One of my longest-standing beer traditions is picking up a Fuller’s Vintage Ale from the LCBO every December. I’ve done this for probably the past 15 years or so.
12 years ago I upped my game and began purchasing more than one bottle each year. I usually would buy three bottles: one to drink right away, one to enjoy after a couple of years, and one to store away until…now.
I thought after I had 10 vintages I’d crack them open, but I had a nice box I was storing them in, which had two empty slots still, so I continued on until this year, where I now have 12 years of beers to enjoy for the holidays.
Starting with Fuller’s Vintage Ale 2017 and ending with Fuller’s Vintage Ale 2006, myself and some other beer people will see how things stack up year over year. What vintage do you think will come out on top? Will the 2006 still be holding up? Should I have waited even longer to do this beer vertical?
As the strength of this beer stays the same every year at 8.5%, but the mix of hops used in the recipe change, it will be interesting to see just how much variance there is from year to year. Strangely, the bottles from 2006-2012 each have a best before date of three years after they were produced. Bottles from 2013-2017 have a best before date of 10 years after they were produced. Not sure what brought about that change!
I know from my personal preferences that drinking the Fuller’s Vintage Ales when they first come out is sometimes a bit too early. They are good, but get better with a few years on them. But is 10+ years too long? We shall find out soon! I’ll be taking notes at this tasting and reporting back here soon.
Click on the Title of any vintage blow to see the Untappd check-in.
Fuller’s Vintage Ale 2017 (Rated 4/5)
Notes: Malty and not too sweet. Little nutty. Quite smooth for so young.
Fuller’s Vintage Ale 2016 (Rated 3.75/5)
Notes: A bit bready. Quite dry. Less pleasing aroma than 2017.
Fuller’s Vintage Ale 2015 (Rated 3.75/5)
Notes: Quite reddish colour. Sweet malts. Slightly fruity finish. Bit too sweet, strong butterscotch as it warms. Most complex so far.
Fuller’s Vintage Ale 2014 (Rated 4/5)
Notes: Pretty floral and fruity aroma. Quite appealing. Malty sweet with caramel undertones. Best so far.
Fuller’s Vintage Ale 2013 (Rated 3.25/5)
Notes: Not as good as when fresh. A bit off perhaps? A bit metallic, sweet. Good in the middle. Rough overall. Weird finish. Sugary aroma. Meh.
Fuller’s Vintage Ale 2012 (Rated 3.5/5)
Notes: Caramel/toffee aroma. Similar on taste. Sweet but not too sweet. Gets better as it warms, but not a winner.
Fuller’s Vintage Ale 2011 (Rated 4/5)
Notes: Very smooth and well integrated. Starting to get ageing appreciation! Malty, yet complex. A winner, in the top 3 so far.
Fuller’s Vintage Ale 2010 (Rated 4.25/5)
Notes:Â Starting to feel the beers now. This is very well balanced. Malt, dark stone fruits & caramel flavours. Favourite so far!
Fuller’s Vintage Ale 2009 (Rated 4.75/5)
Notes: Whoa, massive gusher! 1.5ft high. Lost 4/5ths of the beer. Apple! Spice! So nice! Best yet. Cinnamon & more, beauty beer, but likely not what it was meant to be like.
Fuller’s Vintage Ale 2008 (Rated 4.25/5)
Notes: Smooth, complex…roasted oats and malts flavor. Semi-sweet, well integrated, very pleasing.
Fuller’s Vintage Ale 2007 (Rated 3.25/5)
Notes: Toffee and malt. Cohesive aromas and flavours but no depth. Odd. Dull. Past prime.
Fuller’s Vintage Ale 2006 (Rated 4.25/5)
Notes: Don’t mean to be biased because this is the oldest of the vertical, but this is fantastically blended. Super smooth, caramel, fruits, wood.
Final verdict is that Fuller’s Vintage Ales hold up for many years. Definitely beyond the “3 years” posted on bottles up to 2012. After having some time to let everything settle and go over my notes, there really wasn’t a ton of variance in these beers. The 2017 was the only one with nutty flavours, and the 2009 anomaly must have turned to become something different. The risk of ageing too long seems to be a potentially “flat” flavour profile that happened in the 2007, but the 2006 escaped this flaw.
It was fun night with good beers.
I’m happy the see that l am not the only one out there collecting Fullers Vintage Ale. I started back in 2010 hoarding this delightful beverage. Started with a few bottles and then they went on clearance. Some years it was 10 bottles, then 20. I believe now my inventory is somewhere around 120 bottles of various years. This summer we were putting a dent in the old bottles. In my opinion the 2010 is at it’s best. I don’t think l will let it go too much more. Maybe one more year. I have tried this style of beer in the year of release and years later. Love to taste the changes from year to year using the same release. My rule of thumb is buy 10 bottles, drink one now, and every year after until gone. As l said “rule of thumb” not the law. Buy now, drink later and enjoy what time does to it. Merry Xmas beer lovers.
Very cool David!
There are not a lot of options really when it comes to good beers that are consistently produced every year and can age well! I need to add my results to this post shortly, but my favourite wasn’t the 2010 đŸ˜‰
Thanks Red Hunt for your response. I don’t think l was clear in my last post. My favorite Vintage Ale is not the 2010, but what l was trying to say was after 7 years the 2010 (drank in 2017) was at it limit for aging. Another year may hurt its taste. I found l could really taste the alcohol in the beer ( not a bad thing but lost some of the taste). Had a 2014 last night, Dam good. Do you have any advise on the time one should wait before cracking the cap ? Yesterday l picked up 16 bottle of the Fullers Russia Imp Stout(10.7 %) May try one this weekend. Any thought ??
Ahhh, very nice on picking up a bunch of the Impy stouts. I haven’t had the Fullers Imperial Stout very often, and have never aged it – so can’t say much about it. I know some people feel the Vintage Ale and Imperial Stout are both too sweet and messy “fresh”. If you’ve got 16 bottles of the Imperial Stout I think it would be a great project to drink one every 6 months…and see if it starts to peak/fade after 4-5 years?
As for the 7 year aging on the Vintage Ale…good point, I think that could be a safe length of time. The only beer I had that really lost lustre was the 2007, which was 10+ years old. The 2008-2011 range seemed to be the sweet spot in my tasting, so 6-9 years old.
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Very strange. I am now (July 2020) drinking the 2016 Vintage Ale and do not recognise your tasting notes have anything in common with what I am drinking.
It is possible that this beer opened up and evolved in amazing ways because now it is sweet, resinous, winey and deliciously complex. I would say it tastes like cognac and Pauillac Bordeaux wine….
Most peculiar. What do you think? Have you been able to try the 2016 lately?
Is it possible that there could be a cast batch variation in vintages. My bottle number is 112433 though I have a pack of 12 which I found in my Gulf off licence. It is possible even that the heat has created a Madiera effect and perhaps changed the original contents into something else…. but I am not sure since the beer still has good structure and is not oxidised. A mystery.
Interesting TS! Perhaps yours underwent some interesting changes. I have a couple of old bottles left from 2013 and 2014 still, but no more 2016 left to try again.