December Cellar Reviews

Discussion in 'Cellaring / Aging Beer' started by SportsandJorts, Dec 9, 2015.

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  1. SportsandJorts

    SportsandJorts Initiate (0) Nov 17, 2012 Virginia

    Didn't see one started so someone's gotta do it.

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    I've seen some recent talk popping up about aging Curmudgeon and no clear consensus on when it's the best. I'll summarize my past experience with this beer: I bought a 4 pack in 2013 and enjoyed it over the next 8 months. I thought the beer was the most impressive at the end. So 2014 release I bought 2 4 packs. The first on I split between drinking fresh and drink at about 8 months. Next one I cracked open was right at the 1 year mark and I thought it had taken a remarkable turn for the worse. At this point I lost most faith in the last few bottles I had left and haven't touched it since.

    Now we are sitting at the 23 month mark, bottle date is faint but sometime around the end of January 2013. And now on to my thoughts. The smell is full of alcohol, dark fruits, and some slight wooden character. The taste is a bit more interesting and complex than the nose. It opens up with some vanilla and some additional barrel character. The malts come on next with lots of caramel and some toasted grains. The alcohol is still present but has developed a bit. Some light booze but more in the way of amaretto and caramel. The dark fruit taste has increased since being fresh as well. Some oxidation in between a port and sherry comes through.

    This beer is very different now than its younger selves but still recognizable as the same beer. The molasses has dropped off to an after thought and the rest of the flavors have developed and aged nicely.

    I am pleasantly surprised with this one. At the one year mark this was decidedly worse. This may be one of stranger aging profiles for a beer I have seen. I really enjoy it fresh and through at months and then again around 2 years.
     
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  2. neurobot01

    neurobot01 Maven (1,289) Jan 25, 2014 Germany

    Revisiting 2014 Velvet Merkin; my last bottle made me worried this was going south, but no sign of anything amiss here. Flavor is dominated by an almost smoky roastiness and chocolate nougat/mousse at cellar temp. As it warms, the bourbon comes to the fore, and a lot of the balance is lost. Mouthfeel continues to be by far the weakest element of this beer. At cellar temp, I'd give this a 4.15, but 3.85 at room temp.
     
  3. SportsandJorts

    SportsandJorts Initiate (0) Nov 17, 2012 Virginia

    Finally getting around to cleaning some beers out of my cellar that haven't exactly been calling my name. This one is a throwback to extinct caps and labels.[​IMG]
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    Still haven't decided if I like Great Lakes old or new labels better, both are kind of weak in my opinion. 2013 Nosferatu is all that is left over from my celebration year of drinking all the their beers in celebration of their 25th Anniversary. I didn't have the highest hopes for this one.

    According to the Great Lakes website, the malts contained in this are 2-row, crystal 77 and special roast. The maltiness is still very present in the taste. The crystal give notes of raisins, lots of caramel and hints of burnt sugar. The special roast contributes some more toasty to biscuit taste along with a slight tang. I don't have any notes on this one fresh but with 70 IBU and Simcoe and Cascade hops I can't imagine that this was hopless in taste. The bitterness has certainly faded but the balance is still in a nice place. Cascade and Simcoe are fairly high up on the beta/alpha acid ratio scale so I'd imagine some of the beta acids are aiding in the balance. Some must hop/cellar must is there but its not quite unpleasant. Notes of amaretto and fruity esters have arisen over the past two years.

    Very pleasantly surprised with this one. I might go look for a 4-pack of this years if its around, partially to try one fresh(ish) again to see how it compares. Great Lakes gives a shelf life of 90 days but this one does surprisingly good if aged properly from there.
     
  4. argock

    argock Grand Pooh-Bah (3,348) Dec 30, 2006 Virginia
    Pooh-Bah

    2009 Left Hand WIddershins Oak Aged (Brandy Barrel) Barleywine
    Vey smooth if not a little bland with a lot of oak in the aroma but a lot less in the flavor with more light to medium caramel flavor and minimal alcohol character but a lot of earthy hoppiness and a little oak in the finish that rounds it out. It has lost the big character it had fresh, but it is still an enjoyable beer even at this ripe old age.
     
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  5. liquorpig

    liquorpig Pooh-Bah (1,964) Sep 6, 2008 Massachusetts
    Society Pooh-Bah

    Just cracked open a Victory Storm King 2012 and it's drinking very smooth. Nice aroma too. With a best by date of 2/16, I'm wondering if I should drink my last 2 or whether they'll hold up fine beyond that date.
     
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  6. jmdrpi

    jmdrpi Grand High Pooh-Bah (8,989) Dec 11, 2008 Pennsylvania
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah

    I have about half a dozen bottles left from a 2010 case, best by date of 12/15. I just had one and oxidation is starting to creep in, it's past it's peak. So the 5 year date is true, in my opinion. I'm gonna drink the rest of mine this winter.
     
  7. atpca

    atpca Pooh-Bah (1,652) Jun 10, 2013 California
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Sahalie bottled Dec 16 2013. Musty, mandarin, pear, vanilla, boozey finish. Tasty.
     
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  8. Mdog

    Mdog Pooh-Bah (2,539) Jan 7, 2004 Minnesota
    Society Pooh-Bah

    One of my bottles of Old Horizontal hit ten years old on Dec. 9 so I figured that was a good reason to pop it open. The bottle was stored for probably 4-5 years in my basement (so between 60-75F), then the past 5-6 years in the fridge.

    I enjoy Old Ho fresh but haven't had a bottle since they switched to bombers. When fresh, it is sweet with tootsie roll characteristics, but enough hops to keep the sweetness at bay.

    After 10 years and 2 days:
    Appearance: Brown, cloudy, chunks, surprisingly good head.
    Smell: Raisin/caramel with lots of oxidation. Kind of overripe fruit on the edge of rotten.
    Taste: Sweet raisin to start, then a kind of tannic/woody red wine-like flavor. Earthy, lasting finish. Further tastes remind me of a stout with prominent fruit. More caramel at the start as it warms.

    This was a very interesting experiment, had all sorts of flavors that came through after the aging. Instead of just a barleywine, it was like a wine barrel aged, barleywine/dubbel/quad/stout.

    I have a 2005 Bigfoot that I'll open soon and see how it compares to this (and a 2015 Bigfoot).
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    #8 Mdog, Dec 13, 2015
    Last edited: Dec 13, 2015
  9. spry

    spry Initiate (0) Oct 8, 2009 Michigan

    2010 Expedition Stout.

    Smells like a mix of port with a little bit of soy. Sounds weird, but it's actually quite a good smell. The mouthfeel is quite slick with minimal carbonation. A little bit of sweetness form the malt to start and then mixed in with some sort of cola-type mineral flavor. Also definitely pick up some oxidation. Then there is a solid lingering bitterness from the hops in the finish. I'm surprised at how much bitterness is left in this one. Overall it has aged well, as expected, and can go for a few more years easily.
     
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  10. JonnyBeers

    JonnyBeers Savant (1,211) Oct 24, 2012 Canada (BC)

    Just cracked my last Upright Anniversary Saison 2015. I know it's not even a year old but can't see this getting any better, so good!!! Bit of a slow gusher, keep an eye on it when opening.
     
  11. neurobot01

    neurobot01 Maven (1,289) Jan 25, 2014 Germany

    Weyerbacher Insanity, bottled 12/16/13, into a Teku at cellar temp. The nose is pretty great, with tobacco, vanilla, candied dark fruit. Taste is very nice as well. Toffee, figs, powdered sugar, cherries, mild bitterness, oak. There are fleeting hints of something mindblowingly great, but it never quite sticks around. Maybe it would come out with more age (they suggest going up to five years), but this was my last bottle, so I suppose I'll never know. 4.15/5.

    Edit: here's my review of it from 6mos ago.
     
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  12. AirBob

    AirBob Pooh-Bah (1,742) Jul 15, 2014 Massachusetts
    Society Pooh-Bah Trader

  13. maximum12

    maximum12 Grand Pooh-Bah (4,686) Jan 21, 2008 Minnesota
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I had an old bomber of Insanity two summers ago that my friend believed was six years old & it was mind-blowingly good. I've been meaning to stick some in the cellar ever since, but they never last long. I'm going to try to hide some of the next batch.
     
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  14. darktronica

    darktronica Grand Pooh-Bah (3,272) Aug 29, 2014 Indiana
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Local bottle shop just put out some '09 and '10 Stone Old Guardians. Had a bottle of the 2009 yesterday, and it was drinking juuuuust fiiiiine. Still very flavorful, with a lot of bright aromas, brown sugar, orange gumdrops, and surprisingly enough, still a fair amount of hoppy bitterness. The hops have evolved a bit from the piney, resinous flavours of fresh Old Guardian, to being more of a generic botanical, almost medicinal bitterness--or perhaps that was the impression I got from the hops melding with the sweet and citrus notes. Still quite American in style.
     
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  15. corby112

    corby112 Initiate (0) Nov 19, 2008 Pennsylvania

    Sounds awesome! I have an 07 that I'm waiting for the ten year mark to open. Hopefully it holds up as well as your 09.
     
  16. MastaaaGrillaaa

    MastaaaGrillaaa Initiate (0) Feb 10, 2015 Ohio
    Trader

    2014 Backwoods Bastard, did next to a 2015:

    App: Red wine like, w/ slightly more transparency, barely any head.

    Aroma: Tons of dark fruit and some wheaty, yeasty notes. Very little barrel.

    Flavor: Tons of dark fruit with a slight wheaty flavor. Vanilla and some bourbon with sweet carmel. The barrel fades a bit, but in a good way. 2015 felt much more harsh.

    Moutfeel: Liked how there was plenty of carmonation that coated your mouth while some how feeling a bit syrupy with nice viscosity that provided balance.

    Overall: I preferred it aged. Liked the way the dark jammy fruits came out and the barrel was less pronounced. Enjoyed what felt liked increased viscosity as well.

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  17. shadetree67

    shadetree67 Savant (1,072) Sep 11, 2013 Minnesota
    Trader

    Opened a 2013 bourbon county barleywine on friday. When it was fresh i didnt care for it as itwas much too boozy. Right now it is super smooth and full of sweet caramel. Hard to imagine it getting better than this. The only barleywine I've tried that is better would be kh
     
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  18. darktronica

    darktronica Grand Pooh-Bah (3,272) Aug 29, 2014 Indiana
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Sipping on a 2011 Devil Dancer, and I'm not sure if it needs a few more years or a few less years. Either way, this one is impressively bitter, sharply so, with some plum and dark stone fruit notes being overwhelmed by pomelo and grapefruit pith. There are a lot of fruit flavors dancing around on the tongue, but some of them are overly ripe. I've seen a few BA reviews that used "cat piss" as a positive descriptor, and it's somewhat close to the mark here, but not in as good of a way. The smell isn't so much of ammonia or uric acid, but that peculiar combination of piss and cat litter. It's subtle and dominated by fruity bitterness, but I definitely get some unpleasant, almost rotten undertones that are most likely from oxidation.
     
  19. mdomask

    mdomask Initiate (0) May 27, 2012 Illinois

    Digging into the cellar for the holidays.
    2012(?) Kosmyk Charlie's Y2K Catastrophe Ale
    Poured all but the last inch or so into the glass. Remainder was a mess of dead yeast. Aroma was promising, but taste was pretty standard American barleywine that's past its time. Very bitter, with hints of the rich malt poking through. Needs at least another year to get past this phase.

    BCS Backyard Rye
    Perfect melding of tart berries and rich chocolate from the stout. Just a kiss of barrel at the end. Very jammy; perfect dessert beer. Drink now; it's not getting better.
     
  20. gopens44

    gopens44 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,560) Aug 9, 2010 Virginia
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    2009 Flying Dog Barley Wine

    Decent finger size head on top this dark purple brownish beer. Nose was extremely nice with big fig, caramel and plum. Taste was equally nice but even more complex as it begins bitterly but opens up to raisin, a ton of molasses, carob, burnt toffee and black cherry. Overall the body was thin but that's likely more a product of age and not intent, so no marking down there. Finish has some heat in it as well as a tiny bit of tart on exit.
     
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