Cellar Reviews (2022)

Wow, this sounds amazing. I can't wait to try my 2022 and 2013 now

 

$90 is an unreal deal for all that Revolution

 

Yes, it included my two favorite releases (Ryeway to Heaven and Deth's Tar) so at under $6 / can after tax, pulled the trigger despite my large cellar.

Pulled another from the cellar, this one from a hype suburban brewery that I don't have much experience with in terms of BA Stouts. I contradict my latest review as this can was in my cellar for nearly 1 1/2 years before refrigerating, but only because I had no room in my refrigerator. I no longer buy cans if I have no room, so progress in terms of beer hoarding madness.

Phase Three Pressed Coconut



(RIP Xocoveza)

OG Review Link

Can Notes: Imperial Porter, canned in July 2020 and purchased at Capones store temperature within a week or two of release, cellared through 11/28/21, refrigerated thereafter. 16 oz, 12% ABV, Tugboat Coffee + Coconut. Keep Cold. Drink Fresh. Ha! I say.

Comparison between today and OG Review Notes:

• Appearance: No change (pitch black, thin quickly disappearing head.
• Aroma: This held up very well, wonderful dark roast coffee still strong, complimented by the coconut still present.
• Taste: Very consistent with the fresh version as well. Dark roast coffee is excellent, balanced by sweetness, coconut presented and accounted for and I believe milk sugar/lactose as well, same as my OG review notes. Very surprised this held up as great as it did.
• Mouthfeel: Body held for the most part, would call this creamy medium to full vs. full, though still decedent, nicely balanced and strong in terms of ABV being felt.
  
• Overall: This was a very pleasant surprised, as I expected this beer to have faded in several aspects, and for the most part it has held on as well as a fresh version.

This beer has a 4.31 rating (higher if I ever get around to consolidating / adding my ratings). Coffee and Coconut are the only two non barrel/base flavors I seek these days, so this beer continues to be one I am interested in. Well done Phase Three!!!

 

Bottled 11/24/15. It smells delightful - chocolate for days. The taste is bold and sweet. Lots of char and leather with sweet chocolate underneath. Fairly low carbonation but very thick. Very enjoyable. I wish I had a fresh one to compare to.

 

2016 is barely short of cloying sweetness right out of the fridge, but warmth mellows it. Strong malt dominance remains. If I had to guess, I would say that a sourness, or just flat cardboard, would be evidence of deterioration, but I have one more to wait and see.
What does an old malt liquor taste like? Soy sauce?

The body was a crystal clear dark amber color up until I emptied the bottle and sediment clouded the look. I watched it happen and couldn't stop pouring.

 

I usually like to crack cellar beers in an aesthetic backdrop but alas, remodeling is forefront to beer these days.

Jacks abbey barrel aged framinghammer. A long time want and I absolute love their lagers. I cant date this bottle but given the source that I acquired it from I assume it is very old.

The bottle crack confirms my assumptions with almost zero carbonation hissing out.

The smell - stale. Musty. But unique. Something familiar. The yeast or something I'm detecting is very old school.

The taste is not there. Im not going to finish this. Theres a musty-fruitiness to it that almost tastes like port wine. Grape must and dust. Its thin, not roasty, not chocolatelty, not particularly dark fruity (apart from grape skin). To be fair I dont often drink Baltic porters so may be botching this review.

What it does have going for it is what I detected in the smell, and im almost certain is the yeast. It has such a familiar air to their German lagers its uncanny.

Overall. I may or may not have liked this one fresh but I am really not privy to it with age.

 

2017 Scotch Parabola

Got this direct from Firestone-Walker a while ago as part of a bundle with Parabajava. I'm not a huge Scotch drinker but I'm not opposed to the smokiness and I generally appreciate the influence of smoke in beers. So let's get into it.

Drinking out of an opaque mug so I can't see how it looks beyond noting that the head appears comparable to other Parabola vintages and variants I've enjoyed in the past.

Nose carries many of the familiar aromas of Parabola, dark fruits and bitter chocolate. Some notes of old leather and cigar shop wood/tobacco. There's a feint scent of leaf mould back there and maybe a touch of ham/bacon that may hint at some aged smoked notes. But that's faint enough that I might be inventing it in my quest for the Scotch. Either way, a very enjoyable stout in the sinuses.

Taste is similar, the typical flavors of well aged Parabola are there. Roasted malts that imply chocolate, charred wood, and a vague cola spice. There is a sharp tannic note that rides over things and resonates as a very bitter lingering note at the tail end, leaving the mouth feeling a bit dry. Perhaps there's a prominence to the whiskey flavor that I don't recall finding in older regular Parabola. Again, very enjoyable if a little bit unusual.

Mouthfeel is thin but no more so than Parabola tends to be, and thin is relative in this modern world of ice cream toppings masquerading as stouts.

All in all, I was a little iffy about this one but was happy to pony up as it was the only way to get Parabajava, but I'm thoroughly enjoying this thing. It's nice. It's Parabola, a little past its prime, but with a twist that keeps it plenty interesting. It's close enough to the base beer to make the hunt for deviation enjoyable and diverts from the base enough to keep a jaded stout tongue entertained.

Never had this fresh, it's possible the Scotch character has faded or it's possible the impact on flavor was never considerably different than other whiskeys. Either way, I'm glad I'm drinking this one now. It's very enjoyable and I don't see it improving.

Happy holidays cellar dwellers, hope you all find some dusty gems to enjoy during these last longest nights of this year and that you find some new cellar worthy brews in the year ahead!

 

Good evening old beer drinkers! I hope you are all staying warm on this frigid winter night, hell it’s even cold here in FL! Doing this side by side while finishing up the lights on the Christmas tree: 2022 vs 2015 St. Bernardus Christmas Ale.

A: Not much difference in the appearance, although surprisingly the 2015 (on the left of photo) actually looks slightly better as it has a denser head plus 2022 is a little hazier. Slight better head retention and better lacing on 2015 also.

S: 2022 has tons of fruity esters with a pretty big banana and some apple. More subtle dark fruits and caramel, some white pepper spice. Doughy/bready notes as it warms. 2015 smells completely different with rich developed dark fruits overripe plum and sweet cherry, fig and dates as expected, caramel/toffee. There’s lots of spirit notes like port and a bit of sherry. 2015 is def more complex but also has a bit of a pungent almost funky note that I don’t love. I’d give a slight aromatic edge to fresh.

T: 2022 has a lot of spice up front, some bitterness, a bit of burnt sugar and subtle dark cocoa on the back end but the predominant component is undoubtedly the spice. 2015 in vinous dark fruits, fairly wine like, other dark fruits with a pretty prominent cherry and some plum. There’s also a really nice sweetest flavor that I simply can’t place but is familiar, it’s a sweet floral character, very nice. Flavor edge def to 2015.

M/D: 2022 has a vibrant mouthfeel, although surprisingly 2015 has no carb issues at all. ABV unnoticeable on either. Drinkability good for both. An edge to the fresh here.

O: Overall, both were very good. But IMO the 2022 is too green and the 2015 is past it’s prime. Around 2 years is the sweet spot of perfection for me with this beer (and really most of the elite quads I’ve had). I very much enjoyed this side by side though!

2022 rating: 4.25/4.25/4.25/4.75/4.25
2015 rating: 4.5/4.25/4.5/4.5/4.25






Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah BA’s!

 

I think you nailed it, currently drinking the 2020 and I couldn’t agree more. Nice aroma, quite one dimensional, still holds a nostalgic allure but lacking in much complexity. Sweetness is first and foremost here. Nice feel with medium body and fine carbonation, again more nuance to the aroma with that malty brown bread aspect, warming alcohol that presents a bit on the palate, particularly in the finish, and it’s quite welcome as it cuts the sugariness. Not so much into the cellaring game anymore so my older bottles tend not to hang around but I’d love to revisit this with significant age as it’s been a long time since I’ve had a really mature bottle. Would love to taste some nutty, tobacco-y Sherry oxidized notes. Funny this does remind me of a more basic PX which I definitely enjoy, but gotta be in small doses.

 

Interesting. Every bottle of fresh Sami i’ve ever had has been crystal clear without any suggestion of anything in the bottle for bottle conditioning. I’ve only taken it to two years (although have a bunch i plan to take longer) but no sediment in those either. What do people think is the cause of this as I doubt it’s bottle conditioned products.

 

Merry Christmas Cellar Dwellers! Decorating the tree, one of my favorite days of the year, so a big time beer is in order. One of the gems of my cellar, a 2012 Kuhnhenn Raspberry Eisbock. The single highest rated beer I’ve ever reviewed, clocking in at a near perfect 4.97. Great restraint led me to waiting 10 years to have my only other bottle of this, and today seems like the perfect occasion.

Pours a clear dark ruby with some mahogany hues. Surprisingly there is grater than a fingers width of tan head, although it dissipates quickly. No lacing. Aroma is huge sweet raspberry, very jammy. Other dark fruit characters like cherry and dates. Interestingly some oaky vanilla and a bit of charred marshmallow although it has no adjuncts or barrel aging. Taste is so amazing with huge raspberry both sweet and tart, and tons of dark chocolate cocoa notes. It’s got these lovely clean lager bock notes with dark fruits and caramel prominence. Port wine and cognac notes. Just absolutely stellar. Mouthful is medium body, remains perfectly carbonated with zero signs of wear and no oxidation issue. ABV is compeltely unnoticeable and drinkablity is insanely dangerously good. Overall this remains absolutely stellar and unquestionably elite. Its so complex even fresh, and when a beer is nearly perfect fresh it can’t really get much better with age, but it held up remarkably well. Aroma did fade a touch but flavor remains near perfect. An elite drinking experience and a great celebratory ale.

4.5/4.75/5/5/5
(Original/fresh review: 4.5/5/5/5/5)







Cheers, friends!

 

Hello and Merry Christmas. I never intend on aging these but I struggle to drink them when I get down to my last one or two.
Alchemist - Luscious (best by 12/22 so I’d wager around 18 months to a year on it)



I remember having Beelzebub and it was such a different beer from what I was used to. Funny how palates shift, once I had this it was by far my favorite alchemist beers.

Seems to have held up nicely. Head hanging around. Big loud and sharp mouthfeel, lots of licorice and coffee, stewed fruit, brown sugar. Just a lovely pint and I’m glad I held onto this for today. Rather nostalgic. I’d say cellaring (unintentionally) has brought on the English accent still further, and it’s a true pub pint at this point.

Have a great day!

 

I just had this beer for the first time this year and it was absolutely amazing! I need more lol

 

2015 Samichlaus Helles

Pours a fairly clear dark rusty amber color, a very thin layer of off-white colored head that quickly fades to nothing. Sugary aroma with some fruitiness, a little candied peach or apricot. Taste is similar, fairly sweet, has a long lingering finish. No booziness at all. Thin to medium bodied, lower carbonation, slick feel.

 

I’m guessing that the same beer as modern version samichlaus the name just changed to remove “Helles” in newer vintages?

 

No. In the past there has been "Classic", "Helles", and "Schwarzes" versions. Also "Barrique" that I have not had.

 

I ran out of time to edit my previous post.

They must have first released the Helles version to necessitate the "Classic" moniker in either 2008 or 2009. I have a 2007 bottle that says "Samichlaus Bier" but 2009 says "Samichlaus Classic".

 

Oh shit! Do they still make those other ones? Funny that they are all 14%

 

Happy day after Christmas, BAs! I think they call it Boxing Day in Canada, eh? Great day yesterday, continuing the festivities into today with this 2018 BCB Midnight Orange. This beer wasn’t much my thing fresh but it’s aged remarkably well, having gotten progressively better at the 1, 2, and 3 year marks. This is my last one so let’s see how it is a little over 4 year cellared.

Pours opaque black, it looks like very little carbonation with a fairly aggressive pour yielding only a sliver of dark mocha colored head that quickly dissipates to nothing. Aroma is huge chocolate with nutty and oaky bourbon notes. I also get black coffee, more subtle dark fruits and a touch of caramel. Decently roasty. I get essentially zero orange in the aroma but it’s quite nice. Taste is big chocolate up front, both milk chocolate and semi sweet dark cocoa. On the back end are rich bourbon notes with a nuttiness and charred oak. A really lovely mix of sweet, roasty and barrel. It’s so mellow right now, almost drinking like a fine spirit. Only the faintest hint or orange, but it is there and the subtly is nice. From a mouthfeel standpoint the carbonation has faded to almost nothing, the ABV is exceptionally well masked at over 15%, although the lack of carb detracts a bit from the drinkability. All in all this is a lovely beer but I do suspect it’s finishing up the back 9 and seems that’s it’s starting to fade a bit. Wonderful example of the development of a beer over time, and it’s unfortunate that this is my last one!

4/4.25/4.75/4.25/4.5
-original/fresh review: 4/4/3.75/4/3.75
-1st cellar review, around 2 years old:4/4.25/4.5/4.5/4.25;
-2nd cellar review around 3 years old: 4.25/4.5/4.5/4.75/4.5

 

2019 Napa Parabola - Firestone-Walker

Opening my last bottle of this about 11 months after the previous one that I talked about HERE.

The trajectory noted in the prior post has continued and I'm glad to be drinking this one now. It's carrying very strong notes of red wine. To the point that I'm not confident I'd be able to tell it wasn't red wine if I was served it blind and told it was. Lots of dark berry, tart cherry/berry, some chocolate, and tannic bitterness.

This is still enjoyable, even as someone who doesn't generally enjoy red wines. But the direction it's headed tells me this thing will be pretty rough in another year or two.

Napa remains one of my favorite variants and I really hope they do something like it again. It was unique, delicious, and has lead a delightful life as the has aged and evolved. Then again, I'll be Opening another red wine barrel aged stout from a local brewer next, so maybe I've just found my niche