FW Parabola & Sucaba

Discussion in 'Cellaring / Aging Beer' started by mtrutlin, May 8, 2012.

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  1. Thickfreakness

    Thickfreakness Initiate (0) Oct 2, 2010 New York

    GI BCBS for one is much better with some age on it.
     
  2. ArrogantB

    ArrogantB Grand Pooh-Bah (3,224) Jun 9, 2006 Colorado
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    How much age? I had some 2006 that I loved in 2007 and then by 2009 it felt like the flavors were no longer as robust so I wrote that one off. Does it pick back up?
     
  3. Thickfreakness

    Thickfreakness Initiate (0) Oct 2, 2010 New York

    2009 BCBS was decent when it first came out, now it's unreal and IMHO, one of the best BBA stout's I've ever had.
     
  4. maximum12

    maximum12 Grand Pooh-Bah (4,662) Jan 21, 2008 Minnesota
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    The Abyss is my favorite beer to age, hands-down. The '08 is borderline perfection right now.

    I've had a couple of '03 BA Speedways in the past year. Ditto that I never had them fresh, but one bottle was excellent & the other was divine.

    Central Waters Bourbon Barrel Barleywine is one that I think is just OK fresh (this year's batch being an exception). Around the year mark it's amazing & I've had them up to four years...simply astounding.

    If you get the chance to try an '09 or '10 BA Blackout Stout, jump at it. Another beer that's pretty good fresh but morphs into a champ after a year or three.

    Not at all saying your wrong, maybe your palate is different than mine, but I've seen a lot of "BA beers don't age well, period" sentiment lately & it's simply not true across the board. I'd also heartily agree that there are plenty that don't age well, including some of my favorites: I'm currently plowing through my FiftyFifty Eclipses because they've gone from being world-class to just good in a year on my tongue, & I don't want them to go to 'waste'.
     
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  5. ArrogantB

    ArrogantB Grand Pooh-Bah (3,224) Jun 9, 2006 Colorado
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader


    I've aged the Abyss and found that it seemed to peak at two years (at least the 06 and 07 vintages) and then I felt like it started to fade. I did have a disappointing experience with aging Alesmith BA Decadence 05, it was nowhere near as good after two years as it was fresh. I'll have to check out the CW BBB and BA Blackout Stout as I have not had either one. I also felt like Dry Dock's Bligh's Barleywine faded after just four or so months.
     
  6. goosewhisperer

    goosewhisperer Initiate (0) May 28, 2011 Colorado

    FYI from a recent email from FW regarding Parabola:

    "It cellars beautifully so you may as well buy some to enjoy now and some to save!"
     
  7. MileHighShooter

    MileHighShooter Initiate (0) Nov 23, 2010 Colorado

    I had an 06 Xmas of 10, I was pretty blown away. Recently had an 11, just not anywhere near as good as any Abyss I've had with some time on it. It was the same with 10, when I had it in 10. Yes some beers are better "fresh", which is a relative term with BA beers, but then again some do smooth out with age. Saying all BA beers are better fresh, like mentioned above, is a wee bit of a blanket statement.
     
  8. ArrogantB

    ArrogantB Grand Pooh-Bah (3,224) Jun 9, 2006 Colorado
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    Well of course the brewery is going to advise you to buy extra....
     
  9. goosewhisperer

    goosewhisperer Initiate (0) May 28, 2011 Colorado

    We (the topic at hand) were just talking about how the brewery tells you to drink it fresh, and store it below 40 degrees. Now I offer the premise that it cellars well, from the brewery to counter the point of the blurb about storing under 40 degrees and drinking fresh for Parabola.

    Do you only agree with the brewery when they are in line with your point?!?:astonished: I don't understand where you're coming from on this.

    As far as them advising you to buy extra, I'm pretty sure every drop that is released is already sold. FW needs no help in selling this beer.

    I'm going to side with my experience, and knowledge from the folks that know the most about this beer. It cellars well, and the blurb about drinking fresh is a blanket statement on their website for all of their beers.
     
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  10. Pahn

    Pahn Initiate (0) Dec 2, 2009 New York

    not that it really makes a difference to anyone, but my advice is to be honest with yourself when you compare that 1~2 year old parabola with the perfection of fresh parabola.

    edit: obviously people can have different opinions on this (the reason "ages well" is subjective is that "tastes good" is also subjective), but i wouldn't put too much stock in finding "authority" on the subject. age does certain things to beer, which either help or hurt it (for a given person).
     
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  11. ArrogantB

    ArrogantB Grand Pooh-Bah (3,224) Jun 9, 2006 Colorado
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    I think breweries like to encourage cellaring because it means people will buy more bottles than they would if they were drinking them fresh. Maybe Parabola does age really well but based upon my experience with aged bottles of FW10 and FW11 I won't be aging any of their beers longer than six months to a year. Cheers!
     
  12. goosewhisperer

    goosewhisperer Initiate (0) May 28, 2011 Colorado

    I added a paragraph to my post above. I don't think this is FW's motive at all. Every bit of Parabola is sold (to distributors and accounts) before it hits the trucks. They don't really need to sell this beer in the traditional way, just announce it.

    I think you're local to me, and perhaps we have different taste. However, I'll be happy to split a bottle of 2011 Parabola with you out of my cellar. BM me if you wish.
     
  13. Pahn

    Pahn Initiate (0) Dec 2, 2009 New York

    as i probably said earlier, i had a bottle of 2011 parabola a month or two after it was released, and loved it like no other beer. after talking it up quite a bit, i had split another bottle with a friend in early 2012 and it was already a shadow of itself.

    i'd want to blame palate stuff or something, but both times it was the only or first beer of the night, and not surrounded by any weird food or anything. the beer just doesn't hold up.
     
  14. tigernipples

    tigernipples Initiate (0) Nov 21, 2009 New Jersey

    That is clearly your opinion , opinions are much different than fact.
     
    albertq17 likes this.
  15. tbadiuk

    tbadiuk Pundit (790) Feb 9, 2009 Canada (MB)
    Trader

    I sadly have to agree with all the above. I went through about 16 bottles (shared with 1-2 other people mostly) of Parabola b2 in 2011-12. The last two bottles I had were still great, but not like the fresh version. Because of this I only am getting 3 2012 b3's.
     
  16. goosewhisperer

    goosewhisperer Initiate (0) May 28, 2011 Colorado

    The funny thing about cellaring beers is that the flavors become more homogenized and subtle in something like a IRS. I happen to really like the journey beers take as they get older. There are flavors that fade and get out of the way of other flavors.

    Some can appreciate this, and some really don't like it. It's all good, something different for everyone's taste.
     
  17. Pahn

    Pahn Initiate (0) Dec 2, 2009 New York

    well, it's my opinion about the fact of parabola's change in a short period of time.
     
  18. MikeTen

    MikeTen Initiate (0) Apr 3, 2009 California

    I'm in total agreement. I haven't had a single Firestone beer that ages well beyond a couple of years.

    inb4 "Well that's just your OPINION" (Duh)
     
  19. ChanChan

    ChanChan Maven (1,341) Dec 12, 2009 California

    Hey thanks alot!!! I just spent 20 minutes watchin Super Trooper clips on youtube!!!
     
    MarkIntihar likes this.
  20. poopinmybutt

    poopinmybutt Zealot (631) May 25, 2005 Nebraska

    is parabola a completely different beast than gi bcs? how pronounced is the booze in parabola? i was planning on holding onto it for a bit.

    i don't think i've met a single person who likes bcs fresh as much as the vintages
     
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