May 2014 Cellar Reviews

Did you drink that this morning already?

 

Allagash Tiarna dated 2013-10: Still drinking great, brett has definitely taken the forefront, citrus/white wine funk, frothy carbonation makes it really refreshing on this sunny May afternoon.

 

Founders Curmudgeon Old Ale. Bottled 4/19/12.

Really enjoyed this. Really mellow and balanced between the flavors right now. Alcohol burn has all but left. Oak has faded out slightly (never seemed to be all that prominent fresh anyway) but it is present at the end of the sip. Still pretty sweet, but overall a nice way to end the night. Can't see this really improving much more though.

 

I am drinking an Old Curmudgeon from fall 2010. It pours a redder color than when fresh; the nose has noticeably diminished to a shell of itself - some oak and mellow vanilla notes are present, though; the taste, however is superb - malty, caramelly sweetness upfront moves on to a slight tobacco, cognac, and toasted/burnt malt flavor ; this finishes with a slight aged hop bitterness mixed with oak, and a really nice vanilla pop. Fantastic taste! The alcohol has noticeably settled and makes for a very easy drinking ale. I have a 2009 sitting in the fridge and will post an update on that within the next week or so - can't wait to try it.

 

I have 2 left from 2012. Sounds like I might have to keep them stashed for another year or two. Excited to hear how the '09 is holding up.

 

2012-2013 Tilquin Oude Gueuze - Smooth, low carbonation, no real bite to the beer. Still has a nice lemony flavor but not much in the way of tartness. Really reminded me of Cantillon's Classic, quite enjoyable.

2012-01-05 Drie Fonteinen Oude Geuze - Huge carbonation, extremely sour, champagne like qualities. Granny Smith apples are the first thing I thought about. The 2+ years of age seemed to promote even more sourness. Very funky, a ton of barnyard, just a little over the top for me in terms of aggressiveness.

 

Currently drinking a 3F Oude Kriek bottled April 1, 2011, so just over 3 years ago. I remember this one being a real gem at the time it was fresh; the cherries have started to drop out and the acidity has started to rise. Still a stellar beer, but noticeably less of a kriek than it was. My thoughts are to drink this one fresh, just like almost all fruited lambics.

 

All right, so I was curious myself and wanted to get after it. The nose has turned into a much more tobacco and leather aroma with less of the malty sweetness and vanilla I picked up yesterday. It's a touch soy saucy upfront but as it goes down there is rich caramel, leather, tobacco, spicy dark fruit, and a touch of vanilla. It reminds me of some of the best old ales and less hoppy barley wines I have tried.

Different flavor profile than the '10 had, but I think better - I am going to say this is the best flavor combination I have tasted in this beer. It could go on for longer, but maybe 2 more years at most before it started to fall apart. Have fun laying those two bottles down! Chalk this one up to a cellar success!

 

Glad to hear that I shouldn't bother cellaring the old crum from Founders. I think it's fine fresh and I didn't think it would age in any noteworthy way. Nice to get some confirmation that age didn't really help much.

 

2009 Belll's Third Coast Old Ale

dark brown, with some ruby highlights. no head. very nice aroma of raisins, toffee, caramel. rich taste of similar flavors, slightly sweet. thick body, low carbonation. excellent.

 

I don't know...I don't really bother cellaring beers anymore, but I think age improved this one. It's a little hot and somewhat assertive fresh. Age mellowed it out and made it taste more like the old ale it is categorized as, especially at the 4.5 year mark. I am glad I had a couple older ones to try and preferred them than fresh ones I have had.

 

I see what you mean but do to limited "cellaring space" I can't afford to cellar a beer for 4.5 years that doesn't improve much. But that is just me.

 

2009 great lakes glockenspiel, from the last release of it. subdued smell of fruit and brown sugar. taste is sweet but not real cloying, brown sugar, some fruit and a bit of yeast spice.help up pretty well for 5 years but does show its age. held up better than the 2012 moonglow weizenbock from victory last night.

2012 victory moonglow. smooth and malty. yeast spice is the most present flavor, followed with dark bread and fruit. a bit flat overall.

 

Yeah, I definitely hear you on the limited space and time for marginal results. I am drinking up the majority of my remaining cellared beers right now and there are definitely much better candidates than Old Curmudgeon for laying down. Cheers!

 

Pouring a Bell's Expedition Stout bottled 11/11/10. The booziness has really settled down, and a rich bakers' chocolate flavor with some roasted notes really stand out right now. This is one of my favorite easy to obtain RIS's both fresh and aged; this bottle is no exception. This beer is really shinning at this moment in time.