June 2015 Cellar Reviews

Sahati is an amazing beer. Currently, my favorite beer made. Fresh, it almost tastes like an IPA. But after a year, the spruce starts to stand out without being bitter and the funk gets funkier. I picked up two bottles at the end of last year. Was planning to pop one near the end of this year, and the other sometime next year...

 

So I popped open a September 2010 Bell's Expedition Stout.



And according to the Bell's batch finder it's specifically from September 13th



As you can see, it's flat as hell. Nose mainly chocolate with some molasses, which is reflected immediately in the taste. Once you power through the initial taste you uncover chicory, old fashion fudge, hints of licorice and a dash of cola, which I'll bet is from oxidation.

I've had this at a few different periods now and as good as this is, my personal opinion is that 2 - 3 years is the sweet spot for this stalwart stout.

 

I hope you were baking cookies to go with that.

 

Hill Farmstead/Grassroots - Brother Soigne, bottled 5/2014: The lime comes through here the most and the blood orange has fallen off quite a bit. There's a pretty high level of carbonation and it feels great on the palate. The finish is clean and dry.

I remember this tasting a lot juicier. While still a tasty beer, not one I would age again. In contrast, I think JK's Provenance beers (similar in concept if not in exact execution) have gotten better over time.

 

Opened a 2010 Dogfish Head World Wide Stout today. No exact bottle date but this one is about 5 years old now. After wiping of the mold eating the label away, I popped it open to a nice healthy "pop."

Appearance: pours a deep and solid black, maybe the slightest hint of mahogany around the very edge. with a semi-aggressive pour, to get this old boy living again, a two to three finger tan head forms with surprisingly strong retention and a good frothy lacing. Completely opaque due to the darkness.

Smell: upon cracking the seal I was greeted with a huge aroma of good oxidation. initially getting some sherry notes but as I get a closer whiff, it is more port like. Other aromas include chocolate fudge, molasses to maple syrup, some more booziness that mixes with dark fruits.

Taste: opens with a bit of booziness mixing nicely with chocolate and dark fruit. the dark fruit melds into a port like character with the booze staying prominent. more fudge like chocolate, some sherry-like oxidation. some roasted malt character. molasses to maple syrup character comes in. ends with a bit more booze.

Mouthfeel: heavy and chewy. syrup like stickiness and feel. booziness pervades but doesn't quite dominate. some bitterness from roasted malts. no astringency or overpowering characters.

Overall: I've had this fresh multiple times and have never seen the amazing qualities that come out over time. fresh it tastes like a imperial stout that clocks in around 10% and costs much less. But at 5 years this beer has really become something new, unique and absolutely delicious. I am glad I didn't write this one off based on my first tasting of it.

4.6/5

 

Was just debating about drinking of further aging this beer, it's at about a year...

 

2013 Black Albert - 330ml bottle

jet black, good looking dark brown colored head, but it fades. aroma is a little boozy, with a combo of roast, fruity, and some black licorice. the taste is smoother, still complex with the same flavors. medium bodied, lower carbonation, slick mouthfeel.

 

Dogfish Head Kvasir 10/11/2013

From memory, aroma of the beer has changed. The taste has changed to cranberries up front with the finish of the honey. the up front sweetness from a fresh bottle is gone. This beer has become much better with age. Truly enjoyable.

 

2013 Hill Farmstead Birth of Tragedy.

Don't generally post reviews here (or anywhere else), but my wife and I were totally floored by this. Smoother texture, very round, sweet, with residual roastiness from the coffee. May have been char from the barrel aging, but either way it provided amazing balance. I drink a more-than-healthy amount of cellared barrel-aged stouts, and this is far and away the best one I've had in recent memory. Might have one bottle left of this, and I think I may give it some more time. While the one we just drank was excellent, I didn't get the sense that it was about to fall off, so might wait on the next one out of curiosity.

Anyway, if you have one, I highly, highly recommend drinking.

 

Got an '11 Double Bastard





As you can see, this is still one beautiful beer. Just awesome head and great color. Lacing doesn't miss a beat either as it is settling gently on the glass. Nose is nutty with hints of dates. Taste is just fantastic as we also realize the dates and nuttiness but believe it or not, we still have hop goodness mostly on the finish. No heat at all. We also have some caramel maltiness on the finish right before a slight hint of dark baker's chocolate. No lingering sweetness, just rides out with the bitter. Yep, 2011 is drinking nice as all hell, No doubt.

 

2014 Allagash Belfius- Blend of 2 year old Coolship and their house saison. I was really looking forward to aging this because it was killer fresh but I was hoping for more tartness/funk after a year. It turned out amazing. It reminded me of an aged HF Arthur. Tart, complex, lemon/lime, hay, funky and thirst quenching. I really wish I had another couple bottles to see what happens long term.

 

Never really post in this forum but I just pulled a Bolt Cutter from the cellar and am blown away by how good this beer is drinking right now.



Everything seems to be in a perfect balance now; the hops are faded away but still have provide a subtle bitterness that counterbalances the sweetness - but huge brown sugar and toffee notes, a little bit of oak, and a lovely counterpoint of bourbon.

As an avowed barleywine fanatic take it from me - this beer is peaking. Drink it if you have it and buy more if you see it. 2.5 years have done wonders for an already good beer.

 

2014 Velvet Merkin

Kinda young for a cellar thread, but what the hell. Bomber at cellar temp into a FW teku (cuz the branding definitely changes the taste). Bomber opened with a weird pop, and the pour was strange—it seemed like there was some foam that was obstructing things, then suddenly it shifted and the beer started glugging out. Faint smell of raspberry pie (I assume that's a thing). There is a certain bite that I don't remember fresh, but if this is going sour, right now it's absolutely better than intentionally sour stouts like Tart of Darkness. Still definitely the weakest beer in FW's Proprieter's Vintage series (both in terms of ABV and quality, perhaps not coincidentally), but I'm liking this slightly better than last time I had it (probably close to 4–5 months in the cellar). That said, if my other three bottles turn out to actually be infected, I'm going to assume that my next review will be much less favorable. 4.05/5

 

Cracked open a New Glarus Thumbprint Dubbel. Bottled 051 2014 making it a year and a quarter old. I enjoyed this one fresh, so I followed Dan's advice on cellaring some and threw a few in the basement.

Appearance: Pours a worn leathery color with hints of ruby in certain parts, an interesting mix of earthy and bright. Even a gentle pour yields a huge 2+ finger head with killer retention. The foam is a tannish color and clings all over the sides of the glass. It is completely hazy and opaque with some hints of brightness.

Smell: strong dark fruits, strong dates and raisins as well as prunes and stewed plums. some molasses to caramel malt flavors. Some leathery to tobacco notes. still some clove hanging in there.

Taste: opens with notes of prunes, the dark fruits are quite as complex as the nose. stewed plums mix in with some weaker malty notes of caramel and molassses. ends with notes of leather and vanilla. clove and spiciness is just barely there at the end.

Mouthfeel: full bodied and partially warming. low sweetness and partially dry. a nice sipper thats not to warming. This one has really dried out since last year.

Overall: This one has aged nicely. I think I preferred it fresh but at the price point it would be a solid belgian to throw in the cellar. I have one bottle left and I think I'll let it sit a while longer and see how it plays out due to the ever so slight amount of phenols left. All esters have faded to their nicely aged counterparts at this time. 3.9/5

Here is a link to my review from when it was fresh: http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/590/115380/?ba=SportsandJorts

 

I have one left might have to drink it soon but was hoping to get a couple more years on it.

 

Can't see why it would fall off a cliff any time soon. Can't imagine it would get demonstrably better either but you never know!

 

Thanks for that. I am sitting on two bottles. I was debating bringing one to a get together in two weeks, you just sealed the deal for me.

 

February 2014 Weyerbacher Heresy. Monster infection, I'm sad to say. Sour and thin. Discussed with friends and apparently it's a common issue for them. They are now on my do not buy list.

 

wheatwine- under appreciated style. Debate rages about age worthiness

6/2012 Smuttynose Wheatwine: smells of caramel and fresh cut lawn clippings. Taste: Starts like a warm barleywine, finishes as a tart , dry wheat with lemon, buttery dashes. A definite dichotomy of flavors. Fascinating , brash, not cohesive but pleasantly startling to the taste buds. I enjoy a bold flavor profile that makes me sip, as even the 12% RIS and BABW go down a little too easy at this point