Name – Thomas Hardy’s Ale 2008
Country – England
Type – Old Ale
Appearance – Poured a bubbly ruby red color with no head at all.
Smell – Sweet dark fruit and a bit of alcohol burns the nose.
Taste – Sweet malts, dark fruit and a slight alcohol bite at the end. Very syrup like consistency.
I bought two bottles of this back in November and decided I have to at least try one now. It is at least a year old already and maybe a year and a half depending on when it was actually bottled in 2008. As the Brits would say this brew was absolutely proper. Wonderful sipping beer for after dinner. If I knew what sherry tasted like I might be able to agree with what so many people tend to compare this to. But definitely an absolute thrill to drink and I am very glad I have the second bottle that I will just keep for another couple years to see how it changes.
Overall Grade – A
6 Comments
Glad to see you like this. I think it is a terrific beer. I’ve got some bottles that are 2002 & 2003. The need another 10 years, so I’m trying to wait.
January 15, 2010 at 2:56 pmThat takes a lot of will. I don’t think I could ever age something that long unless I had absolutely no access to it.
January 16, 2010 at 9:18 amI’ve waited on a few beers and have been amply rewarded for the time. Trust me when I tell you that aging beer adds a whole new aspect to the tasting.
January 16, 2010 at 2:04 pmBob the Brit did a nice review of this awhile back on our site, and that’s when I was made aware of this whole beer aging process. Seems like this beer is designed with aging specifically in mind. One day, I’ll give it a try.
January 17, 2010 at 2:54 amMike, Hide your other bottle and forgetaboutit. If you’re lucky you’ll find it again in 8-10 years. This is a good beer after 1-3 year, a very good beer at 5 But at 7-10+ years it is just starting to taste absolutely amazing. If you wait longer, well then you will be in beer nirvana. With that said, glad you tasted one so “young”, this way you’ll appreciate it even more when it is older. (can you tell that I like this beer aged)
January 18, 2010 at 11:41 pmYeah I had to at least try one to see if I even liked the younger one. Hiding it will be difficult, I don’t have a terribly big house. But as long as I keep the fridge stocked I should be fine on not being tempted.
January 19, 2010 at 1:22 pm