh and in excellent condition.
Sweet aroma. Sweet initial taste, then some hop bitterness to balance, then a sweet, well blended finish. Brown in color. Taste changes and gets better as it warms.