Fuller's 2008 Bottle Conditioned Vintage Ale

[ninjavanish]

I felt like this beer was impressive enough to warrant it's own thread/review.

I have always loved Fuller's brews. From the very first time I tasted Fuller's ESB I was in love.

I noticed this little lovely in the Total Wine & more... my preferred place to pick up a few exotic and previously untried brews from all over the globe. At a mere $8.99 per bottle I could not resist.

So I'll make this review short and sweet.

This thing is about as opulent a beer as I've seen. Packaged in a box similar to those that nicer scotches come in... with a fancy embossed label reading No. 110688... of only 150,000 bottles made. Beautiful in it's simplicity and elegance.

I'm afraid I could not describe with much accuracy the flavors that lie within this bottle. There's a noticible sweetness. Certainly a caramel hue to the actual liquid. Sweetness, maltiness, and an underlying layer of what almost strikes the palate of some fruit... maybe not citrus... but something close... like a dried apricot or papaya... something fairly mild like that.

Over all, a wonderful experience... and since it was a "Vintage Ale" I decided to smoke a "vintage cigar" with it.

If you like a stronger beer without a huge load of hops... see if you can track one of these guys down. This is one worthy or buying 2... 1 to try now... 1 to put away for a few years. It can only get better with age. I may see if I can track down half a dozen more bottles or so of this to have and to save.

[awsmith4]

I've been eying this brew for a while, thanks to your review I will pick some up this week.

[ODLS1]

I've had the 07 and 09. Both were excellent.

[BlackDog]

I've seen those, but haven't taken the plunge. I'll have to pick one up and try it. Thanks!

[yourchoice]

Thanks for posting this review. I've been tempted to grab one to try.

I've picked up pear in beer before, would that describe the fruit?