Fullers

Vintage Ale is a truly distinguished bottle-conditioned ale, crafted by Fuller’s Head Brewer, John Keeling. Each vintage is a blend of that year’s finest malt and hops, and of course our unique yeast, creating a unique limited edition brew.

Bottle conditioning means that a little yeast is left in the bottle after bottling, which will mature slowly over time like a fine wine or whisky - well beyond the best before date that we are obliged to state. Here at Fuller's, we recently opened (in the interests of research, of course) a few bottles of old Vintages: they tasted better than ever so stock up now and you'll be glad you did in years to come!

Most recently, 1845 has won a Silver medal at the 2003 CAMRA Great British Beer Festival, in the bottle-conditioned beer category.

1845 was described by Roger Protz as 'a rich beer with a fruit cake aroma, spices and nutmeg from malt and hops resulting in a dry, fruity finish'. It is also bottle conditioned, which means it is live beer which continues to ferment in bottle, adding to the complex development of flavours.

PACKAGE: 500ML bottles, 12 per case

Brewed using a unique blend of malted barley and wheat for a delicious malty taste bursting with rich, biscuity flavours. Liberty hops are added for a distinctive zesty character and fruity bite, whilst Saaz hops add a gentle bitter taste for a clean, refreshing finish.

Discovery tastes great served chilled, and its light, refreshing character makes it a perfect accompaniment to many foods

PACKAGE: 500ML bottles, 12 per case

Or as Michael Jackson, beer writer and connoisseur, put it: 'the cognac of beers'.

Organic Honey Dew is a refreshing golden beer which is brewed entirely from English organic malt and hops and is laced with the finest organic honey, which lends the beer not only a wonderfully aromatic nose, but also outstanding smoothness. The natural sweetness, however, is perfectly counterpoised by the Target hops, which provide a zesty finish to the flavour.

PACKAGE: 500ML bottles, 12 per case

Fuller's London Porter captures the flavours of those brews perfectly, although you won't find a cloudy pint these days! Smooth, rich, and strong (5.4% a.b.v.), our London Porter is brewed from a blend of brown, crystal and chocolate malts for a creamy delivery balanced by traditional Fuggles hops

PACKAGE: 500ML bottles, 12 per case

London Pride is a smooth and astonishingly complex beer, which has a distinctive malty base complemented by a rich balance of well developed hop flavours from the target, challenger and northdown varieties in the brew. London Pride is an ideal session-strength premium ale.

Its flavour has been likened by Stephen Cox, beer writer and former campaigns director at CAMRA, to 'the sensation of angels dancing on the tongue...'!

PACKAGE: 500ML bottles, 12 per case

First brewed in 1971, ESB is unrivalled in terms of its flavour and balance. It is brewed from Pale Ale and Crystal malts, and from Target, Challenger, Northdown and Goldings hops. But don't ask us for the actual recipe - that's a closely guarded secret.

Andrew Jefford, the respected UK drinks critic, sums up ESB's flavour thus: ''an ample, grainy-nutty aroma and a broad, authoritative flavour, with lashings of dry marmalade-like bitters'', whilst 'Beer Supremo' Roger Protz describes ''an enormous attack of rich malt, tangy fruit and spicy hops in the mouth, with a profound Goldings peppery note in the long finish and hints of orange, lemon and gooseberry fruit''.

PACKAGE: 500ML bottles, 12 per case