Beer Me! — Eldridge, Pope and Co. — Dorchester, Dorset, United Kingdom

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Eldridge, Pope and Co.

Thomas Hardy Brewery

Dorchester, Dorset, United Kingdom

(Closed)

Weymouth Avenue
Dorchester DT1 1QT
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Notes

Updated: October 19, 2008

Opened: 1837

Annual Production: 100,000 bbl

Dan Thomasson's Malt Advocate article tells the details of Producing Thomas Hardy's Ale. Unfortunately, it looks like the 1999 batch was the final brew, as Eldridge, Pope and Co. decided in 2000 to get out of the brewing business and concentrate on its pubs and hotels. Fortunately, in 2003 the Thomas Hardy recipe, trademark, and even the yeast were purchased by George Saxon of Phoenix Imports Ltd. Saxon plans to contract with O'Hanlon's Brewery in Devon to reproduce the beer. Look for it in August 2003.

Beer List

Royal Oak Pale Ale

English-Style (Extra Special) Strong Bitter
- Date: August 11, 1997 (#2132)
  
  Package: bottled
  
  Place: The Liquor Collection, Honolulu HI
  
  Score: 12 points
  
  Overall Impression
  Amber-brown, low carbonation, low head. Diacetyl aroma and some spicy hops. A bit like Samuel Smith's odor. Sweet, lots of diacetyl, some bitterness, some fusels. Sticky finish.

Thomas Hardy's Ale 1986

Old Ale

Thomas Hardy's Ale 1993

Old Ale

Date: December 1, 2001 (#4005)

Package: bottled

Place: Green Bay Rackers, Green Bay WI

Score: 20 points

Overall Impression
Brown-red, low head. HUGELY malty, woody, toasty aroma. Thick, massively malty, creamy body. Probably the smoothest beer I've ever tasted. This 1993 batch just keeps getting better. Thanks to the Green Bay Rackers' Bert Zelten for the taste!
Date: December 2, 2000 (#3745)

Package: bottled

Place: Green Bay Rackers, Green Bay WI

Score: 16 points

Overall Impression
Red-brown, still. Toasty, not as intense as the 1994. Medium-big body, slightly lighter than 1994. VERY warming. Quite a bit sweeter than 1994. Thanks to the Green Bay Rackers' Bert Zelten for this seven-year-old sample!
Date: December 4, 1999 (#3362)

Package: bottled

Place: Green Bay Rackers, Green Bay WI

Score: 20 points

Overall Impression
Lighter amber than 1994, dead still. Raisiny, alcoholic aromas. Thick, even smoother than 1994. Not as complex, but an even nicer drink. Magnificently excellent. Thanks to Bert Zelten for the taste!

Thomas Hardy's Ale 1994

Old Ale

Date: December 1, 2001 (#4006)

Package: bottled

Place: Green Bay Rackers, Green Bay WI

Score: 16 points

Overall Impression
Bright deep red, low head. Big spicy woody aroma. Big body, really quite sweet. Hugely malty, but not nearly as complex as the 1993 was this year. Thanks to the Green Bay Rackers' Bert Zelten for the taste!
Date: December 2, 2000 (#3744)

Package: bottled

Place: Green Bay Rackers, Green Bay WI

Score: 20 points

Overall Impression
Red-brown, still. Woody, toasty, plum aroma. Medium-big body, outstanding toasty woody malt flavor, extremely smooth. Thanks to the Green Bay Rackers' Bert Zelten for this six-year-old sample!
Date: December 4, 1999 (#3361)

Package: bottled

Place: Green Bay Rackers, Green Bay WI

Score: 20 points

Overall Impression
Deep amber, still. Wood, smoke, raisin aromas, to name a few. Thick, intense malt flavor, complex flavors like the aroma, only more so. Best Thomas Hardy's I can ever remember tasting. Thanks to Bert Zelten for the taste!
Date: August 14, 1997 (#2140)

Package: bottled

Place: The Liquor Collection, Honolulu HI

Score: 20 points

Overall Impression
Note: We randomized the 1994, 1995, and 1996 Thomas Hardy's before tasting, and didn't disclose the order until later.
Red-brown opaque, almost no carbonation and head. (I disturbed the yeast while covering up the label.) Smells smoky, sweet, alcoholic, raisiny. Flat, thick, sweet, but not sticky. Obscenely complex. Great malt flavor backs up raisins, grapes, walnuts, alcohol, caramel...it's liquid candy.

Date: May 18, 2005 (#5707)

Package: bottled

Place: The Liquor Collection, Honolulu HI

Score: 20 points

Appearance (3)
Deep red opaque. No head. This bottle spent yesterday on its side, so there was lots of yeast in it yet.

Aroma (4)
Hugely malty, caramelly. Hints of roast behind lots of dark fruit, oak, leather, vanilla, and alcohol.

Mouthfeel (10)
Big smooth body. No carbonation. Big rich malt character, with some coconut. All the aromas are flavors too, and then some.

Overall Impression (3)
This ten-year-old beer held up magnificently, especially considering its travels: Molokai to the Big Island to Molokai to Nebraska to two different places in Green Bay to Oshkosh to Deer Park, Wisconsin. Paris and I enjoyed it today in celebration of our 10th anniversary!

Date: June 22, 2002 (#4358)

Package: bottled

Place: from the brewery

Score: 19 points

Overall Impression
Bright red, moderate bubbly head. Intensely malty, oaky, leathery aroma. Big body, fantastically malty and complex. Raisins and wood and chocolate and brown sugar and alcohol. Thanks to Steve Olson for the sample!

Date: April 1, 1998 (#2607)

Package: bottled

Place: Siebel Institute of Technology, Chicago IL

Score: 19 points

Overall Impression
Dead flat, amber brown. Alcohol, walnut, raisin aromas. Thick, sweet, hi-test. Absurdly complex, including wood from the barrel.

Date: August 14, 1997 (#2141)

Package: bottled

Place: The Liquor Collection, Honolulu HI

Score: 16 points

Overall Impression
Amber-brown, hint of a head, not quite clear. Aroma is much less pronounced than 26-2140, but still lots of alcohol and some woody notes. Is this the youngest bottle? (No.) Not as complex as 26-2140, alcohol a bit harsher. Some hop flavor in this one. Small carbonation tingle. Dark dark caramel finish, and very drying at the end, with a resinous bitterness.

Date: August 14, 1997 (#2142)

Package: bottled

Place: The Liquor Collection, Honolulu HI

Score: 17 points

Overall Impression
Amber-brown, low carbonation and head, pretty clear. Citrusy, alcoholic aroma. Smooth, fruity, sweet. A little nutty, quite strong, lots of caramel and alcohol.

Date: April 18, 2008 (#6962)

Package: bottled

Place: The Liquor Collection, Honolulu HI

Score: 20 points

Appearance (3)
Bright. Red. Moderate head.

Aroma (4)
Ripe fruit. Toffee. Alcohol. Huge candy sweetness.

Mouthfeel (10)
Medium-big body. Fiercely malty with lots of caramel and toffee and vanilla. Phenomenally subtle, with a creamy graham-cracker maltiness and a warming alcohol character.

Overall Impression (3)
I wish I had more of this, but it's my last, oldest bottle.

Date: June 28, 2003 (#4923)

Package: bottled

Place: Flanagan's Stop and Shop, Appleton WI

Score: 19 points

Overall Impression
Bright red-amber. Moderate head with big bubbles. Very very mild caramel aroma, with toasty malt. Medium-big body. Big caramel malt, mild herbal hop balance. Mild alcoholic warming character that wasn't apparent in the 1999.

Date: May 18, 2000 (#3441)

Package: bottled

Place: Flanagan's Stop and Shop, Appleton WI

Score: 16½ points

Overall Impression
Brown amber, still. Malty, alcoholic aroma. Thick, flash of bitterness before a huge malty blast. Caramelly, raisiny, alcoholic finish.

Date: June 28, 2003 (#4922)

Package: bottled

Place: Flanagan's Stop and Shop, Appleton WI

Score: 19 points

Overall Impression
Bright red-amber. Moderate head. Huge caramel, toasty aroma with some herbal hops. Big smooth body. Huge caramel malt all the way through. Wonderful intense caramel malt from start to finish. What an improvement three years in the bottle can make!

Date: May 30, 2000 (#3456)

Package: bottled

Place: Flanagan's Stop and Shop, Appleton WI

Score: 14 points

Overall Impression
Red-brown, still, no head, slight haze. Sweet caramel aroma. Thick, fairly bitter, very sweet. Big caramel malt flavor. Finishes with a faint hint of the complexity to come, but it's very rough around the edges now.