March Cellar Reviews

Victory Old Horizontal 2010 - murky in appearance, no head. Nose hints at a bit of oxidization. Taste is solid with notes of caramel and syrupy malt. Pleasantly surprised how this one held up, though obviously past its prime at this point.

Victory Golden Monkey 2010 - cloudy in appearance even with a steady pour. Tons of sediment in the bottle. No hints of being oxidized but the aroma is a muck of off-putting yeast and bready notes. Taste is pretty bad. It just tastes like dead yeast and old rotting bananas. Really awful. Drain-poured.

Both store underground in a cellar with a year-round ambient temperature between 13-15C.

 

I guess that's why Victory dates it at 3 years

 

Yep, makes sense now and a good call on their part Old Horizontal though appears it can hang on past Victory's recommended Best By date.

 

Old Horizontal is 5 years like Storm King, right?

 

2013 HotD Otto

This is drinking very nice right now. Flavors are rich yet subtle and very well integrated. Bourbon and sherry notes with hints of cherry pie, brown sugar, and dark fruits. Though the beer has a lot of flavors that are sweet, it does not come across as sweet, rather a richness of flavors. Nice leather, tobacco, and vanilla component as well. Mouthfeel is awesome right now, I would say that it has definitely improved from what it was when fresh. Not boozey at all and it is very substantial. Low carbonation that compliments the flavor profile nicely. This beer has got another 3- 5 years it can be aged under proper cellar conditions, lots of life and flavor left in this beer with not many signs of heading downhill anytime soon.

 

Hmm, it very well could have been an 2009 bottle I purchased in 2010 then. The enjoy by date was sometime in 2014.

 

Yeah, looks like it:
http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/victory-old-horizontal-best-by-date.85346/

 

06 North Coast Old Stock Ale

Mild carbonation, pours fairly hazy. Tons of raisin and brandied fruit, sherry notes in the nose. Lots of burnt sugar, sherry and leather on the palate. Crazy smooth on the finish. This was the first beer I ever cellared (not this particular bottle, it was given to me by a friend, but this vintage), and I firmly believe that it is the most cellar-worthy beer made in the US.

 

i certainly agree with you - had an 07 the other night and absolutely no sing of oxidation and it was a extremely enjoyable