Fuller's Vintage Ale 2012
Bottled, Released August 2012.
The 2012 Vintage Ale, our 16th, is brewed with three of this year’s finest hop varieties including, Goldings, award winning Sovereign and Target hops. These combined with our unique yeast and organic barley grown by Sir James Fuller on the Neston Park Estate result in a wonderful limited edition brew that has a luxurious flavour.
Individually packed and numbered, this bottle is one of only one hundred and twenty five thousand produced
Although we are obliged to state a best before date of 2015, like a fine wine or whisky, this mellow golden ale will improve with age for many more years
Being bottle conditioned, the beer will form a natural sediment, so pour carefully, sit back, and enjoy this, the very finest of Fuller’s ales.
The 2012 Vintage Ale, our 16th, is brewed with three of this year’s finest hop varieties including, Goldings, award winning Sovereign and Target hops. These combined with our unique yeast and organic barley grown by Sir James Fuller on the Neston Park Estate result in a wonderful limited edition brew that has a luxurious flavour.
Individually packed and numbered, this bottle is one of only one hundred and twenty five thousand produced
Although we are obliged to state a best before date of 2015, like a fine wine or whisky, this mellow golden ale will improve with age for many more years
Being bottle conditioned, the beer will form a natural sediment, so pour carefully, sit back, and enjoy this, the very finest of Fuller’s ales.
3.7
293 reviews
Chiswick, England
Community reviews
Bottle at a Tasting. A slightly hazy amber beer with a small off-white head. Aroma of reddish malt, caramel, vanilla. Taste of dry red fruits, caramel, mild bitter resinous hops.
Sampled from 0.5 l bottle. Slightly hazy, brownish amber with an off-white head. Sweetish-malty, slightly fruity and a bit oxidized aroma of caramel, strawberry jam, some raisins and traces of orange peel. Moderately sweet, malty, slightly fruity and minimally oxidized taste of caramel, honey, raisins and orange jam, followed by a short, moderately bitter, minimally boozy finish. Medium body, slightly creamy and moderately effervescent mouthfeel, soft carbonation. Nice!
Bottle from my cellar. No. 69727. Smooth malty caramelly nose. The beer starts smooth and intense. Caramel, round fruity. Wood, quite sessionable. Easy to drink, fruity and yellow fruit over a dry body.
500 ml bottle from the LCBO. Pours a lightly cloudy rusty orange colour with small off-white head. Aroma is toffee, rye bread, spice, wood and a little dried fruit. Flavour has lots of sweet toffee, rye bread crust, wood, raisin, spice and herbs. Average plus body. Very nice sipper.
8-3-7-4-15
Bottle, beer#40 vintage 2012, 35316, five years after bottling. Pours hazy mahogany, with a big creamy head receding to finger thickness. Aroma is grassy hops with herbal and earthy notes, as well as roasted malts with bread, toffee, heather
Full body, with soft carbonation. Flavour is roasted malts with bread, toffee, honey, kandi and dark fruits, as well as earthy hops with herbal notes.
reddish amber, clear; medium, long-lasting off-white foam, nice lacing; sweet fruity caramel aroma with some woody notes; medium sweetness and bitterness; medium+ body, oily feel, average carbonation, long bittersweet slightly warming finish;
Overall: balanced, tasty and pleasant, very good
ambrato carico buona schiuma piuttosto persistente mandorla lieve ossidato caramello discreto corpo buona dolcenza ma bilanciata da un discreta luppolatura
Deep amber colour with white head. Full caramel and fruit aroma. Flavour is rather sweet, with a strong alcohol presence and subtle bitterness. Full bodied with slightly sticky texture and long finish.
11.06.2017, 0,5l bottle (#13317) @ William K:
Nice slightly bubbly-creamy mediumlasting head. Aroma is slightly sweet fruity, caramel malts, raisins, minerals, grass, alcohol, toffee, fruit stones, prunes, knekk, bark, hay, sour berries. Taste is slightly sweet mineraly, raisins, hay, minerals, fruit stones, caramel malts, grass, knekk, prunes, alcohol, toast, berry skin, toffee, leafs. Medium bitterness, slightly dry mineraly mouthfeel. Nice.
December 2016 - Bottle share at One Canada Square. As ’Fuller’s Vintage Ale 2012’, 8.5%. Very dark orange or brown, translucent, foamy tan head, full lacing. Aroma is quite airy, toffee and bready malts. Body is smooth with soft carbonation. Taste is light toffee malts, apple, papery into the finish. Maybe tastes a little older than it is. (3.1)
Part of a vertical tasting of vintage years 2008 through 2015, drank in January 2017. 2008 (bottle #127432) was rounded out to a solid caramel, with that lovely oxidation that makes vintage beers what they are. 2009 (#105287) suggested some tobacco and a luscious nose. 2010 (#094046) help up better than the 2011 (#108000), with better caramel flavors and some fizz; the later year was just flat and old tasting. 2012 (#125741) was clearly brighter in the nose, though losing some of its body, while the 2013 (#109909) was showing some signs of oxidation. 2014 (#141264) was equally bright with 2015 (#134049), and both were worthy bottles that I could have enjoyed had I just been sitting with the whole bottles. Thanks for my friends for joining me as I shared these bottles.
Pours a pretty deep red dark caramel with a medium thick head. Aromas of sweet aged caramel malts, light whiskey barrel, wood. Flavors sweet caramel, light whiskey barrel, light wood, faded grassy hops. The flavors have mellowed out over the years (4-5 years aged). Pretty decent.
Gift from Scott. Deep Amber colour with a tan head and good retention. Aromas of dark stone fruit and tobacco, caramel. Palate has a silky full body and medium low carbonation. Flavors of plums, cherries, spiced peaches, tobacco with a bitter long dry finish. Tastes more like a barley wine. Really great but could age a few more years.
Bottle from LCBO - bottle #42895. Drunk on January 4th 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: "Caramel, red currant, lime leaf, sponge toffee, vanilla cream. Seems simpler than the 2011, but still enjoyable."
Shared at the December THT at deanso’s. Clear amber pour with a thin off-white head. Notes of cognac, dried fruit, caramel. Medium body, soft carbonation, bitter-sweet finish.
Bottle at the December THT. Poured a slightly hazy medium amber with a whispy white head. The aroma is toffee caramel sweet malt woody hop. The flavour is moderate bitter light sweet with a rich smooth woody hop, light fruity palate. Medium bodied with soft carbonation.
Still here, THT December at deanso’s! Near clear dark brown with off white head. Big sweet barley and toasted malts, vanilla. Caramel and fudge. Some grapes and white raisans. Big sweet and medium bitter. Over medium body and low carbonation.
Bottle at THT. Almost clear light amber with cream colored head. Marzipan, sweet grapes, light bitter herbs, vanilla, sweet malts, some red wine, light cognac. Over medium sweet and bitter. Over medium bodied.
50cl bottle shared in CW. Many thanks to Daniel for this one. It pours a clean golden color with a small beige head. Aroma is sweet and caramely with notes of toffee and milk chocolate. Taste is also sweet and malty with toffee and biscuit. Medium bodied with good carbonation. Overall, tasty
Bottle shared in London - many thanks to Daniel. Pours lightly hazy orange-gold with a creamy, white head. The nose suggests mild oxidation, marmalade, crackers, wood. Medium sweet flavour with jammy citrus, mild caramel, pale bread, golden raisins. Medium to full bodied, lightly oily, with fine carbonation. Lightly warming in the finish, with more ripe, jammy citrus fruits, light caramel, more pale bread. Very good stuff.
Bottle. Pours lightly hazy red. Aroma of stron caramel, some nuts. Body is full and heavy , with only a low carbonation. Super tasty and juicy, great drinkability. Very nice. Thank you Robin!
Pours a finger of light brown head on a cloudy dark straw body. Aroma is a little grass, bread and toffee. Taste is mild grain sweetness, no hint of bitterness. Bread. Texture is thicker.
Aroma: Medium cherries, sherry, dried apricots, dried plums, toffee. Medium-light berries, floral, Light malty, toasty, bready. Light alcohol, rose. Very light brandy notes.
Appearance: Slightly hazy, amber body. Small, tan, light brown head. Very fine bubbles, good retention.
Flavour: Medium-high bitterness, medium molasses, alcohol (floral), toffee. Medium-light peaches. Light berries, Very dry finish, lingering bitterness, molasses, berries.
Mouthfeel: Medium-light warming. Medium body. Medium-carbonation. Creamy
Overall: Super complex, but still easy drinking. Wow!
500 ml bottle, poured. Thanks Tanja!.
17A. British Strong Ale
Holding up well. Midpack in a 6 year vertical, but only because everything was still solid. No oxidation to speak of, hops are close to dead and gone, if they were ever really there to begin with. More toffee and breadier than the 2 older versions. still tons of dark fruit with a warming finish.
Bottle thanks to allmyvinyl.
Appearance - amber with a thin but attractive lace on top.
Nose - toffee and cake.
Taste - Jamaica cake. Rich cake notes generally.
Palate - medium to full bodied with a creamy rich texture and a rich but balanced finish.
Overall - lovely beer.
Botella 50 cl del Lupulo n. 78574 vintage 2012. Fcpref fin 2015. tomada en el momento 27..02..2016. Color cobrizo oscuro con espuma beige. Aromas y sabores intensos maltosos con toques de caramelos y regaliz tostados. Cuerpo medio bastante espumoso y denso con buena sensación alcohólica. Bastante buena. La mejor fuller.s tomada hasta el momento.
Bottle thanks to Nikos. Pours cloudy amber, small beige head, dissipates quickly with some residual and lacing. Aroma is malty, oranges, caramel, bready. Flavor is light plus sweet, light plus bitter, malty with a piney finishing bite. Fullish body.
Look: orange, cloudy.
Aroma: apricote jam, toffee, quince jam.
Taste: moderate sweetness with light to moderate bitterness, light dried fruit sourness.
Flavour: candied fruits, dried apricotes, dried figs.
Good with balance on dried fruits sweetness.
Good.
500ml bottle, aged. Pours a cloudy light amber/orange colour, white foamy head. Nose is complex malty, grainy, ripe fruits, vanilla, oak. Taste is malty, sweet and boozy but balanced, ripe fruits too, finish has a bitter edge. Lingering fruity sweet and slightly bitter aftertaste. Good body, oily palate, medium carbonation.
Sample 100 ml. Hazy amber-red, beige head. Big malty aroma, lots of ripe fruit, quince jam, alcohol-infused candies. The taste is not that extremely sweet, again malty and fruity, biscuit, light bitterness and just a hint of alcohol. Pretty smooth and easy-drinking body.