November 2018 Cellar Reviews

Founders Curmudgeon 12/30/16

Poured into a long stemmed tulip the color seemed unchanged and the carbonation was still fine. Oak smell has faded more into just a nice sweetness. Just a sweet sipper with the bitterness even less prominent in the back end. This has aged nicely.

 

Great to hear! I bought some this year to age, and now I'm even more excited to try them in a few years.

 

Just to be clear, this was the regular Curmudgeon and not the Better Half.

 

2017 Omne Trium Perfectum: The Bottlehouse Brewery

4.39/5 rDev +1.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

I've been sitting on this bottle for a year and decided that after my car broke down today and I've walked miles in the cold windy rain, I should treat myself to this tonight. Since there are no notes in the summary, I should provide some context: although this is categorized as an American Brown Ale, that is very misleading by itself. The label describes it as a Bourbon Barrel Brown with coffee, cacao and vanilla beans.

Poured into a DFH tulip, it has a dark reddish brown body topped by a small light tan head that doesn't really go away. The ingredients give it a rich coconut smell in which, at times, you can detect the individual parts but why bother; just enjoy the whole thing. The taste is similar but in it you can discern the components more, particularly the coffee on the back end. Having had a Stone Americano Stout earlier this week, the coffee here is much more understated, surely reflecting lighter beans and smaller quantities used so to stay in balance with the rest. Mouthfeel was a bit thin for this but that's a small quibble.

I don't think I had this fresh so I can't judge the impact that aging it a year accomplished other than this was a very good experience.

 

2012 Old Stock Ale North Coast Brewing

I found a four pack of 2012 vintage two years ago and immediately snagged it. Nothing in my cellar exists in the sheer numbers that Old Stock Ale does. Even after appreciating the wonder of big stouts this is still an automatic purchase like breathing. I polished off one of these bad boys last summer as part of a vertical, and now it's the second one.

Poured into a long stemmed tulip, the color has gone from gold to a reddish tan with perhaps less carbonation but things are far from flat. Smell is just full of vanilla tinged dark fruit. Taste delivers the total goods. There is no sign of oxidation or cardboard flavors or any of the other signs that maybe aging this beyond a point was pushing it too much. There's no reason to not keep this going; if things turn bad, there are more recent years to set a limit to.

 

Cross posting from the BIF thread this beer originated from.


Bell's Third coast 2015 Old Ale. Pours a color somewhere between mahagony and ruby, half finger of tan head, mostly fine bubbles. The head does not dissipate.
Nose is cedar, red apple, something like allspice. There is a sweet note at the back, it reminds me of vanilla but writing it off like that doesn't do it justice. As it warms I get more red wine notes.
Taste is raisin, bitter cinnamon, light notes of apple and orange, woody finish. Winey notes again as it warms.
Mouthfeel is full, soft carb, finishing dry.
This beer is really complex and just as enjoyable. Broadly speaking it checks all boxes of a good barleywine, though there are some other notes that make it stand out. I don't believe I've had it fresh but now its time to seek it out

 

2016 Great Lakes Brewing Company Christmas Ale

This is one of three that was given to me by a friend who moved away with a best by date of 2/17/17. I wouldn't have chosen to age this but once I had it I thought why not. I think it's developed a sour off note in both the smell and taste but you can still detect the sweetness of the honey and cinnamon. Not a wretched experience by any standard but not nearly as good as I was hoping it would be. I doubt that I'll pour the other two out but unless either of them yields some startlingly good results, I won't comment about them here.

 

2017 Scaldis Noel

This has aged nicely over the ten months since I first tried it. The malt and dark fruit smells and tastes seem to be deeper and richer than before with an alcohol presence you recognize but it's not out of balance. This is a very good Belgian strong dark ale that could get even better with more time.

 

2012 Founders Boltcutter
Dark amber with mild head that fades quickly to nothing. 15% ABV.

Burnt caramel with toffee and dark chocolate and hint of herbal earthy hops in the background.

Flavor has faded somewhat and now had a strong resemblance to a slightly hot Bigfoot but with less marshmallow and nougat. Still plenty of medium and darker caramel flavors, but not much on the fruit front, maybe a little bit of raisin. The bitterness is still high, but the hop flavor is mostly just earthiness.

Feel is pretty amazing for a beer of this heft, drinks with a very light touch of heat and nothing like 15%. Carbonation is low.

A little bit of a let-down but still enjoyable although the aged doesn't match the fresh for intensity.

 

Wanted to post a follow up to the 2015 Third Coast Old Ale from @FlintB . Here's notes on the 2017 bottle he sent me.


Pours a rusty apple cider color. Super murkey. Finger of dense tan head, mostly fine bubbles, settles slowly to a half centimeter.
Smells of apple, corn, caramel . Warming reveals a red wine aroma.
Taste is orange peel, hint of cranberry. Bitter herbal finish, fairly dry. As it warms there is a red wine note and caramel finish.
Mouthfeel is full with soft carb, no heat.
As a whole its a solid old ale, though the 2015 definitely wins.

Compared with the 2015- more initial head, some retained for the duration while all dissipated in the 2015. The nose on the 2017 is less complex. The taste is more bitter, both initially and as it warms. Mouthfeel is comparable. Thanks again Brian! Fun to get to compare the two.

 

I had my first and only one last night as well. Fresh or aged, I get very very little Bourbon from the coffee BC, but ESPECIALLY little in this 2013 compared to fresh.

I am a BC fanboy. I enjoyed this, as it is probably the most well done coffee stout that I have tried. -But, it really had no bourbon to me.

 

It’s been too long since I’ve been here. 3 months to be exact.

Carton Gilded Lily

A “Trufpel,” or Tripel brewed with white truffels (and honey).

There is no date on this can, which I purchased at the brewery in December 2015, making the beer approximately three years old.

To date this is probably the most expensive four pack of 12 ounce cans I’ve purchased. It was $24 - $26. I don’t recall the exact price.

Appearance: This beer pours a hazy, translucent, golden amber color. The bone white head struggles to survive and settles with a thin white ring around the edge of the glass. Scant lacing. The carbonation is not visible, but the sediment is.







Smell: The white truffels are still present and nicely complement the honey sweetness of the aroma. Although I did not review the beer when first consumed back in 2015, I want to say the truffel was more dominant, and more intense. There is some alcohol present on the nose, which I would expect from the style. Sweet, bready malt profile. Hints of dried apricot, figs, and banana, but overall not a beer driven by these fruity aromas. But rather the truffels and honey.

Taste: The alcohol comes though up front, more so than on the nose. But it works nicely for the style and with the sweetness and earthyness of this beer. The truffel is subtle, and once again, plays nicely off the sweetness of the beer. Definitely getting honey in the flavor as well. Some overly ripened banana/banana bread flavor. Th truffel flavor lingers on the finish for a long time.

Mouthfeel: Very soft carbonation. Aqueous.

Overall: I did not intentionally age this beer. It just managed to hang around. It’s still a pleasant and unique beer. The truffle, honey and flavors expected from a Belgian tripel marry nicely. If anything, the truffle is more subtle with age, but if you don’t like truffel, you will not like this beer.

 

Sometime in the Spring a local bottle shop had 50% off a bunch of their stock, naturally I rushed over and bought a few things. A bottle of Perennial Vermillion from this sale has been sitting in my fridge all summer, only last night did I realize that its a 2012 bottle. I've had plenty of barleywines at 1-3 years old, but very few older than that. Its an exciting opportunity to sample one this old. Tasted with my buddy so I didn't get pics.

Pours dark raisin shade thin layer of head dissolves quickly. Smells of raisin, apple, woody note, candied ginger, alcohol.
Taste is orange, cranberry, chocolate, grape. Lots of really nice nuances here, seems like it developed nicely.
Fairly full body, soft mouthfeel. Slight drying.
As a whole this beer is very enjoyable, its soft but big and nuanced. Very smooth, the notes blend together nicely.

 

Very interesting! This beer is my favorite American barleywine. I picked up a few extra bottles this year and was contemplating how long to cellar them. Good to know it holds up well.