Fuller's - Vintage Ale 2008

Vintage Ale is a truly distinguished bottle-conditioned ale, crafted by Fuller’s Head Brewer, John Keeling. Each vintage is a blend of that year’s finest malt and hops, and of course our unique yeast, creating a unique limited edition brew.  Fuller's12th Vintage (2008) features two of of their favorite English hop varieties, Northdown and Challenger. These, combined with floor malted Maris Otter malt, produce a rich fruit aroma laced with dark orange hop notes. A full luxurious mouthfeel is finished off with a satisfying alcohol warmth.  There were just 145,000 bottles produced.   The 2007 edition marked 10 years of brewing this extraordinary ale. There were just 150,000 bottles produced.  I sampled #107047 for the review and I have #106740 in the cellar.

The ABV is 8.5 and the IBU rating is ??
Style - Old Ale
Glass to use- Pint Glass, Snifter, Oversized Wine Glass
Delivery 500ml Bottle

Can be cellared for long periods, under the proper conditions.

The Pour - Pours a brown/orange color with a big cream head and some lacing.
Aroma - Malts, caramel, some orange, other fruits and a bit of hops.
Taste - Same as the smell strong malt and caramel with a candy finish and a hint of raisins. Delicious! Taste just like an aged English Barleywine.  After letting it warm up to room temperature hints of honey, apples and more raisins come out.
Mouth Feel - Carbonation is just right. Very smooth.
Drinkable - A very nice after dinner drink. Wish I had more.

This beer pairs well with cheese, chocolate and other deserts.

This beer gets a Duper rating of A+.
BeerAdvocate Rating = A-
Ratebeer Rating = 96