Cellar Reviews (2021)

Been cleaning out the "beer cellar" aka bottom cupboard, I found a 750ml bottle of an August Schell Berliner Weiss Apparent Horizon bottled Aug 2015. I would only repeat an August Schell Berliner if it was funky barnyard and cheesy, instead of being tart fruity BS. So obviously this appealed to me at the time. Normally don't keep beers around this long, especially this style. Don't think it changed much at all, as at least today it doesn't seem that funky and cheesy, but it did not degrade at all. Still a lively and lovely beer with no oxidation issues and it was worthy of sharing with others.

 

Nice write-up. I would agree with you about the "glory days" at Peg's...but at least to my tastes, over the last year or two Doug (and whoever else is brewing at Cycle) seems to have figured out the challenges of brewing on a (much) bigger system and the recent beers have come very, very close in quality to what they were doing back in the day. If, perhaps, not exceeded them.

Not that I've had all of their releases...they're hard for me to keep up with, and I'm not over that way nearly as often as I used to be. But the ones that I've had have been excellent.

 

Second one today as part of clearing out stage. A 2016 vintage of The Abyss by Deschutes. This is another beer that held up very well. Starting to get a little bit oxidized. I think it compliments the flavors of licorice and oak. Wouldn't want to sit on this one much longer however.

 

That’s good to know. It’s been a while since I’ve been to Cycle, I love St. Pete but rarely make it there as it’s kind of a hike for me. Last time I was there was when I picked up that Thursday bottle. I’ll need to revisit, those early Pegs beers were divine, I remember just being blown away when drinking Rare and RareR directly from the source. Pegs was a cool little spot too, which I believe shut down many years ago.

 

Today’s Sunday Funday beer is a 2018 Canadian Breakfast Stout. Absotlely love this beer fresh and feel like in general it holds up remarkably well considering it’s adjuncts/flavor profile, although I’ve never had one this far out so let’s see how it’s drinking.

Pours opaque black, looks dense in the glass, with a huge mocha colored head with good retention and tons of lacing. A perfect looking beer. Aroma is still a surprising amount of chocolate and coffee, barrel notes are present with charred oak and bourbony vanilla. Roasted malt and a bit of cinnamon round it out. The only character that’s really faded from the nose is the maple syrup. Taste on the other hand, the maple syrup is definitely still present, which somewhat shocks me. It’s very sweet up front, perhaps even too much. After the syrup sweetness I get roasted malt on the finish. Other characters are some stale black coffee bitterness, semi-sweet dark chocolate. Barrel notes are present but faded. Mouthfeel is smooth and full bodied but not detrimentally thick. ABV is exceptionally well masked, drinkability is better than many big RISs. This remains excellent. Although it’s faded some with time but I think overall that it’s held up remarkably well. It’s better fresh but I would still enjoy this aged any day of the week.

5/4.25/4.5/4.5/4.5
(Original/fresh review: 4/4/5/4.5/5; original review before BAs 0.25 intervals)

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I appreciate that you have a job where craft beers are kept in the work fridge.

 

I scaled back on beer again for caloric reasons, which I GUESS has been good for my was-just-starting-to-dwindle-cellar, as well as my waistline. At least that’s what I tell myself. So self rewarding with this gem to start the weekend, a 2018 Bourbon Count Reserve (12 Year Elijah Craig). I’ve only had this beer 1 other time, thought it was phenomenal, albeit not as good as the 2017 Knob Creek Reserve which is in the discussion for my favorite BCBS variant. Last reviewed in summer 2020, so it’s got about another year on in and clocks in just under 3 years.

Pours black, opaque, small tan head that dissipates pretty quickly, no lacing. Aroma is absurd, as I pick up huge aromatics even while the glass rests on my coffee table and I sit back on the couch. Huge chocolate, rick dark fruits, nutty peanut butter like character, roasted malt. Intoxicating barrel characters with charred oak, the aforementioned nutty character, almost a touch caramely. Just an aromatic explosion, no flaws here. Taste follows, with so much going on. The whole spectrum of chocolate from rich fudge all the way to semi-butter high cocoa% dark. Moderately sweet up front, and in addition to the chocolate I get some sweet dark fruits and more subtle caramel notes. Barrel notes are certainly present, but in a harsher bourbon kind of way as opposed to the more smooth aromatic bourbon notes. They certainly aren’t bad, just a little on the harsh end. Which is a fair way to describe the flavor profile in this beer currently; harsher than most BCB variants which is interesting cause I didn’t notice that last time; perhaps my palate is a bit off today? Regardless it’s still excellent but there is a fusel alcohol and moderately bitter harshness that detracts some from the other characters. Mouthfeel is moderate body, appropriate carbonation, with a somewhat limited drinkability due to the aforementioned fusel alcohol notes. Overall, an excellent beer, although I’m not sure additional time has done it favors. What developed in the nose retracted in the taste. It is of course nearly impossible to objectively compare beer experiences that were a year apart, but in reading my original review it seems that I liked this more at 2 years than 3. Still very much enjoyed though! Happy Friday BA Cellar Dwellers!

4.25/5/4.5/4.25/4.5
(Original Review: 4.5/4.25/4.75/4/4.75, not fresh beer around 2 years old)

 

Have not had this in 3-4 years. This years has always been my “favorite” assassin year but that is somewhat of a recall biased as I have never had them all side by side. Anyway:

Pours w a thin carmel head and a nice lace that lasts well though drinking half the pour.

Smells of chocolate, raisins, nuts, and some muted bourbon.

Mouthfeel is viscous thick oily but very smooth w some minor heat posterior palate laterally.

Taste is primarily chocolate sundae w a bit of a oxidization on the very backend of the swallow.

Overall this is still excellent. I feel like it’s a bit more muted and not as in your face as it may have been fresh but still a very successful example of the style. TG certainly does stouts well.

 

God, that sounds so good right now. I need to quest to portland

 

That's awesome I will check them out and see what's up. I keep telling myself I'm done ordering beer online and yet...

 

I looked at their site and it sounds like its $12/12 pack + shipping costs? Which they will email you to work out?

 

Ya they're very vague about all the shipping stuff

 

Ya the selection is crazy tempting for cellar fans. I'll have to email them and see what the story is on shipping to norcal