Old Ale - Variations

Variations

Some brewers will make a strong old ale for bottling. Some of these can mature for several years after bottling, and may or may not be bottle-conditioned.

The "October" Keeping Ales are thought to have formed the basis for India Pale Ales shipped by the British East India Company.

Another historic version was so-called "Majority Ale," a strong ale brewed on or around the birth of a child, and intended to be drunk on the child's twenty-first birthday.

Some old ales blended older vintages with fresh beer in vats, on the solera system. The only surviving representative is Greene King 5X. Sour old ales fermented with the brettanomyces yeast were popular in 19th century Britain. The style is now associated more with Belgian brewing, for instance Oud bruin and Rodenbach Grand Cru, although there is one surviving British example, Gales Prize Old Ale.

A number of breweries, particularly in Sussex, produce a weaker style of old ale with some resemblance to a mild ale Examples include King and Barnes (later W.J King) (4.5% ABV) and Harveys' (4.3% ABV) These are typically consumed on draught dispense.

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