Auld Asheville Vintage Ale
Highland Brewing

Auld Asheville Vintage AleAuld Asheville Vintage Ale
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From:
Highland Brewing
 
North Carolina, United States
Style:
Old Ale
ABV:
9.5%
Score:
89
Avg:
3.97 | pDev: 11.34%
Reviews:
61
Ratings:
73
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Jan 28, 2020
Added:
Dec 16, 2009
Wants:
  14
Gots:
  1
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
 
Rated: 4.25 by RochefortChris from North Carolina

Jan 28, 2020
Photo of DVMin98
Reviewed by DVMin98 from North Carolina

3.64/5  rDev -8.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
From 2009. Color is caramel. Smell is mild oxidation. Caramel. Taste follows along. Mild oxidation and caramelly. Thin to medium bodied. Overall, this aged pretty well. Glad to have tried it
Mar 27, 2017
 
Rated: 4 by bcp5296d from North Carolina

May 27, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by Landon_Sellers from North Carolina

Feb 10, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by buckyp from South Carolina

Jun 02, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by BBThunderbolt from Kiribati

May 20, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by mikereaser from Pennsylvania

Nov 26, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by ecmoon3 from South Carolina

Oct 17, 2012
 
Rated: 2.5 by mhaugo from California

Jul 01, 2012
Photo of kylehay2004
Reviewed by kylehay2004 from Illinois

4/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
A: single finger off white head murky mahagony with a lavender hue. Nice lacing.

S: sweet dark fruit, mostly cherry and strawberry. Mild caramel malts.

T: tart and slightly sour dark fruit with more plum and raisin differing from the aroma. Chocolate malts, sherry wine notes and some toffee.

M: medium body and moderate carbonation.

Overall: More like a Belgian dark strong but less yeasty. Fairly complex and nicely drinkable.
Jun 26, 2012
Photo of drabmuh
Reviewed by drabmuh from Maryland

3.33/5  rDev -16.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Beer served in a snifter. Beer is brown and hazy with a thin brown head. Wispy head. Low retention, low lacing. 

Aroma is sweet and biscuit malt with a strong yeast aroma. Odd aroma though. 

Beer is sweet and big in body. Decent I guess. Odd on the finish. Not a great beer. It is OK but not really loving it. 
Apr 20, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by EasyReader from North Carolina

Dec 31, 2011
 
Rated: 3.5 by jophish17 from Georgia

Dec 24, 2011
 
Rated: 4 by TrickkyGangsta from Florida

Dec 05, 2011
Photo of cpetrone84
Reviewed by cpetrone84 from Pennsylvania

2.98/5  rDev -24.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Re-review April of 2011

Pours a slightly hazy ruby red with a creamy light tan head. The nose has a bright bruit flavor of apple and pear with some herbal spice but a hint of a metallic twang. The taste falls off hard, the fruitiness is still there but clear oxidation creates a strong note of paper and cardboard. Carmalized brown sugar adds the malt balance on a medium body falling off with a light carb in the back. Too sweet and a bit heavily oxidized.

***
Review 3/5/10

A-pours a deep reddish mahogany color. A tanned head with one finger of it. Little retention and head

S-the nose is very sweet but a little light. A light caramel and bready malt seems to set a foundation for malty sweetness in the form of dark fruits. Some dark cherries, ripe plum, notes of rum raisin.

T-this is a malt explosion. Hint of toasted biscuit and caramel are the foundation in which the malt sweetness builds off of. Some cherries start off, ripe plums, rum soaked raisins. There is actually a light hop presence with a touch of citric and bitter hops at the finish.

M-very smooth and syrupy with a nice medium to full body. Its wet and juicy with very low carbonation in an absolutely perfect way. It finishes wet and firm not giving in.

D-this is a very solid old ale. This is actually becoming a favorite style, although they all are, right? It’s a little boozy but had some great balance for the style. Great dark fruitiness and a nice little hop presence.
Nov 22, 2011
 
Rated: 4 by richbrew from New Jersey

Nov 15, 2011
Photo of welldigger888
Reviewed by welldigger888 from South Carolina

4.7/5  rDev +18.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Poured a nice cooper garnet hue with a cream head that lays down to leave an island of head and light lace.

Velvety smooth caramel maltiness and a solid noble type aroma. Good graininess that has a very smooth alcohol burn.

WOW, this elixer is SOOOO smooth. With the caramel goodness and earthy spiced hop that has a nice grain. The beer is smooth and highly quaffable for the abv.

Spot on for the english old ale style, Full flavored goodness.

3 yrs in the cellar has been very KIND to this fantastic brew.
Nov 11, 2011
Photo of bamadog
Reviewed by bamadog from Ohio

4.12/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Jeez, it's been a while since I've put any notes up, so tonight seems like a good opportunity to do so. I received this in a trade almost 2 years ago and figured it's got to be near it's prime, and if it isn't I don't care, if it's past, I don't care. I'm just looking forward to a good beer. Review is from notes taken on 9/1/2011 and poured from the bottle to a snifter.

Appearance: Pour is a deep, murky, caramel brown; starts with a full 1 finger, light tan head that begins to fade quickly; as noted, the body is fairly dark and murky, nearly opaque due all of the sediment; head eventually dissipates to a thin and incomplete and creamy wisp and leaves a few blobs and strands of lacing hanging around.

Smell: Smell is solid -- lots of rich caramel maltiness with a touch of spice to it; bit of alcohol. Nose is quite robust and strong, and really starts to hit me once I get the bottle cracked.

Taste: The taste is great as well -- I would easily compare to Old Stock with a couple of years on it, but perhaps not quite as hot. Lots of the same rich caramel notes, with the spiciness included -- reminiscent of a warm baking spice like ginger; a faded and mild hop presence is there and has a bit of an English Barleywine aspect to it; slight warming presence of alcohol.

Mouthfeel: Body is between medium and medium/heavy; mild carbonation that still holds enough strength to be present and smooth; a thin, slightly oily and sticky coating is left all over the mouth, but particularly the roof; belly is left a little warm from the alcohol.

Overall: I wish this was a beer that was available at least seasonally and in my area. I think it's a solid representative of the style and there isn't a damn thing wrong with it.
Sep 02, 2011
Photo of crossovert
Reviewed by crossovert from Illinois

4/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
15th Anniversary ale.

It pours a deep rubyish brown with a foamy tan head.

The smell is rich and malty. Mostly caramel with a hint of cocoa. There is some notes of port and dark fruitiness.

The flavor isn't bad. It is smooth and malty. There is a bit of off-flavor at first but it mellows out. There are notes of pine and chocolate along with caramel and dark fruits.

This is a surprisingly good brew. It isn't too alcoholic like I was fearing, I aged it for awhile and it was a one-off so if you are still holding on to it you are holding on to something that will probably get better with more age.
Sep 01, 2011
Photo of brentk56
Reviewed by brentk56 from North Carolina

4.12/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Appearance: A hard pour produces a caramel color topped only by a scant head - doesn't have much staying power, either, though it does leave a fireworks-like trace of spots behind

Smell: Dried dark fruit, with prune, fig and date elements and a hint of burnt caramel

Taste: Dried dark fruit, up front, with the burnt caramel arriving by mid-palate; somewhat oxidized, at this stage, but there is an intriguing hint of woody bitterness on the finish, though the fruit and caramel shine through

Mouthfeel: Medium to full body, with moderate carbonation and a bit of warmth

Overall: Drinking just a little past its peak, right now, but has a wonderful range of dried fruit flavor
Jul 10, 2011
Auld Asheville Vintage Ale from Highland Brewing
Beer rating: 89 out of 100 with 73 ratings