Fuller's Vintage Ale 2018

Fuller's Vintage Ale 2018

For Vintage Ale 2018 we’ve stayed close to home; all of our ingredients have been sourced from the U.K. Tropical, citrus and apricot flavours take centre stage, delivered by Ernest and Olicana hops. Pale ale malt from the finest Maris Otter barley combines with Crystal malt to give the beer a rich biscuit sweetness. As with every Vintage Ale, the flavours of this beer will develop for many years to come, like a fine wine or whisky. As the beer is bottle conditioned, a natural sediment will form; so pour carefully, sit back, and enjoy the very finest of Fuller’s ales.
3.7
154 reviews
Chiswick, England

Community reviews

3.8 Hazy copper, sparkling head. Aroma: bisquits, apricote jam, bread crust, low leather like oxidized notes. Moderate to low sweetness balanced with hoppy bitterness. There are more roasted and bisquity notes in the flavour. Good.
3.8 Bottle from Waitrose. Bottled Dec 2018; BBE Dec 2028; Drank Dec 2020 - Clear amber brown. Good tan head. Caramel malty fruity aroma. Heavily malted, toasty malts, bready, caramel, toffee. Fruity, dark fruits, raisin, plum, fruitcake, stone fruit, vinous notes. Spicy, peppery. Sweet caramel and toffee bready malty dark fruity spicy. Good balance. Very drinkable. Enjoyed this. As always for the Vintage Ale series, good stuff. (2020-12)
3.6 Appearance: Bottle 004560. Medium to dark brown, hint of red. Clear. Some off-white head. Aroma: Dark fruits, ripe fruits, some medium malt. Spices. Taste: Dark fruits, sweet fruits, raisins. Some medium malt and spices. Bought: Migros, 500 ml, CHF 8.90 Info: 26/12-2020, BB: 31/12-2028
3.6 Refrigerated 0.5 L brown bottle poured into a glass. Aroma is rich caramel, medium body, lower carbonation, and little lacing. Taste is caramel.
3.6 04.12.2020 Frothy off white head left a cover on a reddish brown body. Malt, spices & stewed fruit aroma. Medium bodied, smooth with a light carbonation on the back. Red berries, heavy spices, grape, malt, jam & peppery tastes with a boozy tangy finish. The other bottles are going to really improve over time.
4.5 Top
4.0 Bottle, 0.50l. Aroma of caramel, dried fruit, flowers and herbs. Pours cloudy amber brown color with thin totally diminishing tan-like head and average sparkling appearance. Taste starts with sweet caramel and toasted malt, following is dried fruity, herbal and woody, mouthfeel is mild spicy, while finish is moderate bitter. Medium to full body, oily texture and lively carbonation in palate. Good vintage...
3.7 Bottle A boozy thing. Certainly. Kinda sweetish with really significant voltage. Nothing I have noticed in earlier batches. Still a good one
3.7 Creamy off-white good mostly lasting head. Amber colour. Moderate malty and hoppy aroma. Moderate bitter flavor. Average moderate bitter finish. One of the most hoppiest and less caramellic vintage.
4.1 Aroma; marmalade, vineous plum, jammy hops, juicy malts, inviting scents. Look; off-white head on silky rose body. Taste; solid and spicy malts, plummy jammy hops, dark fudge, almond oil, dark syrup, brown woody marmalade, plum, melon, almond, and finish is sweet lingering solid. Feel; good body n soft co². Overall; it`s good n strong. Same procedure as last year, miss Fuller? Same procedure as every year, James. [bottle @ Systembolaget]
3.8 Delving into the stockpile feuding the crisis. This is great although a bit like an esb. Juicy berries. Doesn’t taste the percentage.
3.9 Bottle (#115731, BBE 2028): Reddish-amber coloured, medium-sized and slowly collapsing creamy off-white head; moderate to solid sweetish fruity-malty nose, some (boozy...?) vinous spots underneath, herbal-fruity hops well detectable in the background; solid sweet-bitter flavour, full bodied - what else, but not overly soft; lingering - and a bit drier - finish with - as expected - fruity aromas ( and traces of dried fruits), juicy english malt, herbal hops and "woody" spots. Delicious and well balanced...
4.1 Pours an orange coloured beer with a white frothy white Notes of roasted toffee caramel and vanilla malt
3.4 bottle 500 ml (Vintage 2 yr) #109285 Aroma: refined sugars, plum, raisin, grape, barley with hint of dry alcohol. Look: poured ruby amber with fine haze, fizzy tanned light top. Neat. Palate: medium full bodied, average carbonation, average finish. Dry walls. Taste: malty back bone, silky muted mid, light prickly alcohol heat. Hops muted. Not best year, still pleasant adventure.
4.0 Rich reddish brown, very thin head. Complex aroma of citrus and malt. Taste initially sweet, raisins, some bitterness. Warming alcohol. Good stuff.
3.5 500 ml bottle. Pours a clear mahogany with light head. Aromas of raisins, cane sugar, grass and toasted malts. Flavors follow same plus some tea.
3.8 0.5 l bottle from 'Biermuda', bottle no. 115096, best before October 2028. Almost clear, ruby with a medium large, frothy, almost stable, off-white head. Sweetish-malty, gently fruity aroma of molasses, raisins, strawberry jam and some orange peel. Quite sweet, malty, moderately bitter, gently fruity taste of molasses, strawberry jam, raisins and a touch of orange peel, followed by a medium long, moderately bitter, a little boozy finish. Medium to full body, smooth and slightly creamy mouthfeel, average carbonation. Well-balanced and moreish as always, quite delicate. I believe I never tried one of the Vintage Ales fresher as this one, and there is still a bit of alcohol detectable, different to the other versions I tried. Should have kept it for another year maybe.
3.5 Bottle, smallish creamy chicken head, clear dark orange color,. Aroma of dark dried fruits,. Almond and vanila, flavor of caramel, wood, vanila with some dried fruits coming through and just a hint of orange zest, lightish sweetness, but still quite dry, medium bodied and not too heavy. Nice to sip slowly.
3.8 0,5l bottle (N˚ 011657, BBF: 2028) from Cora in Brussels. F: big, tan, almost good retention. C: coppery, light hazy. A: sweet malty, bit biscuits, marmalade, passion fruits touch, bit citrus, spicy, mellow fruity. T: medium to full body, mellow fruity, bit vinous, spicy, citrus, bit marmalade, bit tropical fruits, almost dry on the palate, soft carbonation, quite nice all together, enjoyed for sure.
3.7 Cask @ Olutexpo 2018. Poured mahogany in color with a thin white head. Failry sweet with wood, marmalade, caramel and wood. Some marzipan. Warming woody and malty flavors. Dried fruits.
4.3 Perfect for a Friday after work willing to chill. Pours cloudy copper, small white head, which retains around the glass, no lacing. Aroma of sweet malts, caramel, marmalade, fruits. Tastes quite sweet, rich in flavour to recall caramel, marmalade, apricots, raisins. Flavour lingers, and goes slowly, and improving as the beer warms up. Viscous, full bodied, no carbonation, booze comes up later. As every edition a joy for malty beer lovers.
4.3 Riches aromes caramélisés avec cerises à l'appui et notes subtilement tropicales. Les houblons épicés s'enrobent de terre automnale rappelant les odeurs typiques d'une randonnée en foret. Des aromes de pain et de biscuit rajoutent à un olfactif dominé par le malt. Mousse beige te effervescente sur un liquide cuivré et clair. La tenue est moyenne et les bulles s'activent du fond du verre. Le caramel est très présent en entrée de bouche et se décline subtilement en cerises en fruits confits et en jujubes. Les houblons sont fuités, tropicaux, mais dégagent également cette impression terreuse et résineuse en finale. L'alcool est très bien intégré et accentue l'aspect chaleureux du liquide. de pleine corpulence, elle se glisse en bouche de façon sirupeuse. Une bière plaisante, chaleureuse et équilibrée qui invite à une appréciation gustative élevée.
4.0 Ordered online at SAQ, sipping this one after Christmas supper, quite enjoyable and sweet, almost like a barley wine.
4.0 D'un beau rouge brique limpide et lumineux.Une cerne de mousses à la surface. Du sucre candi au nez, bien épaulé par une base maltée. Un mélange herbacé qui fraie avec certaines épices timides. Une belle impression de pâtisserie. En bouche, c'est très semblable, où l'alcool joue un rôle prédominant du début à la fin. Un bel arrière-goût de strudel. (No 067370) (2967-031219)
4.0 Bottle number 01457. Always loved these beers. So special. Opened to celebrate the UK elections tonight. Pours a clear amber color, a large white head. A fruity hop and caramel nose. Smooth flavor, very malty, oranges, light bitter edge, I'd love to try this fresh maybe on cask. Sweet caramel, light toffee. Lovely soft palate. Another winner. You can miss beers like this when looking for huge sweetness or sourness etc. But this is balance and refinement. You'd ask for another. How many 'top' beers would max out at a few ounces?
4.0 Opened on Dec. 12. 2019 Aroma: caramel, citric fruit, tropical fruit, some orange marmalade, some honey, alcohol Appearance: hazy deep amber color with a two-fingered deep beige creamy head. Taste: caramel, citric fruit, tropical fruit, some orange marmalade, some honey, medium sweetness, medium-high bitterness, balance towards bitterness. Palate: medium body, medium-low carbonation, mildly boozy sensation, medium-high dryness Overall: The maltiness is noticeably weaker and less complex than those in different vintages. Besides, the hop flavor changed a lot where orange marmalade and honey are weakened, while tropical fruit and more citric fruit give it some ''New World'' impression. Though the alcohol content remains the same, the boozy sensation is stronger in this one maybe due to its less richness in flavor and also makes it drier. Not as good as others of different vintages. Maybe this one is too young. 8/4/7/3/14/3.6 Opened on Dec. 5, 2020. Aroma: caramel, toffee, honey, citric fruit, orange marmalade, Appearance: hazy deep amber color with a one-finger deep beige head. Taste: caramel, toffee, honey, citric fruit, orange marmalade, medium-high sweetness, medium-high bitterness. Palate: medium-strong body, medium-low carbonation, silky texture, medium-high dryness. Overall: After two years of aging, the hoppiness was considerably mellowed out and the malty flavor became richer and more complex. The tropical flavor has gone, and the citric fruitiness was reduced to sweet orange marmalade which made it more of a classic English strong ale, Fuller’s Golden Pride to be exact. However, the bitterness and dryness remains higher for its style and make it less drinkable. It still worth 2-year waiting.
3.7 Finally found my rating for this beer - bottle, December 2018. The usual - Deep reddish copper, average fizzy beige head. Aroma and taste biscuit malt, graham cracker, noble bitterness, pungent fruity semi-sweetness and a little Christmas cake; a bit boozy. Solid body and carbonation, medium malty/boozy finish, a little dry bitterness in the linger. Solid stuff, as almost always.
5.0 Harika bir efsane !!!
3.8 Bottle - 500ml. Pours a hazy copper body with an average, lasting, off-white frothy head. Rich, well balanced malty/hoppy aroma with barley sugar, woody, and fruity hints. Its robust malty/hoppy taste carries oaky and brown sugar notes. Ends with a moderately warming, sweet/woody finish. Enjoyable.
3.9 Flaska från SB. Karamell och marmelad med fina fruktiga smaker. Men också en hel del skalbeska. Pomerans, aprikos, torkad papaya. Länge sedan jag drack en Fullers vintage så här färsk med lite spänstigare humle. Kanske att föredra. Gott