Bourbon County tasting

That's a lot of bcbs! Was this all in one day! I think I would be pretty drunk after just a couple of those!

 

By the way, I like the all out comparison, especially the normal bcbs comparison. Kinda shows that the shelf life is about 4-5 years.

 

I'm most shocked about how low the '08 BCBS ranked... Had this not too long ago and it blew my mind

 

Wow, now that's a tasting event for the ages. Nicely done, I am thoroughly impressed.

 

Great to see that the coffee versions hold up nicely. I always hear mixed reviews about it.

 

Same here.
2007 was all booze but going right into '08 afterwards was sublime. Perfectly balanced w/ hardly any detection of the alcohol. 2012 is also killing it fresh, so not sure how long I want to hold on to what I have left.

 

This was pretty much my exact experience when I did this except I wasn't a fan of the '10 BCBS bottle I had as it was really hot IMO. Also, noticed you left out the Cherry Rye (which for me was pretty much right in the middle of the pack). I agree 100% on the Vanilla and Rare as well as the BCBCS vertical. That '10 BCBCS was my third favorite overall behind only Rare and Bramble. Cheers!

 

So coffee basically takes the show, I have yet to try that version but have a bottle aging. Very cool event you planned here, kudos!

 

I had the exact same thought. Had it about a year ago and it was probably the best stout I've ever had.

 

My opinions yesterday were basically in-line with Shane's. I thought the best BCBS bottles (non-variant) were '09, '10. and '11. '12 was still too hot, and there was a big drop-off from '09 to '08; with an even bigger drop-off from '08 to '07. I'm glad we didn't try to go back any further.

Variant wise, Rare obviously took the best in show. The smoothness and lack of heat in Rare is astounding, and I was really glad to have a 4 oz pour to really take some time and enjoy it as it warmed up. That said, I had it last August, and while I wouldn't say it's "falling off", I would say that it's probably drinking as well as it ever will, and I wouldn't be surprised in a year or two for it to go downhill a bit.

Vanilla was good, but I was a little underwhelmed. I suppose it was a product of the hype train, and I was most excited for this one because it's the only variant I haven't had previously, but it fell a little short of expectations. Still, a solid beer, just not world-changing.

Bramble was way better than it was a year or so ago. While still berry forward, I thought a year ago it tasted almost medicinal, and yesterday I quite enjoyed it.

Coffee '10 was the highlight for me of the BCBCS, which surprised me since I though the fresher ones would be best. I'd rank them '10, '12, '11, but all three were really good, and we finished with them so our palates were a little (a lot?) fried.

All in all, an awesome event and thanks to Ray for hosting, as well as everyone else who showed up for an awesome day!

 

I had the 2010 Coffee at a tap takeover (or maybe it was the 2011) earlier this month and I definitely thought the coffee flavor wasn't there. Still an excellent beer, and I'd gladly try it again, but I feel that the coffee should be drank sooner than later.

How'd you get a hold of the Bramble? I've been searching high and low, and have yet to get my hands on one.

/e Just checked Untappd. It was the 2011, which is surprising how fast the coffee faded.

 

I think 08 is still tasting fantastic... I think they used Black Cat in 2010 which is a stellar coffee. We're going to do this tasting (plus King henry and cherry) soon did it about 18 months ago and want to see how things have changed. At that time I had 2010 on draft in my kegerator and we thought that was tops close to 08... this time I'll have 2012 tapped.

 

Also - all 6 of us had cherry recently, and I agree with the poster above - right in the middle of the pack as variants go. I would probably rank them Rare>Coffee>Vanilla=Cherry>Bramble.

 

Yep, that was one of the biggest motivations behind doing this. I think we agreed that aging beyond four years is risky, at best. One to three years old seemed to be the sweet spot.

 

For me it was Rare > Coffee > Bramble > Cherry > Vanilla > Regular > Baudonia

All are great though. I thought Baudonia was too mellow, but I like some heat so others may rate it higher.

 

I'm in the process of building this exact tasting. Bramble and Vanilla are all I need yet as far as the harder to get one goes. I can't wait!!!! Super fun seeing this just done by someone else. Thanks for sharing.

 

What a great tasting line-up. Making memories!