GL Blackout Stout (4 year vertical)

As a BA Blackout devotee, I can tell you that I try not to even touch the beer for a year. I always fail, but, hey.

2008 BA Blackout stands out as a mind-changing moment in my beer career, & one of only a handful of perfect beers I've ever had. It was about two years old at that point. I have one '09 bomber left that I'll be putting down, soon - at six years it'll be the oldest by a year that I've had to date.

Perhaps a veteran local can chime in, but I believe Great Lakes has used different barrels over the years, though even when the beer was coming out there were different stories on the barrels depending on who at the brewery people were asking. That may account for some of the difference.

 

I cannot speak to 2008 or 2009, but I know every year since then has used Buffalo Trace barrels. The regular Blackout ages like a champ as well.

 

http://www.beeradvocate.com/communi...sland-bourbon-county-brand-barleywine.166628/

There have been a lot of varying stories about barrels. Who knows. I just know I love it!

 

Interesting, thanks for posting that. My buddy asks them every year what barrels and all he ever got back was buffalo trace, but the guy posting that was really specific, so who knows.

Has anyone drank a 2009 or 2010 recently? If so, how are they holding up? I was thinking of trying to trade for them but I have been gun shy.

 

I recently put my last bomber of '09 in the fridge. I'll report back when I decide the time is right in the next couple of weeks. FWIW we had two bombers of the '09 at a tasting last year & one of them was a foul drain-pour. He'd traded for it & didn't know how it had been stored, while I'd had mine since the release. Mine was still really good, but there was a twinge of...something. Will be interesting.

 

Ok, no 09 then. Thanks for the heads up.