Old Ale
Southampton Publick House

I recently enjoyed this one with a group of homebrewing buddies. The beer is a deep copperish-brown color with a respectably thick tan head. The aroma is teriffic…a little malt and a slight whiff of alcohol, followed by swirls of fruit: raisin, plum, apple, berries. It’s earthy and rustic, with a little chocolate and caramel as well. Not much in the way of a hop aroma. The taste is modestly sweet, with a fleeting tartness. The fruit theme continues through the taste. A nice alcohol warming sets in very slowly. The beer finished dry, with a slightly vinous quality. It’s got a fairly light body for the style, and is very drinkable. This is a moderately complex and enjoyable brew.

My friend Lucas and I each bought one of these bottles on a trip to the pub several months ago. We finally got around to drinikin one. The brew was @ cellar temp and I was drinkin from an imperial pint glass. The beer pours hazy chestnut color with an offwhite fluffy head developing slowly. The head fades to a sturdy surface layer.
Aroma is piney hops and spices mostly cinnamon and nutmeg.
First sip reveals a very prickly active carbonation that actually almost stings my lips. Body is much thinner than I expected. Flavor is tart with limes and some sour cherry present also get caramel mixing with a very light hop presence. The beer doesnt go down very smoothly, mostly due to the carbonation for me, but is still enjoyable. Not what I expected in the beer but still a nice experience.

Deep reddish/brown color, moderate beige foam atop, looks good.
Nose: airy at first, then tart all over the place, with fruity notes aplenty, green apple, orange rind, twists of lemon. Unusual for an old ale, or maybe they were going in a different direction that I'd have thought...anyway, on to...
Taste: Ooooo! Tastness resounds again, brisk, yet bold, and brash, boom!, wince, pucker...ooo, again!
(But not a happy "Oooo!") Sourness dominates, and there are little other flavors that I enjoy. Medium body, just a hint of alcohol felt, sour finish.
This may be appreciated by some, it's entirely possible, but these flavors just don't please me at all. Reminds me of some British old ales I've tried, like George Gale's, but i didn't like those, either.
I look forward to being more fond of the next SPH ale I have the happy chance to try!

#213 of Edition 2003, courtesy of that fine lad, sulldaddy, had alongside similarly upstanding BA, tavernjef.

Bottle 213 of 250 of the 2003 release - shared with Feloniousmonk who recieved via suldaddy. Color is a dark clouded brown with yellowy edges, finger high head of ivory hued foam capped the top loosely. Lacing in large spots and some thinner strings. Aroma is quite musty with a fruity side salad of green apples, raspberry, and some grapes. Some fresh wet hay sits among the nose as well. Soft and almost pastry tart-like in its smell; tangy, rich, and a bit earthy. Taste has a major fruity sourness coming from a large fruit salad-like front of apples and grapes. Actually that seems more prevelant in the finishing end of the beer then the beginning. Start is malt laden smoothness, creamy, kinda thin, but builds quickly to the salad buffet. The sourness is a bit strange for me, more so then I'm used to out of an Old Ale. Comes across more as a English style, with more of a souring maltiness then a caramel malt. Caramel is in there, but in very thin amounts under the fruity souring tart stuff. As it warmed the tartness calmed down some but the overall fruity strong hold stayed present. Feel is good with a nice souring malt presense and a soild medium body and fine carbonation that has a bit of grab to it. More of an English style I think then I'm used to, still good but not necessarily to my liking. This was a tough one to put numbers to. I may have given it the benefit of the doubt here and given the taste and drinkability more then what it was for me. Hard to put the numbers in on this one. Enjoyable, but not what I was looking to get out of an Old Ale. Damn Americans....

2003 reserve, brewed in 2002. This is a dark crimson brew with a small tight, white head of foam. This leaves great lacing as well. The aromas are of whiskey, butterscotch, caramel, port wine, sherry, dark fruits, and chocolatey/cherry cake. The taste is a lovely blend of the afforementioned aromas with a very pronounced, smoky, single malt flavor on the finish. The mouthfeel is excellent, with all of that lovely bottle-conditioning really working its magic. The drinkability is top notch as well. All hail The SHPH!

2002 vintage. 12 oz bottle purchased at Bierkraft. Served at cellar temp in a Trois Pistoles goblet.

Appearance: Murky ruby brown with a frothy tan head that starts out at 1/2" and then recedes to a small - thick - layer of bubbles all the way down. This lays the foundation for some nice lacing, though I've certainly seen better.

Smell: Aromas of cherries, caramel, piney hops dominate the aroma. For the first 30 seconds, there was this odd smell of something akin to stale dog biscuits, but that thankfully went away. Nice peppery notes, as well.

Taste: Sweet roasted and caramel malts in a wonderful balance with some piney/bitter hops. Chocolate and coffee flavors on the finish. Lingering dollops of grassy and herby hops on the aftertaste.

Mouthfeel: Weakly medium bodied with a mild warming sensation from the alcohol. The booze is well masked. Seemed a bit watery at times, but that might have been me salivating for the next sip.

Drinkability: Wonderfully flavorful and complex. A beer to take your time with and savor. Definitely worth picking up or trading for. Some beers get you all wired and excited and some just make you feel all mellow from sheer satiety. This one is definitely of the latter sort.

Poured a dark red color, some head, and little lace. Nose was soft: of a sweet malt rounded out by oak and earthy tones, and faintly fruit & floral scents from hops. Taste was roasty and tasty with emerging hops. The malt began quiet yet solid, unassuming, combined with a fruity sour taste from the hops. Opened to a sweet and complex maltiness, mixing nuts, roast, chocolate, and sugar flavors. Had a dry and tasty bitterness to it, a burnt tasting finish, and a very easy watery mouthfeel, a surprise for such a full tasting beer. Described to have “whiskey tones” - I could agree with that. Yet within all this the beer is amazingly somehow very sweet, too.

The definition of a session beer, very flavorful and easy to drink, yet an award winning ale that is extremely complex and subtle. Actually too much complexity to be picked up in the bar. A stellar mix of fruit, malt, hop, roast, and olde world ale tastes. A beer to behold.