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Author Topic: Fuller's Vintage 2008  (Read 2215 times)

Offline morticaixavier

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Fuller's Vintage 2008
« on: January 20, 2011, 11:49:12 am »
So it was my 35th bday last night and my last name is Fuller so when I saw this at the BevMo I thought 'That's appropriate, a vintage Fuller's for a vintage Fuller'.

It was very nice. All the dark fruit/caramely flavors you would expect from 3 year old strong ale but also this amazing sweet apple cider note in the nose and to a lesser extent in the flavor. It wasn't the tart green apple flavor I associate with off flavors but a rich flavor like apples that are just about to go bad. Paired it with first course (Three bean parfait with plantain chips and crustini) and desert (Carrot cake with cream sheese frosting) and it went really well with both.
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Offline chezteth

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Re: Fuller's Vintage 2008
« Reply #1 on: January 20, 2011, 12:27:52 pm »
Dang, that sounds delicious (the beer & the meal) !  I'll have to check the local places for a bottle.

Offline chezteth

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Re: Fuller's Vintage 2008
« Reply #2 on: January 20, 2011, 12:28:20 pm »
And of course, Happy Birthday!

jaybeerman

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Re: Fuller's Vintage 2008
« Reply #3 on: January 20, 2011, 12:29:39 pm »
hard to beat a vintage fuller's vintage!  sounds like a great time, damn now i'm thirsty for a good brew.  happy birthday.  cheers, j

Offline morticaixavier

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Re: Fuller's Vintage 2008
« Reply #4 on: January 20, 2011, 01:21:30 pm »
Dang, that sounds delicious (the beer & the meal) !  I'll have to check the local places for a bottle.

They were both delicioius. Main course was mushroom 'Barlotto' (Rissotto with barley in stead of rice) and Kuri squash ragou paired with Rare Vos. one of the best things about sharing my love of cooking with friends is that sometimes they share theirs back. A good buddy of mine did all the cooking and all I had to do was eat and drink! a happy birthday indeed!
"Creativity is the residue of wasted time"
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"errors are [...] the portals of discovery"
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Offline nicneufeld

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Re: Fuller's Vintage 2008
« Reply #5 on: January 20, 2011, 02:08:28 pm »
I have a bottle of the 2003.  I have no idea when I should open it, I must confess!  8 years, my how time flies.

Offline morticaixavier

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Re: Fuller's Vintage 2008
« Reply #6 on: January 20, 2011, 02:47:22 pm »
I have a bottle of the 2003.  I have no idea when I should open it, I must confess!  8 years, my how time flies.

Based on the 2008 I would say you could open it anytime. course you could also save it. Kind of philisophical choice. pleasure defered or immediate gratification? (immediate here being a bit of a misnomer)
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"errors are [...] the portals of discovery"
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Offline BrewingRover

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Re: Fuller's Vintage 2008
« Reply #7 on: January 21, 2011, 02:10:30 pm »
I had a 2005 a few years ago and it was really good. I know they change the recipe for this every year so there was none of the apple flavor you got. Lots of complex malt and a surprising amount of hop character.
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Offline morticaixavier

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Re: Fuller's Vintage 2008
« Reply #8 on: January 21, 2011, 03:45:12 pm »
I had a 2005 a few years ago and it was really good. I know they change the recipe for this every year so there was none of the apple flavor you got. Lots of complex malt and a surprising amount of hop character.

yeah the box I got had a little card in describing the other years and boy did it make me thirsty!
"Creativity is the residue of wasted time"
-A Einstein

"errors are [...] the portals of discovery"
- J Joyce

Offline nicneufeld

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Re: Fuller's Vintage 2008
« Reply #9 on: February 06, 2011, 05:35:31 pm »
Uncapped my vintage 2004 last night.  7 years old and indescribably good.  I can't remember what it was like when it was fresh, but I have to say, this is a fantastic beer.  Makes me want to brew an old ale and let it age.  I would say this beer ages a lot more gracefully than, say, SN Bigfoot, which ages well but not with the richness of character (yeast and malt have to have a lot to do with this...versus hops, which is the Bigfoot specialty) that this one seems to develop.

Someday I'll get round to my 2003 Thomas Hardy and Samichlaus, still stored down there, but not yet!

Offline dbeechum

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Re: Fuller's Vintage 2008
« Reply #10 on: February 07, 2011, 12:41:45 am »
Fuller's Vintage is one of those beers I feel gets completely overlooked in the mad dash to collect all the Celebrations, Bigfoots, Dark Lords, etc.

It is truly a shoe box beer.

And by that I mean, it feels like one of those beers where the recipe is stowed away in a closet in a shoebox for protection, but not only is it protecting the recipe from leaking out, it's protecting the world from the recipe.
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