Bell's Expedition Stout (2013)

Not as good as last years

 

Just had a bottle of 2011 Expedition Stout the other night - INCREDIBLE. This is a great imperial stout to begin with, love the 6pk, reasonably priced, and as Kzoo pointed out, really starts coming into it's own @ 2yrs+.

 

I don't think there was a 'last year's.' The General Store has been selling 2011 vintage, so this begs the question: Do I have to buy this fresh stuff?

 

Why in the world would anyone care if it could stand up for 20 years? I like letting beer age a little for flavor balance, but really??? 20 years????

 

I have a few bottles cellaring right now, one is from 2011 and the other from 2012. I think '11 is sept and '12 is April? Definitely have a vintage more recent than 09/11 though.

 

More or less Pt5 falls off fast.

 

Looking forward to Expedition...aged... In the meantime..

This shall suffice.

 

This year is crap...

In all seriousness though, pt5? I was just digging through my cellar for some far superior Narwhal, saw the pt5 sittin there and it reminded me how disappointing it was when I was finally able to try it this year. Its good and all, nothing to write home about.

Expedition with 2+ years on it, I almost cried. Out of this world.

 

Because when you get a 20 year old bottle you get to spend 2 hours in Larry Bell's office drinking it with him on Eccentric Day. #notahumblebrag

 

This beer is very good. Very representative of the style. When I tried it, I was very impressed.

 

And the beer is damn good. Almost as good as the 20 year old Third Coast Old Ale.

 

Looking forward to it. One of my favorite stouts. And one of my wife's all-time favorite beers--and she "doesn't really like beer".

 

Seconded. All good, but I personally rank them: Pt5, Expo, FIS. That said, the fact that they're all w/in a 40 minute drive from my house means that there are no losers here.

 

Why are there so many damn good stouts on the market? Honestly, Expi, FIS, Plead the 5th, nobody mentions Narwhal?, Darkness, those are in my market, but also Ten Fidy, MZ. Just huge quality.

I'd love to see a blind taste test on all of these just to see who could get them right. I know beergenome did one with Expi, FIS, and Narwhal last year I believe.

 

You hit the nail on the head! I think Narwhal is an exceptional stout that gets overlooked on a constant basis, as well as Ten Fidy.

 

Er... because Raspy is cheaper than both of them and arguably better? Because FIS and Stone RIS are more accessible and at least comparable quality? Because most stores in the area don't stock them? Because you have a psychological aversion to stout in cans?

Need more reasons?

 

Maybe you should not come off as a jerk...I was simply stating that Narwhal should get a mention in this too, as it is a damn good beer IMO. Average price of Raspy is $10-11 usually, & Narwhal was the same if I'm not mistaken...and with 1703 reviews@92 that's nothing to scoff at with only a year under it's belt. Founders FIS is nowhere near more accessible than Narwhal either....Comparable quality yes, so you are correct on that.

Ten Fidy is more expensive than all of those other brews, yes.

I was also simply stating that I love being in a market that has so many exceptional stouts available, and maybe my emotions didn't come off that way. I should have put sarcasm at the end, and then followed up with the lack of Narwhal being mentioned.

I also am not following your mention of a "psychological aversion to stout in cans?" or was that to the other guy? Hard to follow when you put both of our posts together.

 

I'll plead guilty to Jerk any day of the week, with tongue firmly planted in cheek, but this too was sarcasm... perhaps more biting. Note that Raspy was not mentioned above either in all the comparisons. I had both last week and it's no contest. And with that many reviews and a 92 rating, why are people still complaining that Narwhal gets no respect? It's not going to make anyone's top-5 list, but, aside from that, that's plenty of respect.

*Ten Fidy

 

Narwhal just keeps getting better, age is doing good things to that beer. Fresh it is pretty good, but that 2012 is on point right now.

 

Goddam do I love FIS. This beats some highly acclaimed BBA Stouts.