St-Ambroise Vintage / Ale Millésimée
Also known as St.Ambroise Millésimée.
In honour of our tenth anniversary, McAuslan Vintage Ale has been brewed to continue the centuries-old tradition of strong ales and barley wines. Vintage Ale is rich and malty, with a surprisingly well balanced and clean hop finish provided by classic Goldings hops. The ale is unfiltered and derives its orange hue from wheat malt blended with pale and Munich malts. The malts also provide a hints of caramelized fruit reminiscent of a Christmas pudding.
McAuslan Brewing will celebrate each new year by brewing Vintage Ale on our anniversary. As a vintage product, we estimate this ale will remain in good condition for a number of years.
The 2006 edition is down from 9.4% to 9.2%. In 2007 this went to 8%. In 2009 this went to 9.8%, and in 2011 it went to 10%.
All vintages of this barley wine (1999-2011+) are to be rated on this page.
In honour of our tenth anniversary, McAuslan Vintage Ale has been brewed to continue the centuries-old tradition of strong ales and barley wines. Vintage Ale is rich and malty, with a surprisingly well balanced and clean hop finish provided by classic Goldings hops. The ale is unfiltered and derives its orange hue from wheat malt blended with pale and Munich malts. The malts also provide a hints of caramelized fruit reminiscent of a Christmas pudding.
McAuslan Brewing will celebrate each new year by brewing Vintage Ale on our anniversary. As a vintage product, we estimate this ale will remain in good condition for a number of years.
The 2006 edition is down from 9.4% to 9.2%. In 2007 this went to 8%. In 2009 this went to 9.8%, and in 2011 it went to 10%.
All vintages of this barley wine (1999-2011+) are to be rated on this page.
3.8
521 reviews
Montréal, Canada
Community reviews
2013. Extrêmement sucrée comme bière. C’est une Barley Wine donc il faut s’y attendre, mais ici c’est quand même surprenent. L’alcool est cela dit bien intégrée et c’est probablement un arrêt intéressant pour un amateur du style. Peut-être qu’avec le temps le sucre tend à être réduit?
Poured from 341mL bottle (2011 vintage). Orangey brown with beige head and a bit of sediment. Sweet caramel malt, plum, fig, a bit of alcohol, mild hops. Light creamy texture, but flavour dissipates a bit on the finish. May have aged it a little too long (2-2.5 years would’ve probably been best).
2012 341ml bottle. Pours a clear ruby caramel with a thin, off white head and faint sediment. Aroma has great notes of sweet caramel, dark fruits, bread, and toffee. Taste is balanced but a touch sweet. Caramel, toffee, dark fruits, slight bittering hops, slight alcohol, and a soft, sweeter ending. Medium-full body with a low-medium carbonation. Slightly syrupy in the mouth with a dry finish. Overall great and nicely aged. Caramel, toffee, bread, and slight alcohol. Yum.
Bottle in trade 2009 vintage. Dark copper pour. Aroma is dark malts and sweetness. Taste is bitter up front, taste like it has some age on it. Will rerate with newer vintage.
Bottle shared by Tom - thanks! 2009 vintage. Obviously a great beer, but this has too much age on it - the hops have faded and morphed. Getting some tangerine, caramel, butterscotch.
Poors a light copper/yellowish color with a medium sized tan head that sticks for a while. Nose of lightly roasted malt, then you get this intense dark fruit nose of mostly prunes, grapes and dark cherries. You also get a tiny bit of caramel. taste is pretty sweet at first. You also get a bit of tanginess. Alcool presence is medium to strong at the ending. Mouthfeel is creamy, kind of feels like a stout. Very good beer.
Bottle shared with greenflower in Lethbridge. Bready and roasty aroma. More on the malt side of things. There was a touch of bubblegum, and a touch of woodiness. Heavy sweetness, which I like. Super rich and boozy, but at the same time well balanced, perhaps from the floral aspect.
Beautiful sweet floral aroma, a beautiful beer with peasant plum flavors with a finish of oak and a pop of hops.
341ml bottled Feb’2014. Pours a clear amber with a white head. Aroma AND taste are sweet and very rich: prunes, figs, ripe grapes, toffee, caramel. Alcohol is hidden quite well - you can feel it only on the background. Bitter hoppy aftertaste is a real surprise. Very good beer.
341ml bottle. (2015 vintage) Pours a hazy orange with an average, short lived, off-white head that laces. Sweet aroma of caramel malt, dried fruit, stone fruit, brandy, spice and oak. Sweet flavour of caramel malt, overripe fruit, spice and oak with a dry, bitter, hoppy, alcohol finish that burns slightly. Full body with an oily texture and soft carbonation. Pretty good. Probably would have been even better if I had the patience to let this age.
2011 vintage. Hazy and deep amber pour. Aroma of sherry, prunes, toasted almonds, toffee. Aged really well. No alcohol burn, dried fruits, sherry, caramelized malts. Mild bitterness. Really good.
Vintage 2015, bue après 1 mois. Robe ambrée translucide surmonté d’un beau et généreux col de mousse blanc onctueux qui s’estompe tranquillement. Arômes de malt caramelisé, terre, diacetyle, oranges confites et houblons. Légère présence d’effluves grillées plus ou moins intéressantes. Je suis perplexe. En bouche, rien ne s’arrange. Beaucoup de malt et de houblons nobles. Petit côté caramel et sucre d’orge agréable qui est rapidement mis K-O par un puissant goût d’alcool qui envahit le palais. Ensuite on se dirige vers une finale où l’alcool laisse la place à une amertume de vieux gazon et de zeste d’orange. Après avoir bue une délicieuse 2011 récemment, j’en vient à me demander si je suis tombée sur une mauvaise bouteille. Si les Vintages ont ce goût fraîches, je recommande fortement de laisser vieillir.
Vintage 2011, bue après 4 ans. Robe ambrée foncée plutôt claire surmonté d’un mince col de mousse blanchâtre et onctueux. Dentelle épaisse à la texture mielleuse. Arômes de sucre d’orge, fleur de sel, caramel, baies confites et miel. Nez sublime et complexe, aucune trace de madère et alcool. En bouche, on continue sur la même voie. Du sucre d’orge doux, caramel, baie confites et miel. Des saveurs plus amères rappelant le cacao se faufilent tranquillement. Légère présence de houblons qui apportent un goût d’orange et clémentine sucrée. La finale s’étire d.ailleurs sur ces saveurs ainsi que du sucre doux. Texture liquoreuse et corps très rond. Carbonatation faible. Une bière qui vieillit merveilleusement bien. 9-4-9-4-18=4.4/5
Ruby pour. Aroma of sour cherries, raspberries, booze, leather, smoke, sugar dates, and caramel. Flavor of cherry cough syrup, smoke, wood, caramel, dates and booze.
341 ml bottle poured at home. Pours a hazy orangeish amberish color with little head. Smells like red wine, malt and toffee or caramel. Taste is slick on the mouth and had a strong alcohol flavor. Bitter finish. Not my favorite but drinkable.
Bottle from a trade. Many thanks! Shared with tderoeck. Vintage 2011. Hazy orange, creamy foam. Nose of honey, red fruit, caramel, candy and wine. Bitter hoppy aftertaste. Some notes of oxidation.
24/IX/15 - 341ml bottle @ home - BB: n/a, 2011 vintage (2015-1215) Thanks to JefVerstraete for sharing the bottle!
Clear amber to reddish orange beer, creamy irregular beige head, little stable, bit adhesive. Aroma: alcohol, bit dusty, dried fruits, honey, some hard candy, malty, bit oxidized, Madeira notes. MF: soft carbon, medium to full body. Taste: sweet start, fruity notes, dusty, bit spicy, bitter notes, caramel. Aftertaste: rather sourish, hoppy and dry, dried fruits, raisins, oxidized, caramel, some dried figs.
I don’t really like barley wines but this is a yearly exception. Has a booziness and maltiness about it, as well as an almost sweet alcohol haze.
2009 vintage bootle consumed in 2015. Muddy murky pond water pour with some bonus floaties. Sweet sherry toffee grape drank. Overly sweet sugary metallic plum rumcake. Harsh cough syrup. Gross maybe.
On June 22, 2015. Thanks to fiulijn!
341 ml bottle as "Vintage 2011" at 10% ABV.
Hazy brown color, big tan head. Malty, sweet, alcohol taste. Alcohol aftertaste. Medium mouthfeel, medium high bitterness. Sweet, malty scent.
Anno 2011. Arancio carico, quasi scuro, mediamente torbido. Ottima schiuma beige pannosa. Molto lievito sospeso. Aroma intenso, dolce, fruttato. Al palato molto decisa e dolce, caramello, estremamente piacevole il sentore caldo e pieno dell’alcol, molto bene l’invecchiamento. Corpo pieno. Super.
Version 2014. Ambrée, avec un petit col de mousse crème. Nez de sucre d’orge, malté et légèrement fruité. Goût sucré, malté et d’alcool, avec une petite impression surette de petits fruits rouges.
Caramel and malty aroma. It?s sweet which is understandable considering it has aged for a few years. One of my favourite brews.
2012 bottle. Pours a cloudy orange copper with small frothy off white head. The aroma is dark fruity malt and caramel. Medium mouth with strong malt, toast, caramel, and light bitter finish, good.
Cellar cleaning, 2011 bottle that I’m pretty sure came from Steven. Hazy and somewhat viscous. Big malty aroma, some oxidation, but it is a few years old. Very sweet but very drinkable. Nice
2012 edition bought in dec 2013 kept in the dark for 1 year and now I sample. 10% on bottle, pours a opaque dark copper tan color with a small froth head. aroma is of caramel, dark fruit, plum. very smooth texture, almost melts in your mouth, complex, with a finish bitter. 10% is not experienced by sipping, a nice beer, one of the best I have had in 2014.
Aroma is yeast, caramel, toffee, sweet malts and dark fruits. Taste is instantly rich sweet malts with caramel and rich malts and a light hopiness that is balanced very well. Light pleasant spiciness. Slight warm alcohol taste but great for a 10% beer. Appearance is a copper /orange body with small fruity sediment in suspention. Very very nice beer.
Bottle 2013 vintage @ THT November. Pours a clear dark amber beer with a small white head on top. Aroma of sweet yeasty esters, red dried fruits, slight vineous and port. Nice balance in the flavor, some sweet and fruity, sligthly boozy and very malty. Lots of rich dark sugars in there. Very warming stuff. Nice.
Bottle shared thanks to Mrhangover. Pours clear amber with an off white head. Aroma of sweet malt, light fruits, caramel, toffee and dough. Flavour is light heavy sweet and moderate bitter. Over medium bodied with soft carbobation.
sample at THT Movember, Saturday, November 29, 2014
Clear amber pour. Nice beer. A very nice beer.
Sampled from bottle @ THT November. Slightly unclear orange color, small off-white head. Smell and taste lightly malts, sweet, a hint of nuts, lightly overripe fruits, slightly bitter in the finish. Decent body and carbonation.