-
Stop lurking! Log in to search, post in our forums, review beers, see fewer ads, and more. — Todd, Founder of BeerAdvocate
Old Stock Cellar Reserve (Aged In Wheat Whiskey Barrels)
North Coast Brewing Co.
- From:
- North Coast Brewing Co.
- California, United States
- Style:
- Old Ale
- ABV:
- 14.44%
- Score:
- 96
- Avg:
- 4.35 | pDev: 5.98%
- Reviews:
- 34
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Retired
- Rated:
- Feb 05, 2024
- Added:
- Jul 27, 2015
- Wants:
- 6
- Gots:
- 9
Old Stock Cellar Reserve is a small batch, limited release that has been aged in wheat whiskey barres. The aging process gives this world-class beer an added layer of complexity. A memorable drink that should be enjoyed as a completely unique offering.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by StraightNoChaser:
Reviewed by StraightNoChaser from Georgia
4.71/5 rDev +8.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
4.71/5 rDev +8.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
appearance: Dark, mostly clear garnet-Ruby with a frothy cream head on the pour that dissipates to almost zero. No lacing.
smell: Caramel and vanilla, whiskey and oak decadence, a tad richer than even the Rye version.
taste: Just as great as the nose advertises. Caramel bourbon decadence. A little sweeter and richer than the Rye.
Expensive and worth every penny.
May 08, 2016smell: Caramel and vanilla, whiskey and oak decadence, a tad richer than even the Rye version.
taste: Just as great as the nose advertises. Caramel bourbon decadence. A little sweeter and richer than the Rye.
Expensive and worth every penny.
More User Ratings:
Reviewed by ZebulonXZogg from Illinois
3.73/5 rDev -14.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
3.73/5 rDev -14.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Pours a clear reddish brown, no head at all. Boogar factory says dark fruit, vanilla, oak and a hint of whiskey, taste buds say hell yeah and there's some toffee in there also. Smooth, creamy texture. I've always enjoyed the base beer and one this is showing it's age, but I am enjoying it.
Feb 05, 2024Reviewed by puck1225 from Texas
4.24/5 rDev -2.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.24/5 rDev -2.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Drank this beer while watching Fist Full of Dollars for the first time!
Poured from a recently purchased bottle into a small snifter. Ruby brown color with a nice beige effervescent initial head with minimal lacing. Pleasant smell of caramel, toffee and oak. The taste includes these as well as dark raisins, dates and figs. Nicely sweet and warming. Very enjoyable beer for a lazy evening.
Jul 30, 2022Poured from a recently purchased bottle into a small snifter. Ruby brown color with a nice beige effervescent initial head with minimal lacing. Pleasant smell of caramel, toffee and oak. The taste includes these as well as dark raisins, dates and figs. Nicely sweet and warming. Very enjoyable beer for a lazy evening.
Reviewed by NeutroMan from Illinois
4.35/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
4.35/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
500mL corked and caged bottle poured into a snifter. Pours a deep ruby-mahogany color with no head to speak of. Very rich and complex malt aroma. Toffee, vanilla, maple, raisins, bourbon. Taste mostly follows, although it lands a little flat. Don't know if it's just the age or something else but it seems to disguise the nearly 15% ABV well. Medium-full bodied and chewy. Nicely layered and rich.
Feb 20, 2022Reviewed by brewskis from Indiana
4.52/5 rDev +3.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
4.52/5 rDev +3.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
2014 vintage reviewed in 2022.
Pours a deep, rich mahogany color with a finger of light khaki head that went away quickly.
Wonderful aroma. Caramel, toffee, burnt brown sugar, brown bread, raisin, date, slight nuttiness, slight maple, bourbon, light oak, some sherry from the oxidation. Happy that the barrel is still coming through nicely.
Taste brings waves of caramel, Sugar Daddy candy, raisin bread, some maple, some crème brulee, toffee, slight nuttiness, date, slight fig, some star anise, vanillin, bourbon, oak tannin. Like the aroma, oxidation presents some sherry notes, but it isn't off-putting at all and adds another layer to an already complex beer. Warming as it goes down. The oak tannin and bourbon spirit heat on the finish dry out the beer nicely.
Medium body. Light carbonation, slick, oily, sticky. Could use a bit more body and carb, but I'm sure it's age has a lot to do with that. Age has done this well though in terms of drinkability, quite smooth for 14.5%.
I had pretty high expectations for this beer because I love Old Stock Ale, but I also had reservations due to it's age. This exceeded everything. Extremely complex. The age has, from what I'm guessing, smoothed this one out quite a bit, but it also still retains a good amount of the wheated bourbon barrel character.
Feb 06, 2022Pours a deep, rich mahogany color with a finger of light khaki head that went away quickly.
Wonderful aroma. Caramel, toffee, burnt brown sugar, brown bread, raisin, date, slight nuttiness, slight maple, bourbon, light oak, some sherry from the oxidation. Happy that the barrel is still coming through nicely.
Taste brings waves of caramel, Sugar Daddy candy, raisin bread, some maple, some crème brulee, toffee, slight nuttiness, date, slight fig, some star anise, vanillin, bourbon, oak tannin. Like the aroma, oxidation presents some sherry notes, but it isn't off-putting at all and adds another layer to an already complex beer. Warming as it goes down. The oak tannin and bourbon spirit heat on the finish dry out the beer nicely.
Medium body. Light carbonation, slick, oily, sticky. Could use a bit more body and carb, but I'm sure it's age has a lot to do with that. Age has done this well though in terms of drinkability, quite smooth for 14.5%.
I had pretty high expectations for this beer because I love Old Stock Ale, but I also had reservations due to it's age. This exceeded everything. Extremely complex. The age has, from what I'm guessing, smoothed this one out quite a bit, but it also still retains a good amount of the wheated bourbon barrel character.
Rated by hopley from Massachusetts
4.46/5 rDev +2.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
4.46/5 rDev +2.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
2014 bottle, drank on 06.10.21 out of a tulip - spectacular. Beautiful aging, nice wheat whiskey bite, just a great beer.
Jun 11, 2021Rated by Hopheadjeffery from Illinois
4.33/5 rDev -0.5%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.25
4.33/5 rDev -0.5%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.25
Tasted in a Rastal Teku glass from a 500 mL bottle on February 11, 2021.
Apr 23, 2021Reviewed by Parmesan from Colorado
3.75/5 rDev -13.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
3.75/5 rDev -13.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
L:. Pours a dark brown Amber with hints of purple with no head or lacing.
S:. Lots of notes of whiskey, notes of caramel and toffee, boozy with lots of oak and vanilla, this smells like a boozy treat.
T:. Lots of booze, notes of caramel, strong oak and vanilla, the whiskey is very strong in this one. I like the aroma better than the taste.
F:. Higher carbonation, bigger body.
O:. Solid beer, but this is a boozy beast, we aged this one for 6 years and still got a lot of booze.
Sep 07, 2020S:. Lots of notes of whiskey, notes of caramel and toffee, boozy with lots of oak and vanilla, this smells like a boozy treat.
T:. Lots of booze, notes of caramel, strong oak and vanilla, the whiskey is very strong in this one. I like the aroma better than the taste.
F:. Higher carbonation, bigger body.
O:. Solid beer, but this is a boozy beast, we aged this one for 6 years and still got a lot of booze.
Reviewed by CraigDeMoss from Kansas
4.38/5 rDev +0.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
4.38/5 rDev +0.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
2015 bottle
Cork has a tobacco, whiskey and oak booziness. Pours a caramel, turbid deep amber. Little fizzy head. Upfront nose of grainy whiskey, leather and tobacco. Mellow malt and sweet molasses on the low rounded it out. Full, dark malt foundation supports a serious whiskey heat and dark fruits. Very intense, some boozy bite, warming, somewhat smooth, medium-full body and a slight drying. Mostly tobacco-laced stickiness. Well worth a try, nice to sit and sip with during some r&r.
Jul 31, 2020Cork has a tobacco, whiskey and oak booziness. Pours a caramel, turbid deep amber. Little fizzy head. Upfront nose of grainy whiskey, leather and tobacco. Mellow malt and sweet molasses on the low rounded it out. Full, dark malt foundation supports a serious whiskey heat and dark fruits. Very intense, some boozy bite, warming, somewhat smooth, medium-full body and a slight drying. Mostly tobacco-laced stickiness. Well worth a try, nice to sit and sip with during some r&r.
Reviewed by titty_mcbitty from Tennessee
4.11/5 rDev -5.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
4.11/5 rDev -5.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
2014, wow! Can't wait.
This beer pours dark soft brown with essentially no head - just a thin khaki-colored film of carbonation and bubbles.
The smell consists of whiskey and raisins mostly. Brown sugar and vanilla appear too.
The flavor is a little syrupy and medicinal, but not overly so. The prominent flavors are raisin bread, cherry, rye, whiskey, and caramel. Burnt sugar, vanilla, and orange peel appear. There's an old fashioned flavor throughout.
The consistency is a little syrupy but has a light carb. The finish is more whiskey and raisin bread.
Overall, I expected good things, and this just about meets those expectations. It's not a phenomenal beer, but it's a very good beer. I suspect that the age took away some of the mouth-feel characteristics, but the flavors really shine here. It follows a classic English old ale profile, but with the added extra of wheat whiskey.
Apr 24, 2020This beer pours dark soft brown with essentially no head - just a thin khaki-colored film of carbonation and bubbles.
The smell consists of whiskey and raisins mostly. Brown sugar and vanilla appear too.
The flavor is a little syrupy and medicinal, but not overly so. The prominent flavors are raisin bread, cherry, rye, whiskey, and caramel. Burnt sugar, vanilla, and orange peel appear. There's an old fashioned flavor throughout.
The consistency is a little syrupy but has a light carb. The finish is more whiskey and raisin bread.
Overall, I expected good things, and this just about meets those expectations. It's not a phenomenal beer, but it's a very good beer. I suspect that the age took away some of the mouth-feel characteristics, but the flavors really shine here. It follows a classic English old ale profile, but with the added extra of wheat whiskey.
Reviewed by Apellonious from North Carolina
4.35/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.35/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
2015 version poured into a tulip glass. A dark brown with ruby highlights, with no head or lace. Aroma is dark fruit, fig, whiskey, mild chocolate and vanilla. The taste is glorious ( cue Will Farrell voice) , in line with the nose but with amped up sweetness and a touch of heat. Barrel and vanilla fig forward. Carbonation low, the feel is medium heavy. An excellent slow sipper. May want to share.
Nov 03, 2019Reviewed by Thomas_Wikman from Texas
4.21/5 rDev -3.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.21/5 rDev -3.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
This is an Old English Ale Aged in Wheat Whiskey Barrels for two years, ABV 14.50%. It is tasty, it has a relatively
light body, but it is strong stuff so watch out.
Look: dark brown with a finger thick mocca colored head
Aroma: dark bread and whiskey.
Taste: The flavor is raisin bread, caramel, and lots of whiskey. It is a great sipping beer, not for chugging.
Body/Overall: medium body, relatively easy drinking
Oct 20, 2019light body, but it is strong stuff so watch out.
Look: dark brown with a finger thick mocca colored head
Aroma: dark bread and whiskey.
Taste: The flavor is raisin bread, caramel, and lots of whiskey. It is a great sipping beer, not for chugging.
Body/Overall: medium body, relatively easy drinking
Old Stock Cellar Reserve (Aged In Wheat Whiskey Barrels) from North Coast Brewing Co.
Beer rating:
96 out of
100 with
107 ratings
We love reviews (150 characters or more)! Check out: How to Review a Beer. You don't need to get fancy. Drop some thoughts on the beer's attributes (look, smell, taste, feel) plus your overall impression. Something that backs up your rating and helps others. Thanks!