Guinness 1998

This Guinness was brewed in 1997 in London from malt sent over from Dublin - rather like a homebrew kit. The London brewery, Park Royal, was in operation from 1936 to 2005.

There is modest carbonation, some wet cardboard, and a thinner mouthfeel than a fresh Guinness, which marks this out as a vintage beer. The taste hasn't improved - it has slightly diminished. There's still the roast flavours you expect, but none of the lactic bite or red wine notes. It's quite drinkable, but lacks interest.

I acquired someone's collection of Guinness bottled by various breweries. I think this is the last one - though I may still have a few under the bed upstairs. This was bottled by Scottish & Newcastle - though it doesn't say which plant. And I can't see any date. It's quite dry - quite astringent. Smells of mushrooms and smokey bacon. It's OK.

August 2010

Binding Export 1991

A fairly standard pale lager.Vintage 1991 from the German brewery Binding, which is now part of the Oetker group. It is soft, bland and easy drinking. The colour is orange amber, which may be due to the age. As the Germans prefer softly hopped lagers, there is little stale hop notes, but some bitter wet cardboard can be tasted as there is nothing to conceal it.

Paine & Co Young Rowley 29th July 1981 (The Marraige of the Prince of Wales and lady Diana Spencer)

Very little condition, but gloriously rich and oily. Nice toffee sweetness, but just a little too much powdery tobacco bitterness for my taste. Sometimes it's like drinking liquid toffee laced with snuff. Robust and hearty and very satisfying.

Paine & Co 150th Anniversary Special Beer (1981)

James Paine Final Brew (1987)

Another blog

James Paine Final Brew (1987)

Chocolate, dark fruits, banana, honey.

Matthew Brown Centenary Ale 1875-1975

A sturdy dark ale. Very little carbonation, but plenty of body and character. Deep malty flavour packed with sweetness and tobacco and assorted fruits - ripe bananas, prunes, figs, and chocolate. Really well rounded. Very robust. A true beauty.

It is for beers like this that I buy vintage ales. I did allow a little sediment into the beer as I was pouring, which has taken the edge slightly off the flavour (a sludgy stale bitterness now and again), but not by much. If I see this again, I will certainly buy it. Thirty nine years old and damn lovely.


The Matthew Brown brewery was founded in 1830 at Pole Street, Preston, Lancashire.

Matthew brown's original brewery in Preston

It moved to the Lion Brewery in Blackburn in 1927 after it bought Nuttall's brewery. The Lion Brewery had been built in 1875, and it is the brewery itself that is being commemorated by this centenary beer

Brown's Lion Brewery, founded in 1875.

Lees Centenary Ale July 6th 1986 Middleton Borough

Centenary Ales seemed to be a favourite of J.W. Lees. This is a smooth, rounded ale with good toffee notes. Clean and tasty with good flavours.

New Zealand Steinlager

New Zealand lager from 1991 when it was the "official beer" for the 1991 Rugby World Cup. Ripe melon and mango aroma with an initial whiff of cardboard, which soon goes. Pleasant fruitiness in this otherwise undistinguished lager. I've not been impressed with this when drunk fresh, but with a bit of age, a bit more character emerges.

The beer was first brewed in 1957 following a challenge by the then New Zealand prime minister for local breweries to make a global lager. Not much of a challenge, huh?