Hi there all, new here. I have recently found the joy of micro-brewed beer ect. I am particularly fond of Stouts. Anyway, I recently acquired a bottle of Bells Black Note Stout. Which I understand to be very desirable. It made me wonder, what are other beers around now that are worth stocking up on, because once they are gone, they are gone? Thanks all!
There are many beers in that category that do well with some aging. If you check out the Cellaring forum you'll get to know all about it. Reading this Beer Talk forum will tend to inform you of hyped beers (aka whales or whalz) that are in this category, but cellaring is where you'll find most of the info that will help you.
Welcome! While this may be a simple question, the answer is not. I would recommend seeking out beers in your favorite styles and going from there. I started learning about beer at a local craft beer bar and tracking first on Untappd. This helped me open up to new styles and also helped to get a feel for what breweries / beers I favored. I personally don't build a cellar because of a fear that a beer will be one and done. The best thing about beer is there's always going to be more of it! If you do want a crash course on the 'top' beers, check out the 'Top 250' list on here. Cheers!
Black Note is released every year, a beer that once it is gone it is gone to have in my opinion is Three Floyds Baller stout or the BA version Murda'd out stout. Beers that are released once a year like Three Floyds Dark lord, Surly Darkness, Goose Island Bourbon County Stout, and Founders KBS are good to grab in my opinion because they get better with age and also taste great fresh.
It's a losing proposition to really try to get the 'desirable' beers. Some people drive themselves crazy trying to get annual releases and one-offs. I've tried a few times, been successful a few times, but I'm done going out of my way. If it's around the release time I'll check the shelves or ask if I'm near a store. If I miss it, oh well. There's no shortage of other good stuff to drink. I cellar a small amount of beers (~2-3 cases worth, total), but collecting beer for the sake of collecting is pointless to me.
Bottles of beer are not pokemon cards. Find a beer you want and then drink it. if you really like it and it's a big beer then you can cellar it to see how it changes/mellows with time. However, there are only a few beers truly worth cellaring imo. Big Foot is one of them. I've had some success with The Abyss as well. However, most stouts lose their interesting flavors as time goes on. The bigger the stout the more you'll notice a mellowing of the flavors. So when you buy that big barrel aged stout with coco nibs and chili peppers in it and cellar it you're essentially saying 'i don't want those fresh flavors I want a more bland/generic tasting beer" because those flavors will fade as time goes on. It's like cellaring an IPA or something. Why bother? you buy the beer for its barrel/coco/coffee or whatever flavor when its fresh. if you want a mellow stout then just buy a sixer of a year around stout. if you want a big tasting stout drink it fresh. otherwise that big tasting stout is a waste of money once you age it for a year and it's flavors have mellowed.
Any barrel-aged stuff you can get from Firestone Walker or Goose Island. Seeing how you're in IL, you should have no problem (relatively) finding some Bourbon County Brand Stout.
Seriously. I love how the first response immediately suggests aging beers. It's an epidemic, anymore, and truly showcases the lack of comprehension most buyers have. I'm sick of people buying fresh, limited beer off the shelves and immediately aging it before they've ever tasted the fresh product. I'm even more sickened when supposed "advocates" influence newcomers to experiment with such a drastic subject that requires substantially advanced understanding of beer styles and recipes.
I do agree. I've been guilty of this is the past, but if a cellar is what you want to start, then go nuts. But it really does make more sense to drink fresh or else you have no real comparison. Who knows.. It could have gotten much worse.
That makes alot of sense to me guys. Thanks for the responses. I am still pretty new to good beers. But I know what I like too.
drink a Belgian , a real one. I always suggest an Orval. Then a dupont sasion. Then a Westmall Dubbel, then the tripel. Then move to Rochefort. then get back to me. PROST oh btw welcome. hit the cellar forum if you want advice there. bring boat loads of cash, and of course actually have a cellar...
Welcome aboard! Not much more to add that these guy haven't already said. Just be careful...it's a slippery slope.
I think I can get Orval. I will have to search a little for the others. I have had Gulden Draak, and Gulden Draak's 9000. I am more of a Stout guy I am finding. Samuel Smiths Imperial Stout, Bell's Double Cream Stout, Left Hands Milk Stout, and Nitro just to name a few that I have tried. I have tried a lot of stouts so far.
Orval will BLOW your mind. if you can get 1 6 months old and 1 of them at 1 year plus. at 7 bucks for 330ml they usually sit around allot. its even good at 3 years, but I prefer the 6mth to 1 year range. the date is on the bottle in European format.
