Blending modern hop varieties from the Old World and the New World, Fuller’s Vintage Ale 2026 has been released, coming in at 8.4% ABV.
It is crafted using UK-grown hop Jester, which gives citrus and stonefruit notes, and US Dolcita, which delivers peach, berry, and orange flavours. This, combined with a malt bill that has extra dark crystal for raisin and fruitcake notes and Caragold for caramel sweetness, complements the zesty flavours from the Fuller’s yeast.
As with previous Vintage Ales, it is bottled conditioned, containing a small amount of live yeast that will mature the ale over time. It is available in nine-gallon firkins and will be distributed in a number of Fuller, Smith & Turner outlets. It also comes in 500ml bottles on the Griffin Brewery shop and will be in Waitrose this month.
“For the past six years of Vintage Ales, we have primarily looked at English hops or those in UK breeding programmes,” said Guy Stewart, brewing manager at Fuller’s parent Asahi UK. “However, this year we were struck by Dolcita, a new hop from the US, with its promise of peach, caramel, and orange notes.
“We paired it with Jester — an English hop and the sister of Olicana, which was used in the 2021 Vintage — to really bring out stonefruit and citrus notes in the finished beer. We think this has worked extremely well.
“Vintage Ale 2026 has a lovely stonefruit aroma with a hint of vanilla citrus. This aroma complements the raisin, fruitcake, and burnt sugar notes coming from the malt bill to give a classic Vintage Ale experience.”
