Imperial Stout Appreciation Thread (2023)

@Resistance88 Sweet, really? I thought this was roasty as hell and the perceived vanilla and dark fruit from the tequila barrels made this a balanced excellent sipper. I think you mentioned you are not a tequila fan. Oh well, we all have different perceptions of flavors.
Cheers!
Tom

 

Enjoying the bounty of a December 2022 trade with @Resistance88 . This 2022 version is still drinking to near perfection!
Cheers!
Tom

 

Dragons Milk - New Holland



Ahhhhhhh! Yum.

 

Appreciate the shout-out bro. All hale macros.

 

Tonight I went back to the cellar for a treat from 2019:

Started buying 6 packs with the thought of vertical tasting but something went sideways with the 2020 years release (oh, yeah- that year was a dumpster fire)
So I had 12 from 2019 as they were still selling them in 2020 and like an idiot I didn’t look at the dates.
Oh well, these age pretty well. A little of the char and hops bitterness is still there but for the most part it’s mellowed and smooth. Easy drinking even.
Cheers!

 

Interesting comment about the 2020 edition. And more ironic in looking back at my Access DB 2020 was the only year not having it since 2010, probably due to my wife and i were relocating from PHX to Western NC about that timeframe of the release (though i did have the 35th Anniversary Expy Stout which i recall being very good). Just curious here, help me understand better what is meant by "dumpster fire"? I am amazed to hear that as i have found Bell's to be one of the more consistent brewers out there.
Cheers!
Tom

 

Maybe palate fatigue with the style? Maybe time away from stouts and have more pale lagers will maybe help shift the receptors a tad.
Cheers!
Tom

 

Think I have one of those left myself, and won't open it for pretty much the same reason. Maybe we should pick a date and take the plunge - better to enjoy it while we can than have whoever inherits your stuff give it to some unknowing goob. Ya know?

 

Tom, 2020 was the year COVID hit and, well, everything went bonkers. I was referring to the year in general, not Bell's specifically when mentioning the dumpster fire. It was so prevalent at the time I just thought (obviously mistakenly) that it was seared in the universal conscious.
And I re-checked my cellar, I apparently *did* find a 6 of 2020 but could not locate any 2021. Another busted vertical. 1st world problems, right?

 

I herby declare, the two of you must open the bottle this weekend. Preferably on the same day at the same time. Tomorrow is never promised, afterall.

 

LOL, how soon the 2020 COVID pandemic significance has fallen off my radar! I thoroughly enjoy our little beer world problems!
Where city do you live in Michigan? i grew up in Saginaw and got my accounting degree at Ferris and left for PHX in 1986 given the economic outlook was not great and the Sun Belt was booming. I will always maintain Saginaw was a great place to grow up and to be from.
Cheers!
Tom

 

Small world some times!
In the Grand Rapids area. Ada specifically, few people outside of Michigan know where Ada is, but almost everyone knows the company that owns much of the town. (Amway)
Cheers!