June 2015 Cellar Reviews

Man, I need to get a hold of some Thomas Hardy! I haven't seen it anywhere around me in upstate NY. I can get all of the other classics, JW Lees, Gale's, etc but no Hardy.

 

Another young'un but good'un: 2014 Dark Apparition. First time with this beer. Cellar temp into a Teku. Pours stout-ily: dark, thick, little head. Smell is roast, cherry Pepsi, something I can't quite place... root beer, maybe? Taste starts off almost in rauchbier territory at cellar temp, but reveals rum-soaked raisins, anise, chocolate, toffee, and root beer as it warms. Feel is pretty thick and generally great. Overall, quite a nice beer. Not sure whether the age did anything, or whether more age would, but it certainly didn't seem on the precipice of falling off a cliff.

 

After reading this I just put the last one of mine in the fridge. Looking forward to it!

 

Jackie O's BA Brick Kiln; Sept. 2014 (or at least that is when I estimate the bottling based on social media; 2014 was written on the bottle).

I was floored by the beer. Doesn't even come close to tasting like an 11.5% beer. Pours a rich caramel, little head. Tons of caramel, tons of toffee, raisins. So delicious and I'd imagine the base beer to be incredible. The star of the show, though, was the lack of heat in the bourbon. Just enough to accent the aforementioned flavors, not enough to be a distraction. Maybe I hit a sweet spot with the aging. Maybe the brewers just made a fantastic beer. Maybe both. Unreal.

If you have one of these, drink it. I'm from Massachusetts and traded for this one. I will be trading for it again. And it's likely I'll seek out more than one bottle.

 

Opened my last Xocoveza from 8/24/14 last night. Sad to see it gone, but so glad I did! Drank one a couple months ago and was worried these were on the decline so I followed up soon after. I know two months isn't that long but it may have just been in it's 'awkward phase' then, transitioned now.

Poured pretty moderately and produced a three finger foamy head. Not gushing, just big and fluffy. Smell was classic Mexican hot chocolate with strong cinnamon and nutmeg popping right out, really masking any other aromas. Taste, however, was rich hot chocolate sauce right up front, fading to the pumpkin pie spices on the nose with very little pepper spice way in the back. All of the complexity of the beer is still intact from fresh, merely a reordering of present flavors to what my mind deems as more appropriate. Mouthfeel was full and rich, not oily or terribly thick but just full on the palate.

Overall this beer is really coming into its own (as if it wasn't already awesome) with flavors that aren't just on point but structured and balanced.

 

2011 Sebago is going very strong. It's very smooth, no problems, lots of brown sugar and caramel notes. I want more...hint hint.

 

2013 Central Waters Bourbon Barrel Stout. First time with this beer. Cellar temp into a snifter. Pours fairly thick and dark with a nice head that lasts awhile. Smell is chocolate-covered cherries, mild bourbon, strong vanilla. Taste is a bit harsh: bourbon, vanilla, chocolate, coffee, oak, char. Not especially well-meshed, particularly given (or possibly because of?) the age. Feel is on the thin side, finishes clean with a dry bitterness lingering. Overall, a decent beer, but not great.

 

2013 Tart of Darkness, fridge temp into a Teku. Couldn't quite get my head around this one fresh. n.b., this bottle hasn't been cellared properly for much of its life. Pours very dark with no head. Smell is a mix of sweet and tart, like under-ripe strawberries. Taste is similar: soft sweetness, with a rounded tartness and a bit of chocolate and roast. Pleasantly surprised. Of course, this is 90% sour and 10% stout, but if you know that going in, it's pretty good at what it does.

 

Sebago is awesome! A four year old bottle is quite impressive! I always had a tough time aging that beer because it is sooooo good fresh.

 

According to the brewery they are not sure if they will continue to bottle this since they moved to all cans. It was my last one and may be my last ever...

 

I am a fan of cans; they are just a better beer vessel than bottles are. I wonder how Sabago out of the cans tastes...

 

2010, 2011, and 2012 DFH Olde School. All are drinking very well. Still hot and sweet but that 2010 was all sticky with alot of ripe fruit and candy.

 

Dark Horse Plead the 5th dated 2.11.14 into a Teku at cellar temp. First time with this beer. Pours as thick and dark as hot fudge. Very minimal light brown head. Nose is perplexing: cider, pumpkin spice. As it warms, smells a little more stout-ish, with chocolate, cherries, roast, then fig and raisin even later. Taste is very smoky, chocolate-covered cherries, some cinnamon and licorice. Tastes like it was designed to see the inside of a barrel, if that makes sense. Fig and raisin appear in the taste as well as it warms. Feel starts medium but gets thicker as it warms; never dry, which many stouts with this profile tend to be. Overall, this is a 20% better beer at room temperature, where it really is great. It seems like it would be better in rye barrels than bourbon, but we'll see how I feel after I try the BBA version.

 

Parabola 2013 - not doing that well, very bitter and offers little depth. Don't get much barrel richness, just char along with bitter, bitter dark chocolate.

Mother of all Storms 2012 - quite the opposite. Incredible beer, outstanding actually. Macaroon, dark chocolate, plums, smooth rich whiskey. Wish I had another to check out this winter, sure it'll be peaking for a bit longer.

 

What did you think of the 2013 fresh? I found it weaker than 2012 or the years since. I've still got a bottle of the 2012 and wondering how much of your reaction was due to the vintage and how much to the age.

 

2010 Dogfish Head Burton Baton


Looks terrific. Burnt orange and nearly opaque with a tremendous beige head supplying near perfect lacing.





Nose begins with toffee, caramel, fig and a touch of alcohol. Taste follows along but rearranges the order a little, as well as tweaking the taste of what the nose found. For instance, the caramel comes across more as caramel popcorn followed by burnt toffee and strong alcohol. Finish is mostly astringent with some cloying sweetness before a dry, tannic exit.

Not bad, but jury is still out as there seems to be a balance issue.

 

I thought about that as well, and I think it does have to do with the vintage as well as parabola's unique way of aging. I have a 2012 a few months back and it was better than the 13, not as one dimensional however still very bitter but. Really the only vintage of parabola that has really blown me out of the water and lived up to its legend is 2014. However, you are right - 2013 was a weaker vintage and the 2012 with the additional year on it was better

 

Another Burton Baton for June. This a 11/21/13 bottling so over 1 1/2 years. In a 50 degree wine fridge/cellar.

Really nice. Malty sweetness. Caramel and toffee. Sticky almost. Was an IPA but hops Essence muted for sure. Alcohol burn is light at the end. I think this is very balanced beer, and better than it was freh to me at least. Interesting comparison for me to the review above on the 2010. I'm thinking 2-3 yrs may be the sweet spot. Will need to experiment some more.

 

2013 BBA Pt5. Honestly, not as good as the "plain" Pt5 I reviewed above. Notes here. Needless to say, I stand by my desire to see this done in rye (or hell, port) barrels over bourbon.