Autumn cheer from Fuller's Vintage

It’s one of the great moments of the beer year – the arrival of the new edition of Fuller’s Vintage Ale. It’s a beer that, with a hefty 8.5 per cent level of alcohol, bursts with rich malt, fruit and hop flavours – and as it’s bottle conditioned it will continue to improve with age.

The interest in and demand for the year can be measured by the fact that as soon as the new vintage – the 26^th – hit the shelves it sold out. It’s due to be back in Waitrose on 25 October and it can be ordered from the brewery’s online shop but it’s best to rush to get it.

There were concerns about the future of this classic strong ale when Fuller’s sold its brewing interests in 2019 to Japanese global giant Asahi. But the beer has continued to appear and retains its brilliant and complex aroma and palate.

Unlike the annual wine vintage from Bordeaux, which is made with the same variety of grapes every year, Fuller’s Vintage is brewed with a twist to the ingredients each September.

It was the brainchild in 1997 of Fuller’s legendary head brewer Reg Drury and his vision of a strong bottle-conditioned ale was continued by his successors, John Keeling, Georgina Young and today Guy Stewart.

The beer is based on Fuller’s Golden Pride, which is a pasteurised bottled beer. Vintage uses the same mash but is conditioned in the brewery for four weeks following fermentation and is then filtered and re-seeded with fresh yeast. Some 50,000 bottles are produced every year, individually numbered and presented in an attractive claret box.

The 2022 vintage is brewed with pale and caragold malts along with DRC, a double roasted crystal malt that adds a butterscotch and raisin note. The hops are Bramling Cross and a new English variety called Emperor: the two hops combine to add spice, berry and citrus notes to the beer.

The beer has a bright amber colour and a fine fluffy head followed by a rich fruity nose of raisin and sultana dark fruits with crisp herbal and spicy hops. Marmalade fruit from Fuller’s house yeast dominates the palate but is balanced by spicy and citrus hops and hints of butterscotch from the crystal malt. The finish is long, fruity and spicy with dried fruits, ripe malt and peppery hops.

A 500ml bottle costs approximately £6 and is available from the brewery online shop: www.fullersbrewery.co.uk.

The beer is also available on draught in a selection of Fuller’s pubs:

Castle, Harrow; Crown & Sceptre, Shepherds Bush; Harp, Covent Garden; Hercules, Lambeth; Hung, Drawn & Quartered, Tower Hill; Jugged Hare, Victoria; King & Queen, Caterham on the Hill; King’s Head, Guildford; Old Custom House, Portsmouth; Old Fish Market, Bristol; Ox Row Inn, Salisbury; Parcel Yard, King’s Cross Station.

But check availability before visiting these pubs.