Brasserie McAuslan St-Ambroise Vintage Ale Millésimée (2017) Barley Wine at 10% ABV | 58 IBU (C$5.57 at NLC Howley Estates, 341 ml, packaged on 8-Sep-2017, acquired 8-Nov-2017, reviewed 7-Aug-2019)
Appearance: murky deep amber with a short ivory head diminishing rapidly to a thin skim, spotty lacing. (3/5) Aroma: toffee, candi sugar, boozy dark fruit, spices. (8/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate-high bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium slightly slick body, medium-lively carbonation, sweet sticky mildly warming finish. (4/5)
I’ve done a couple of vintages of this now, generally at a year old or less (I did a 2013 in September of 2014, and a 2014 in April of 2015) so I thought I’d go older: this one’s now just coming up on two years old. I can’t say it strikes me as all that different from the other vintages I tried younger. There’s still a tiny bit of a bitter edge that seems slightly out of place to me, and the carbonation is uncharacteristically lively. Overall, though, it’s still an enjoyable sipper that doesn’t feel quite as boozy as the ABV would suggest. (15/20)
7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
