Country of Origin: Great Britain
Price comparison: Nearly three times what I pay for everyday beer.
Alcohol percentage by volume: 10% at bottling.
Cute bottle/label? 9.3 oz brown glass capsule bottle. Corked, but the type of cork requiring a corkscrew. Be forewarned.
Appearance: Cloudy amber, fair head with no lacing.
Scent: Alcohol, white grapes, slight cherry.
Flavor: Alcohol prevalent, very tart with a dry finish.
Impressions: This ale has a bit of a bad reputation for not having aged consistently. Half of the bottles are reported to have corked out (a slang term for losing palatability over time), so you have a one-in-two chance of getting something drinkable for your money.
If only my luck was as good in playing the lottery as in picking the correct bottle of old beer.
Who knows how high the alcohol content is at this point? 10% at bottling in 1997 after having already aged eighteen months, this didn't taste quite right to me at first, but by the time I'd got to the bottom of the bottle I didn't really give a damn. It had not gone bad; the smell and taste were very strong and peppery, but not unpleasantly so. And I got a damned good buzz off of it.
Unfortunately, I woke up at my usual time the next morning and felt like a tree full of owls. So even if you get a good bottle, you may regret it in the morning.
Will I buy this beer again? At three times the cost of more stable beer, I'd as soon not take a chance on getting a corked-out bottle. Just because I was lucky this time round doesn't mean my luck wouldn't change next time. The only way I can in good conscience recommend this ale is if you are a) a gambler at heart and don't mind the concept of possibly having to dump most of your investment into the sink; and/or b) are prepared for the possibility of a persistent need for headache remedies the next day.
Rating:
2 out of 5 cute beer glasses
Reviewed: November 1, 2003
