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------------------------------------------------ PORTERS & STOUTS
Mash all grains at 155 degrees F for 1 ½ hours ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SAMPLING THOMAS HARDY ALE 1986 - 1998 We suspect many of you face the same dilemma. You have acquired
that “special” bottle of beer and are looking for the
perfect occasion to enjoy it. It might have to do with the style,
the brewer, or the bottling. It could be from a special trip or
event, a favorite brewer or brewmaster, or was just a rare find
at the local store. Whatever it is, you never seem to find the “right”
occasion worthy of this beer, knowing that once it is consumed,
you will no longer have it available for the next “great event”.
Thomas Hardy’s Ale is a legendary example of a “special”
beer. Named for the early 20th Century English poet, Thomas Hardy’s
Ale was first brewed in 1968 by the Eldridge Pope Brewery of Dorchester,
England. It appears Mr. Hardy was quite fond of his ales, and he
makes several references to them in his work, including a particular
ale from Dorchester. The bottle label includes a quote from one
of Hardy’s works describing this ale. In addition to the literary quote, like a wine each bottle is vintage
dated, showing the year of bottling. Up through 1993, the beer was
bottled in a 6.33 oz. bottle that also included a distinct bottle
number. Starting with the 1993 Silver Anniversary addition, the
size was increased to an 11.15 oz. bottle. On the older bottlings
there was a medallion with a bust of Mr. Hardy around the neck of
the bottle, but it appears this was discontinued sometime in the
late 1980’s. The beer itself is often described as an English Strong Ale, but
even that categorization sells this beer short. It was brewed to
a high specific gravity, was heavily hopped, and was bottled without
being filtered. This results in a beer that is “bottle conditioned”,
or in other words, continues fermenting after bottling. The result
is an ale high in alcohol content that is intended to age gracefully
and last a long, long time. How long? There is a 1995 tasting report
from the publication, Malt Advocate, that gives high marks to the
bottle they sampled from the original 1968 brewing. Once committed, we realized some organization was needed to fully
enjoy 12 distinct bottlings of this fine ale. Since each is bottle-conditioned,
we assumed there would be distinct differences between each year,
with a gradual mellowing with age. By tasting these bottlings under
identical conditions, we hoped to notice any pattern in the flavors
through the years. Therefore, we decided to conduct a tasting of
all 12 bottles as a true vertical tasting, starting with the 1986
bottle and working towards the 1998. Each bottle would be at “cellar”
temperature when served, and a fresh glass would be used for each
bottle. As with any sampling of an older beer, the first question was whether
all of the different bottlings were still drinkable, and had not
fallen victim to time and spoilage. During the Millennium New Year’s
celebration, we had opened several bottles of Hardy’s and
experienced that some did not process the same flavor profile as
the others. Was this caused by something related to that particular
bottle, or might there be specific years where the beer did not
age as well as others? We also wondered if we might be able to detect specific patterns
in taste, appearance and nose throughout all of the years in the
tasting, and whether the bottle size seemed to have any effect on
the brew’s characteristics. Since the bottlings were split
between two different storage conditions, would there be any distinct
characteristics between the 2 groups? Finally, would there be any
of the bottlings that would clearly distinguish themselves as the
best of the group? Finally, after all of our planning (including convincing our wives
that this would not ruin their enjoyment of the weekend), the opportunity
to execute the tasting session was upon us. We had already spent
a great afternoon sampling some of Lake Louie’s ales in Spring
Green, and enjoyed a good dinner and brews at the Brewery Creek
Brewpub in Mineral Point. We lined up the bottles on a table and
took some photos. Al got out a notepad and Mike popped open the
1986 bottle. It was 7:15 p.m. and we were about to embark on what
was eventually a three-hour tour through some incredible beer. As Mike started to pour the1986, we were greeted by the familiar,
toffee like aroma we had experienced from Hardy’s in the past.
Also familiar were the dark brown color, and the low carbonation.
What was amazing was how the beer flowed out of the bottle, thick
and syrupy in texture, yet amazingly clear. It was obvious this
beer had been brewed to last and had lived up to the challenge.
This was confirmed by the first sip, which started as a sweet caramel,
and finished like a tawny port. It was unfortunate this was the
only bottle we had of the 1986, but we finished it and eagerly moved
on to the 1989. While 3 years apart in age, the 1989 was distinctly different that
the ’86. It was a lighter, coppery red in color, much thinner,
and was a little cloudy. It had a bolder peppery flavor, although
the caramel flavor was still there in a much more subdued way. As
we move to the 1990, it was becoming apparent that each different
year would be a beer unto its own in flavor, color, and body. It
seems entirely possible to us that the brewery had variations in
the recipe from year-to-year. However, despite such individual characteristics, each was also
distinctively a Hardy’s. All were a dark honey to copper in
color, had little if any carbonation, were somewhat syrupy, and
had a caramel/toffee taste and nose, along with elements of dried
fruit, pepper and soy. For such a description of flavors, they were
not sweet beers, but were often slightly bitter. Often we found
ourselves comparing the flavor to Sierra Nevada’s Bigfoot
barleywine, and assume this is due to the high hop content of the
beer. It was also obvious that there was still plenty of alcohol
present in each beer, although this was never apparent to the degree
that it was a distraction from the tastes. Often our descriptions
of flavors read more like a tasting of dry red wines or good bourbon,
rather than of a beer. Al did manage to keep a log of each bottling: the bottle size,
numbering if present, and, of course, tasting highlights. We will
certainly be using the information as a guide when choosing a bottle
from our collections in the future, and we would be happy to share
them with anyone who is interested. (It should also be noted that
any tasting of magnitude does significantly impact its participants.
In planning the tasting we took care to ensure that we would be
eating some bread with the beer, and would not be driving, conducting
surgery, or operating any heavy machinery afterwards.) As we finished the last sips from the 1998, we took a few moments
to reflect on the tasting. We were pleased to discover that none
of the beers had become undrinkable. Each different bottle was a
slightly different combination of looks, smells and tastes, but
they were all enjoyable. There was no indication that the size of
the bottle, or the storage conditions had any effect on the taste.
From the perspective of age, it did seem that the young bottlings
tasted of fruit, the middle group was more bourbon like, and the
oldest group had a distinct toffee taste. However, there were no
indications that the ale needed to sit a particular length of time
before drinking, or that there was a foreseeable time when the beer
might be undrinkable. Of all the years, only the 1989 and 1992 seemed
most susceptible to age and the elements, and we both agreed that
the most impressive years in the tasting were the ’86, ’91
and ’98 bottlings. As collectors, we have always held Thomas Hardy’s Ale as
one of the signature beers to have in one’s cellar. This tasting
reminded us just how terrific the beer really is. We had sampled
beer over a 12-year spectrum, a timeframe longer than most US microbreweries
have been in existence. Over this time, the ale demonstrated a marked
consistency in taste and attributes, yet provided each different
year with its own taste and personality. The real lesson from the tasting is that great friends and good
beer makes for a memorable time. It is not necessary to critically
analyze every beer consumed, but rather to take pleasure in enjoying
the beer in the company of friends. This tasting represented only
a part of a weekend in which we sampled several other fine beers,
enjoyed great food, and celebrated some birthdays. If from our account,
the idea of hosting a tasting sounds like fun, we would encourage
you to make those arrangements necessary to facilitate such an event.
However, this should not deter you from enjoying a good beer when
the opportunity arises.
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