McAuslan St. Ambroise Millésimée / McAuslan St. Ambroise Vintage Ale

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 8

2010 vintage.10% abv. Reddish copper coloured pour. Dense foamy head with good retention and nice lacing. Aroma is sweet, ripe fruit and alcohol. Flavour is caramel, ripe fruit and a tad spicy. Medium bodied and smooth. A very tasty barley wine. The warmth of the alcohol will make you wish you had more.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

2011 Edition, 10%abv. Poured an average size 1/2" thick head that goes away rather quickly and leaves an extremely thin coating. Has a cloudy, rusty copper appearance. Alcohol is pretty noticeable. Yeasty and bready malt aromas dominate with spiced hops. Kind of like a brandy scent. Sweet flavours abound, caramel, toffee as well as spices, herbal hops, yeast, plums and raisins. The alcohol also makes an appearance. Nice warming sensation. Slick drying mouthfeel. Slight tingling aftertaste. Strong and bitter finish. Lively carbonation. Pretty good stuff!

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 8

Deep red and caramel colored. Boozy aroma of dried fruits, caramel, brown sugar, quite malty. You can tell the abv is high but it's an excellent sipper. Very sherry like in aroma and flavor as well. Smooth. Not a lot of hop presence (slight bitterijg in the afteraste) but its not needed. Expensive, but I'd get again as a special treat.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 10 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 10 | Overall: 9

Who doesn’t like a good barleywine? Everybody I know loves a good strong well made barleywine. This is one of Canada’s finest barleywines. It pours a clear rust colour with a creamy thin light brown coloured cap. Lots of caramel and sweet malt in the aroma with hints of dark fruit and herbal hops. Flavour is a nice balance between the sweet caramel and toffee notes and the earthy hoppy and spice notes. Highly recommended.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 9

341ml bottle
10.0% ABV (as written on bottle)
2010 Vintage
Milton LCBO Outlet #1 (Milton, Ontario, Canada)
December 11, 2010
I tried this beer on December 11, 2010 after purchasing from one of my local LCBO outlets. The beer poured a transclucent red colour with a generous foamy tan coloured head. The aroma was dark malt, caramel, floral hops, and black cherry. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with medium carbonation. The flavour is roasted malt, burnt wood, sweet fruit, and a bitter hop finish.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

2009 bottle: didn't feel like an english barleywine, then again.. .. Hazy dark brown, low foam, but good lacing .. . burnt sugar and touches of overripe fruit and a pinch of booze.. a nice brew that i wish i could taste again .. . Kyle, this is the way the world works - if you wanna find some quality friends, you gotta wade through all the dicks first. .

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

2009 edition 9.6%abv. Pours a murky amber/brown with a small off white head that fades to nothing more than a small ring after a few minutes. No lace left behind. Smells hoppy with a slight sweet, fruity hint.Also a bit of alcohol on the nose. Strong hops and spice in the flavour with the high alcohol content well hidden. Bitter finish with a nice medium bodied mouthfeel and medium carbonation.

Aroma: 5 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

(20th Anniversary addition) Brown body with slight hints of red a mild haziness floats in the beer the thin crown produced during the pour reduced quickly to a sad bubble ring around the edge of glass, the beer looks flat, dull, and lifeless. Aroma is standard for the style woody malts, some sweet cheery and the slightest hint of alcohol, but this one is lighter than most. Taste is yummy but very mild there is no aggressive malt or spice destroying my taste buds. Dark woody malts some pine, cherry, plum and other fruity flavours show up. The finish is very clean with no real after taste except for a mild lingering bitterness. The longer I let this sit and the closer to room temp it got it got spicier and the flavour became fuller, but still not enough to bring this to above average for the style. Very drinkable but disappointing barley wine, I’ll save my second one for a few years from now and give it an other try.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

St-Ambroise Vintage Ale 2006,quite a great barleywine...Ripe grapes aroma,rich maltiness,hints of caramelized fruit that recall plum pudding,dry finish provided by Golding hops.This is definitely well balance and quite an impressive beer...

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

I tried the 2007 version of this vintage ale, at 8% ABV. This is another reddish brown beer with an off-white head. The aroma consists of hops, malt, and fruit and blows you away at first. The flavour has a nice hoppy finish that makes it all worth while. An outstanding Canadian brew.