February 2014 Cellar Reviews

2011 DFH Miles Davis Bitches Brew is just starting to show signs of oxidation in the finish.

2012 Black Tuesday is fantastic.

The flavors in Revolution Deth's Tar have really come together nicely. I thought this beer was a hot, thin whiskey bomb fresh, but even half a year has pulled it together very nicely.

 

Shared a 3 year vertical of Central Waters Bourbon Barrel Stout with a few friends tonight!

Bourbon barrel stout vintages that I opened were: 2011, 2012, and 2013. We started with the fresh bottle of 2013 and then tried the older vintages in decending order.

2013- Hot and boozey chocolatey bourbon bomb.

2012- still fairly hot a boozey, but can definately tell it has mellowed out some. Lots of vanilla, slightly tannic and charred oak, and lots of milk chocolate notes. This ones getting close, but its still pretty good right now. Second best of the night.

2011-Fantastic right now! This was the winner! I honestly thought this would be past its prime, but its seriously a delicous treat right now. Mellow bourbon, lots of chocolates and vanilla, mild roastiness, and the oak barrel is no longer tannic it has a nice deep and complex flavor now!

Overall, I didnt expect these Bourbon Barrel Stouts to age as well as they did. Nothing that was off puting about the beers they just mellow nicely and the flavors become more complex. The mouthfeel even got a little better as well with the older beers. Really nice surprise from Central Waters!

 

Did the same a few weeks back and had similar results. The 2011 definitely seemed a little thicker and was just about perfect. Will definitely let at least one of my remaining 2011s go another year to see how it stands up!

 

I just popped open a 2013 Central Waters Bourbon Barrel Barleywine last night, and boy, was I impressed. When I tried it fresh, I found the most intense flavors to be wood, bourbon and alcohol. Here's what I thought of it with a year on it:

The smell has much more going on than when it's fresh. There's wood, dates, molasses, grapes, vanilla, caramel and alcohol. Taste is just incredibly sweet, and it leaves a strong aftertaste of dark fruits and vanilla that will linger forever if I let it (and I'm considering doing that). I can only describe the mouthfeel on this one as how I would think melted butterscotch would go down.

This beer has been one of my most successful attempts at cellaring beer.

 

CCB Imperial Sweet Stout- this beer is over the hill. Heavy oxidation is taking over the entire beer. Sad to say that, but it was such a great beer fresh. Time in the bottle did not treat it so well.

 

Finished a 2010 Abyss. Still amazing. Just cracked a 2011...wow, this is hitting on all cylinders right now!

 

Had a 2010 a few weeks ago and thought the same. There's still a store by me that has some so I might go pick another up. I still have a 2009 I've been saving for a bottle share or the right moment with friends.

 

How was the 09'

 

I'll let you know later on, saving that guy. I do have some 2012 and 2013 in the cellar as well.

Abyss...I love this sh*t

 

Sad to hear. FWIW I opened a BA version last summer and it was spectacular. hopefully those are holding up better for the people who still have them.

 

When I joined BA a year ago I thought it would be fun to start a few verticals and see what happens. I recently tried two-year verts of Backwoods Bastard, Narwhal and Bigfoot and a three-year vert of Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout (thanks to a bottle donated by @Busker). I would love any feedback from BAs as to how my experiences compares with theirs.

Backwoods Bastard: The 2012 seemed to have a tiny bit of a cardboard flavor to it when compared with the 2013. Is this anything like what people taste when they taste oxidation? I had more bottles saved up for future years, but I put them all in the fridge so I could enjoy the beer before it slips (for my palate) even more.

Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout: Pretty much the same deal as the BB. I enjoyed freshest (13-14) best, then 12-13 a little less, and then 11-12 seemed to have flavors that reminded me of the cardboard, a staleness that I didn't like in the 2012 BB. I moved all bottles from the cellar into my fridge.

Narhwal: This was the one that worked okay. I didn't find any off flavors in the year-old, and it seemed to mature a bit. I'm hanging on to both years to try a three-year next year.

Bigfoot: This was clearly the winner. I'm still not so good with the descriptive words for this, but the year-old seems to have matured a bit. The the calf grown into a young bull. With the reputation this one gets, I'll be picking up a couple extra 4-packs to stash so I can see how far I can take it.

Still to come: BCBS and FIS

 

I don't like to age this beer at all for the same reasons. I don't think the flavors develop in the bottle, so I don't recommend aging this one. Plus, it is so gosh darn good fresh!

I have high hopes for this one. I didn't care for it too much fresh, so I'm hanging on to two of the bottles to see where the flavors may go. Keep posted on this forum for the next 2 years too see what I think.

One of my favorite beers to age! The bitterness really holds up well in this one after a year. Just wait until it has another year on it, that is, if you have the patience to let it sit for 2 years. It will show you what aging barleywines is all about.

With that said about Bigfoot, I think BCBS will beat out Bigfoot. It just gets so much better if you let it sit! I also think FIS will be a pleasant surprise for you as well. I wouldn't let FIS sit for more than a year though.

 

It was the Cognac imperial sweet stout that was opened up.

 

I had a 2009 BA BORIS that was heavily oxidized the other night. Not much stout left. 2012 KBS seems to be falling off pretty badly as well. Didn't get even a hint of coffee or barrel character in the bottle I had.

 

Yuzu by New Belgium. It tasted like a lemon drop. It lost some of it's sour luster, but it was pretty good.

 

2012 Sucaba. Just about 2 years old. Drinking excellent right now. Wasn't blown away having it a year ago but it seems like at 2 years it's really hitting a sweet spot for me.

 

Last night, I cracked open a year old Peruvian Morning. I wasn't sure about how this one would fair, so I only threw one in the cellar last year. This i what I thought about my experiment:

Pours black with a fizzy half finger head that dissipated instantly. I got aromas of milk chocolate, toffee, vanilla, and beats. The taste was very sweet and roasty, with the coffee making its first appearance, albeit a bit light. Coffee, as well as the toffee, made for a short but bold aftertaste. The carbonation level was a bit higher than expected, and the body was a bit lighter than expected.

Overall, while this was definitely good, I probably won't age this again. I liked it better fresh.

 

Had a 2008 Bigfoot last week. Here is the review:

12oz Bottle of 2008 Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine Style Ale, Opened on 2/9/14

**I opened this beer side by side with a 2014 edition to see how time in the cellar effects the beer**

A - The beer is still a caramel/brownish kind of color, but is much more cloudy and murky than the 2014. It also is a bit more brown than the 2014, which has more orange and red on the peripheries of the glass when held up to the light. Almost no head on the pour, but the bubbles are noticeably more orangey brown than the 2014 which has whiter bubbles.

S - The smell is incredibly different then the 2014. Tons of malt and caramel on the nose right away. Almost like a milk chocolate kind of smell. None of the hop aroma comes through and no strong alcohol flavor like the fresh version. This smells amazing.

T - A really hearty bread taste right away, like eating saltless tuscan bread. Also getting a flavor similar to blue cheese stuffed dates that combines very well with the bread taste. But after that there is still a bunch of the hop bitterness working through. Surprised how much of the hoppy bitterness is still on this beer after 6 years in the bottle. But i like hops so this isn't a bad thing.

M - A bit more syrupy than the fresh version which is expected, but still not as much as some english style barleywines. The over carbonation that i didn't care for as much on the fresh version is gone and there is the perfect amount for my liking so you can smell and taste everything in the beer.

O - I definitely prefer the aged version to the fresh version. Both are good in their own right, but I love the front end flavors on this beer so much more than the fresh one and i prefer the slightly less carbonation too. So much richer and more developed than the fresh version. Still think the beer would be good with more years on it, but it is delicious now if you have any and were wondering.

2008 Rating:
A: 4.25
S: 4.75
T: 4.75
M: 4.25
O: 4.5

 

Had a 2013 KBS last night. It had a very bad coffee ground taste but the chocolate and bourbon are still tasting good. I have 1 more saved to see what another year does....can't imagine anything good. Will drink my 14' bounty (when it comes out) within the first 6 months.