November 2018 Cellar Reviews

2016 Lagunitas High Westified
Pours black with half finger tan head. Mostly fine bubbles, some large.
Nose is coffee, cocoa, smoke.
Taste is chocolate, some coffee, vanilla, oak. Strong whiskey finish.
Full mouthfeel, slight prickle from carb.
This beer has aged well, no green pepper notes, coffee presence has dropped off some though overall is still a significant note. Holds up as a great value, its drinking great now though I'm not sure I'd sit any longer on these.

 

A shame, that. I've really enjoyed some aged Bitches Brews in the past. Sorry yours didn't turn out so well.



I'm drinking a Bishop's Barrel 10 from Saint Arnold in Texas, released in May 2015. It was the base for their 20th Anniversary beer, a barleywine with Centennial and Cascade, dry-hopped with Simcoe. Acquired as part of a trade, so it's aged but under unknown conditions. That said, it's still pretty delightful. I do get the hint of orange gumdrop on the nose that is common for oxidized barleywines, but on the whole, I would say it's complementary to the still-present Centennial and dry-hopped Simcoe, providing some brighter notes that balance out the dark stonefruit of the base. The Woodford Reserve barrels also pack a bit of a punch, lending some light oak tartness and boozy vanilla and spice. Probably would have been better when fresher, but I'm still quite enjoying it now.

 

that was an amazing beer. Disappointed I don't have any left.

 

9 month old KBS - I know that's not very aged, but I have only drank this beer relatively fresh before so want to experiment with this 4 pack I bought earlier this year. pours black with a thick, tan colored head. pretty good head retention. outstanding aroma of vanilla, bourbon, a bit of cocoa. still quite boozy, similar flavor, finishes dry. not sure much change yet.

 

Bottled July 17th 2014.

It pours what looks to be a clear mahogany with a small and quickly disappearing head of off white foam. The ring around the glass is all I see now but there's some struggling lacing.

Brown sugar, molasses, dark pitted fruits, vanilla, oak, Bourbon aromas permeate my nose buds. The smell wouldn't be complete without mentioning the booze. It's there in spades.

Brown sugar, Bourbon, dark pitted fruit, figs, very sweet overall but not to the point of being cloying, at least to me. Wonderful flavours, lots of heat, oxidation is making its presence known. A few more years and how would it evolve? A super strong Thomas Hardy? JW Lees? I'll never know as this is my only bottle and I have held it in my cellar for +1 year.

As big a beer as this is, I don't reckon that the body is full. Carbonation is low and who the hell would want it to be lively??

I didn't buy this locally, I had to buy it online with several other Avery BA beers. No regrets.

Keep it up folks, I LOVE seeing the results you all achieved, whether good, yay, or bad.

 

Please keep reporting on your experiments! I felt like this year's KBS had more green pepper from overextracting the coffee, so I'd be glad to hear updates on how it's changing over time. I'm hoping it will improve as the coffee starts to move more into the background.

 

Trinity’s Magical Brettanomyces Tour 1,2&3

i believe these are from 2015. all beers are from the same, just inoculated with a different strain of brettanomyces. great concept to help the average craft enthusiast get a better understanding for specific strains. i started collecting these on trips where trinity was distro'd, but kind of forgot about it after #3. cleaned out the cellar this week and with a few friends over, thought now was as good time as any.
#1. B. Drie. - my favorite of the bunch. opens with lots of pineapple and lemon. an easy and pleasant drinker.
#2. B. Bruxellensis - really lack luster. not much to note here. this one gave us the best understanding of the base beer.
#3. B. Bouckaertii - whoa. this genuinely smelled like we were drinking this out of an old running shoe. the tasting notes on the bottle suggested light manure, but damnit, the manure was strong with this one. taste was strong, but pleasant (no manure in taste thank goodness).

interesting experiment by Trinity. at the end, we blended a cuvee that was probably the most round and best tasting of the bunch.

 

I have always thought the bourbon and chocolate was more prominent than the coffee, and would say the same for this bottle.

 

2010 St. Bernardus Abt 12 - Best by date of Feb 4 2015.

pours a dark brown, a bit cloudy, with thick cream colored head. great head retention for this old a beer. aroma is herbal Belgian yeast, bready malt, a touch of dark fruits. similar flavor, but not sweet at all, flavors are so well integrated. super smooth mouthfeel, lower carbonation. Still drinking amazing at 8+ years old.

 

If you can get ahold of an OG rare do it now! I probably give up my left nut for another one. Drank a properly cellared one tonight and it blew my mind for an eight-year-old BA Stout. Very creamy and mellow Barrel. Tons of chocolate and vanilla chewy mouthfeel. The end of the bottle was seriously putting dribbles. Little fat globules that melted on your tongue.

 

2014 Deschutes Mirror Mirror Barleywine

Pours transparent dark oak with red hues, solid off beige head that lingers slowly. Smells of sweet yams, rum, chocolate, toffee. Tastes of toffee, dates, sweet yeast roll, with a slight hop pithy bitterness that balances well with the sweetness. Mouthfeel is thick and balanced with prickly carbonation. Overall very nice, a bit much at the start with the yam and toffee- excellent drinking now, would likely go a few more years but I’m quite honestly unsure how this would do long haul (10+ years) but is definitely in a fantastic place now. Recommend drink if you have one!

 

2013 Bell's Expedition Stout

found this at a local spot that acquired back stock from a closed store. lots of older vintage classics to choose from. not sure how well this was stored. probably sat on a shelf at room temp for the last 5 years.
opens with aromas of chocolate soy sauce. still a great amount of carbonation bouncing around. taste is heavy cardboard right out of the gate. a weirdly pleasant amount. deep soy sauce seems to be the main flavor, followed by a dusty chocolate.
really nice sipper. i love how this beer transforms over the years.

 

2016 The Abyss (Barrel Aged in Brandy Barrels), Deschutes Brewery

4.43/5 rDev +3.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

First of all, thanks to @BigIslandfarmer who had this in October and recommended draining this post haste. 10/08/2016 650 ml bottle poured into a DFH tulip. Very dark brown body under a finger tan head which dissipated slowly leaving some lacing. Smell is mainly of dark malt and fruit aromas; only a slight hint of the brandy remains. Taste reveals more of the brandy but the roasty malts and complex vanilla flavors are taking over (I assume, I never had this fresh). Mouthfeel is fine for a sipper like this.

Just a good experience.

 

I did not expect you to close your review positively as the descriptors did not make the beer sound enjoyable. This comment from someone who can appreciate the soy sauce flavor in a big stout. Heck, I’m experimenting with aging some Zhukov with the hopes I get soy sauce out of it.

But a heavily oxidized beer that tastes like soy sauce does not sound nice. I guess the dusty chocolate balanced things out?

 

it was an odd experience. i happened to be watching a show about how they make soy sauce (Ep. 2 of Netflix's "Salt. Fat. Acid. Heat") which no doubt added to me tasting those notes.

 

I’ve always wanted to try an aged Old Stock Ale. I’ve asked my local liquor store to carry it to no avail!!

 

2011 Avery Mephistopheles Stout - Nov. 2011, Batch 7, 768 cases. 16.43% abv

Poured from a 12oz bottle into a snifter. Not much lacing but a fine rim lingers around the edge of the glass. Aroma - plums! So much plums! Taste was the same initially but after warming get roasty flavors with a slightly bitter, dry finish. ABV is hidden well, although I’m feeling it! Surpised it’s not sweeter for the abv. Overall very good. Haven’t had this fresh but I enjoyed this bottle. Aged well and formerly the oldest bottle in my cellar.

 

Mephistopheles was one of the first beers that blew me away as to what aging could do to the right beer. I ordered a bottle of it at a beer bar sometime in 2009 I think - and it was a bottle from the 2006 Batch #1. Since then I've enjoyed bottles of many of the batches, and still have a few bottles in the cellar from the 2010 release.