The new Thomas Hardy Ale

No one likes obscure jokes.

 

No more so than the Pabst brands brewed by MillerCoors in the US or the "Samuel Adams" labels were when Miller was BBC's major contractor - the brand was sold by its US owner, George Saxon of Phoenix Imports, to the Italian company BrewInvest/Interbrau a couple of years back, after O'Hanlon dropped the contract. Meantime (now an SABMiller subsidiary) is apparently the new contract brewer.

 

If you did, good call. That stuff lasts (and likely improves) forever it seems.

You could probably trade one for a Heady Topper or something.

 

I came for the Thomas Hardy's Ale news and stayed for the Thomas Hardy book title jokes.

 

Oh awesome, i look forward to trying some of the new run. I have a few older ones in the cellar, the oldest being 1982

 

I almost never do this but...lol. Maybe you should change your name to lordOFFthemark?

In all seriousness, another LEGENDARY beer is a more apt descriptor. I can't wait to get my hands on the new one.

 

I recently acquired two of them a 1998 and 1999. First had the 1998 and it was a bit of a letdown. It was clearly oxidised and past its prime. A couple of months later I opened the 1999 expecting it to be the same, and wow. I was impressed at how good it still was. Oxidation was present, but in a different way. It as an excellent brew. Lots of caramel, toffee and tobacco/leather flavours. I guess how those things are handled has much to do on determining whether they're still good.

 

The old ones are phenomenal. If you keep your eyes peeled in random stores, occasionally you'll still run into older ones sitting on a shelf.

 

This is exactly how I got to try a bottle last year. A friend snagged one in a bar that isn't necessarily known for craft and the like. Great stuff.

 

This is great news! My local store had a stash of the Thomas Hardy a few years ago, and I slowly drank through it over time 'til there were none. Never seen it again anywhere since, but it was an epic brew. Hope this edition makes its way here...

 

I was trying to figure out why this was such a big deal, so I looked up my review. 2005 bottle, drunk in 2008. Then I realized I hadn't seen one of those maroon boxes since.

Significance now duly noted. Will have to look for a new bottle.

 

I would LOVE to grab a few of these new ones! One of the best beers that I've had.