Beer that plummeted in 2012

last August I did a 5 year vertical of Dark Lord. The 2012 DL was a syrupy mess compared to the older vintages.

But the same has been said for every previous year of DL. It seems to be a beer that *requires* a couple of years in the cellar to become drinkable.

 

I have some DL in the cellar and that seems to be the same exact thing everyone says. After about 2 years, all of a sudden everyone says it is very good. I have had DL maybe 3 times and I go in knowing that it will be sweet and over the top.

 

I agree 100%. I found there to be a huge difference in Double Trouble. It went from great to "meh".

 

I had the same thought go through my head the other day until I realized I had just finished a Heady Topper.

 

I just recently got into Alpine and Nelson and I heard that their latest batch after an expansion was off. I wonder if the few Nelson's I had we're of that batch. Regardless, it was still pretty good.

 

I know it is not out yet, but can I be the first to say that this year's batch of Hopslam is not as good as past years.

 

I haven't had the founders CBS this year, last year was so phenomenal. Even if it wasn't as good as last year's, I would probably still be satisfied... I wasn't too fond with this year's Lukcy Basartd...

 

I enjoyed FBS a ton when I had it on released day at the taproom. Seemed to be incredibly creamy/vanilla tasting. Bottles, in my opinion, have always lacked the advantages this beer has had on tap. Still, I haven't noticed a huge difference in taste from last year outside of it seems to have a little more bitter chocolate taste.

 

FBS tasted NOTHING like Chocolate or Vanilla this year to me. Tasted like a tired, flat black stout. No different than a Guinness. Southern Tier Choklat absolutely DESTROYS FBS IMHO!

 

Sucaba, tasted backwards

 

even though im not too fond of dark lord (still good, but not great) after having so many other amazing brews, i still think showing up to dark lord is just another fun way to run into other ba's, get down on a tasting and just have an overall good time. Not to mention, all the guest brews they have there makes it totally worth it...

 

I hope this is a joke.

I've had 2011 fresh and aged, and I must say, it is damn amazing both ways.

 

GreenFlash West Coast IPA - haven't had a good one since they moved to the new brewery - that new system seems to bring out the buttery/butterscotch flavor of carastan and the once over the top hops are no longer over the top.

Ballast Point Sculpin - Last couple of tries tasted nothing like that citrus juicy hop bomb I had when it first came to the Boston area

Bear republic HopRod Rye - granted only tried it twice recently, but not even close to what I remember - even bordering on undrinkable

 

Cele didnt have the normal amount of spices this year...

 

Brown Shugga. It no longer tastes sweet and rich like it used to.

 

BP Sculpin. Nowhere near worth the $10+ pricetag on a bomber it commands on the east coast.

Had it several times on trips out west....a shadow of its former self IMO.

 

Every beer I had this year was boozy, less hoppy, and had a thinner mouthfeel than the '11 version.

 

I thought Double Trouble was still really good.

 

In my opinion, this discussion has more to do with individual's personal tastes changing than actual changes to the beers*. Unfortunately, I have no empirical to basis for my opinion, but neither does anyone else.

*-Except Anchor's Christmas, which Anchor openly states changes year to year.

 

Because EVERYONE MUST SALIVATE AT THE MERE MENTION OF BCBS......Right?