Serve in a snifter at 11-14 °C
What it tastes like
Old ale is named for what used to happen to it. English brewers kept strong beer in wooden vats for months, sometimes years, and it picked up a slightly tart, vinous character on the way. Publicans then blended this stock ale with fresh beer. Today most old ales are aged for a shorter time, but the idea of a malty, warming ale with some maturity still holds.
Expect toffee, molasses, dark bread and dried fruit, with English hops quietly balancing the malt. Some examples show a light sourness or a woody note from barrel ageing; others are clean and sweet. The colour runs from amber to near black, which is why the range is so wide.
It sits below a barley wine in strength and body, so it is easier to finish a whole glass. Many breweries in Britain sell it as a winter warmer, and it is often what you get when a brewer says the beer is best kept for a year.
Style profile
- Look
- Amber through deep reddish brown to almost black. Usually clear. A light tan head that does not last long.
- Aroma and flavour
- Toffee, molasses, dark bread and dried fruit. Low earthy hops. Aged versions add sherry, wood or a gentle lactic tartness.
- Mouthfeel
- Medium to full body, low to moderate carbonation, warming but softer than a barley wine.
- Ingredients
- English pale malt with crystal and a little dark malt, often invert or brewing sugar. English hops such as Fuggle or Goldings. English ale yeast, sometimes wood or Brettanomyces in aged versions.
In India
Old ale wants a cool evening, so think hill stations, a Delhi January or the brief winter in Pune. Because a lot of its character comes from age, it travels better than a hoppy beer, but only if storage stays cool. Hot godowns and sunny shop shelves will turn it papery fast. Brewers here could try a version with jaggery in place of English brewing sugar; it suits the toffee profile and is easy to source.
At the Indian table
Food pairings contributed by Anuradha Rao
- Galouti kebabSoft, spiced minced meat sits well with dark fruit and toffee, and the beer's tartness lifts the fat.
- BebincaThe layered Goan dessert's ghee and caramelised coconut echo the molasses in the malt.
- Mushroom and walnut pulaoEarthy mushroom and toasted nut meet the bready malt and woody notes of an aged example.
Brewed in India
We could not verify an Indian commercial version yet. Strong ales are rare here because excise is charged on alcohol and long ageing ties up tanks, so ask your brewpub about a winter one-off.