Hello and welcome back to the Eternal Hoptimists,
Today in our into the mild segment, we are looking at something with a little bit of age to it..
Back in 2018 I came across several bottles of Rudgate Brewery’s Oak Aged Ruby Ale (Ruby Mild Reserve) which was brewed to celebrate the breweries 25th birthday and at the time I was very impressed with what I was drinking.
At the time I had an idea, ‘How about I stash a couple of bottles and give them a few years to see how they turn out?’ So, five years after I enjoyed my previous bottles, it is time to open one as part of The Eternal Hoptimists ‘Into The Mild’ specials. A review? An experiment? I have absolutely no idea!!!……Let’s get on with it!
1. Name : Oak Aged Ruby Ale
2. Brewery: Rudgate Brewery, York
3. Hops : Not specified
4. Grain : Barley & Wheat
5. Aroma : The oak barrel aromas are still there, albeit not quite as pronounced as when I first drank the beer five years ago. The barrel aging is backed up by subtle dark fruits on the nose.
6. Appearance : Ruby in colour with a quickly dissipating one finger off white head.
7. Body : Medium bodied beer with a decent mouthfeel.
8. Taste : The oak barrel flavours still dominate proceedings, however this is a good thing. As with the aroma you also get flavours of dark fruits on the palate once the oakiness subsides a little.
Well, five years on and I can say that it is an experiment that has worked…kind of!
The beer still retains its oak barrel aroma and flavour, however I felt that aging five years has toned this down a little. It is certainly still drinkable, still enjoyable and has no off flavours, however it failed to blow me away as much as it did when it was freshly brewed several years ago. This is not to say that I regretted ageing this, far from it. The only question now is whether I leave my last bottle another five years to see what ten years ageing does for it?
In 2018 I scored this in my personal review as a 4 out of 5, five years on the subtle differences on the beer means that I can’t quite hit these heights. Still, it’s a decent beer and my 2023 review score for The Eternal Hoptimists reflects this.
Our overall rating: 3.5/ 5.0
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