Thomas Hardy - The Historical Ale 2018
Interbrau S.p.A

8.45 oz / 250 mL bottle, #22536, room temp into a taster’s snifter.
Poured flat, no foam or lace.
Aroma of dark toffee, fine oak barrel.
Taste is plum, fig, dark toffee, bit of tobacco, little soy sauce. Barrel is expert; nice presence, dry cheeks. I got a hit of honey at the end.
Feel is dense like cognac, way low carbonation.
Honored to sip this one. 5 years in a controlled environment compliments this elixir. A beaut!

 

 

Poured from fridge temp into a Thomas Hardy's snifter. Pours a nice dark brown/reddish with basically no head or carbonation. Nose is full of sweet toffee. A bit of scotch, but it doesn't really dominate on the nose. Those wonderful barleywine notes take control. Candy, a bit of pipe tobacco, old wood, figs, and dates. The taste is incredible. Sweet upfront, with a nice salty aftertaste. That kind of sounds odd, but it forms a salted caramel flavor that is amazing. Dark fruit, a bit of chocolate, oak, leather, sherry, and again a bit of pipe tobacco. This is a wonderful beer with a multitude of flavors that mingle nicely.

This one pours a murky reddish brown color, with no head, and no lacing.

This smells like spicy scotch, oak, leather, and dark fruit.

I definitely think I would like this better without the scotch barrel. It tastes kind of stale, smoky, and spicy with that barrel on top of it. It unfortunately somewhat buries what I assume is a really solid base beer.

This is medium bodied, with a very low carbonation. It's a slow sipper, and honestly hard to finish.

I don't think the barrel helped this beer at all. I had a hard time enjoying this one.

2yo (2019) bottle

 

 

 

From the 8.45 fl oz bottle in a snifter. This fine brew
pours a clear amber tinged brown with a head that
sizzles out fast leaving a cognac looking drink. Nose of
faint peat, strong booze, vinous notes of white grapes,
light leather, subtle toffee, oak notes, and touches of
caramel and fig. Flavors hit the note nicely with fig, raisin,
grape must of white grapes, oak, leather, fig, date, caramel,
toffee, and strong booze with apple and cranberry
elements. Very nice mouth feel; medium body, faint carbonation,
and a smooth lightly dry finish.

Overall, a fantastic brew from a legacy brew....awesome!

Cheers

Pretty darn good iteration with lots of burnt caramel on the nose and sneaky complexity after the initially sweet entry on the palate - the scotch barrel aging imparts subtle alcohol and peat notes but thankfully not overbearing. Let down a bit by a lackluster appearance, no head formed at all, and a nearly total absence of carbonation. Still pretty enjoyable overall.

 

Not worthy of the name Thomas Hardy. Thin, zero carbonation, and little in the way of depth.

Look: Not the murkiest of English Barleywines. Pretty translucent. Brown/ruby brown. Like iced tea in the glass. Huge, thin, light brown bubbles struggle to form, and quickly disappear. Indications of a still beer. The color itself is very nice. Zero visible carbonation and lacing.

Smell: Yeast heavy with a very big freshly baked bread aroma. Fruit cake. Raisin and date. The 13.7% ABV hits from the beginning and especially as the beer approaches room temperature.

Taste: On the tip of the tongue some raisin and sweetened black tea. Bready. Fresh hazelnut. Not the most complex of Barleywines. Pretty much straight sweet dark dried fruit from front to back with some alcohol bite along the way.

Feel: No carbonation. Very warming. Nice feel, but definitely a bit too hot on the palate.

Overall: Pretty good, but leaves complexity to be desired. The question is whether or not I buy more. Probably not considering the amount of beer already stashed away in my basement.

250mL bottle numbered 11729 with a laser etched BB date of 04/12/28. The ABV is 13.7% and it's been poured into a snifter at 55 degrees F. The beer pours bright medium amber in color with ruby highlights and nearly insignificant head on a fairly hard pour. It never forms a cap, but does put a fluffy ring of khaki bubbles around the glass. No lacing. The aroma is incredibly rich malt, toffee, old leather & wood furniture. The taste is more pleasantly oxidized, toasty malt with vague Scotch barrel, leather, stone fruit, and warming alcohol. No hop aroma or flavor and gently balancing bitterness. The malt sweetness is masterfully checked by the alcohol & barrel for nice balance. The mouthfeel is full bodied & slick with very little carbonation and an undry, yet satisfying finish. Overall, excellent. To deliver a beer with this body & ABV without going overly sweet is a real feat in itself. The depth of flavor is very nice.

250 ml bottle, bottle #12161, 2018 vintage. Served in a snifter, the beer pours a mostly clear burnt orange/copper color with a thin off-white head. What head was there stayed around for a little while, and there's not much lacing at all. Aroma is nice and sweet, the brew smells like dark fruit (raisins, plums), oak, vanilla, and caramel. Taste is similar to the aroma, with plum, caramel, raisin, red apple, oak and vanilla flavors. There's also a slight earthy bitterness in the finish. Mouthfeel/body is medium, it's a bit coating with a low amount of carbonation. I liked this, worth a try if you've never had it before. $9.99 a bottle.

 

Bottle # 11816.

Bottled 12/4/18; drank 9/16/19 @ the Yarchives.

Cloudy orange rust appearance.

Peat, oak & faint caramel notes in the nose.

Medium mouthfeel.

Medicinal peat, dry oak, booze heat & faint caramel flavors.

Boozy, too dry, too thin and just not very good. Permanent pass!

Bottle from Julio's Opens without a hiss and a vigorous pour barley produces any head. Dark copper in color with a tough of haze. Candied sugary alcohol on the nose. Flavor is sweet and warming with hints of fruit tobacco and brown sugar. It's a sipper and isn't too bad, but the flavors seem disjointed and it needs some bubbles. Maybe some age will help this a bit.