Once you’ve taken up this hobby of beer cellaring, it won’t be long before you hear about Thomas Hardy’s Ale. It’s an almost legendary brew famous for its aging prowess. It’s been said that this ale takes close to a decade to fully mature in flavor, and bottles as old as 25 years have been still deliciously drinkable.

This beer has had a very interesting history. The original brewery, Eldridge Pope & Co., had roots that dated back to the 1830’s. They introduced the first Thomas Hardy’s Ale in 1968, and eventually renamed their brewery the Thomas Hardy Brewery after their most famous product. In a move that crushed fans of this historic ale, the brewery was sold in 1999 and production of the beer ceased.

Fortunately, Thomas Hardy’s Ale was revived in 2003, and is now brewed by the O’Hanlon’s Brewing Co., not far from the site of the original Thomas Hardy brewery. It can now be found in fine beverage stores worldwide.

Unfortunately, all is not rosy in the present world of Thomas Hardy’s Ale. There is some opinion in the craft beer world that the current vintages of Thomas Hardy’s Ale are not quite up to the level of the ones produced by the original brewery. The old cliche “Time will tell” is very apt when thinking about the new vintage, because we won’t really know the quality of this beer until a decade or so has passed.

My opinion is to pick some up and try it for yourself, that’s what I’m doing! Look me up in 10 years and let me know how it was, will ya?

Jason

jason@brewbasement.com