January 2016 Cellar Reviews

Last week I decided I was going to open the first 3 original base versions of the Bruery anniversary series. (1 per day for 3 consecutive days.) Having noticed that I enjoy beers like black tuesday, grey monday and chocolate rain more once the beers are opened and breath for a day, I decided to do an experiment where I open the bottles, do a review and then revisit the beer 12 hours later to notice the difference a little degassing/breathing does for these beers.

Cuir was the first opened. It was excessively carbonated and actually tasted the most oxidized of the 3. This surprised me but if you consider the solara method that the Bruery uses, it kinda makes sense since it includes beer (of some percentage that is a year and 2 years older.) I just never expected it to taste THAT much older than Coton and Papier.

Cuir (freshly opened) smelled of raisons, sweet caramel, molasses, dry toasty malt, booze and some papery oxidative qualities. The taste was raisony with toasty malt, cocoa, molasses and slight herbal character. Some oxidative notes added great complexity and focus on the dryer side of the maltiness present.

Cuir (12 hours later) was a much better experience. It had less carbonation which actually feels more fitting of this big beer giving it a richer, creamier feel. Papery oxidation initially that gives way to lots of fruit like raison/prunes and a seemingly completely masked alcohol inclusion. The aftertaste has a bit of fall foliage feel with herbal bitterness contrasting the caramelized sugars.

Coton (freshly opened) was like a mirror image of Cuir at 12 hours after opening except less oxidation and more of a vinous alcohol character. This is also where the first notes of leather, char and mild oak were noticeable. However, as it got warmer, this one felt solvent and more bitter than both Cuir experiences.

Coton (12 hours later) vinous and oaky with almost a stale coffee character that blends with the earth and leather. Oxidation is faint but evident.

Papier - its not that noticeable from my pictures but this beer is significantly darker than Coton and Cuir. Like, almost black where the other 2 were clearly dark brown/mahogany. Papier straight out the gate had visually less carbonation than the other 2 and I kinda liked that about it. It also had minuscule suggestions of oxidation and really was not showing its age. Where Coton hinted at chocolate notes, that is the leading role in Papier with bourbony tang, leather and burnt molasses being the finisher. (Sorry, no 12 hours later notes because I drank the entire bottle in 1 sitting - yeah, that good.)

There is either huge bottle variation in Papier or cellar conditions play a very significant role because my experience here was phenominal in comparison to others commenting that these are way over the hill.

 

Tonight did a side by side tasting followed with a blending of 2013 HotD Fred from the Wood and 2013 Bourbon Fred from the Wood. Anyways here the latest findings:

2013 Fred from the Wood- still flat as ever! FftW pours no head only a few bubbles with a hard pour; looks very still. Awesome bourbon notes and smells like a great high abv barrel aged beer should. Caramel, honey, toffee, brown sugar, premium bourbon. The mouthfeel no surprise here its totally flat, but it is also very smooth with no boozy sting what so ever. Verdict is...I dont care that this does not have carbonation, its still an absolutely with out a doubt fantastic beer. Sad this is the last bottle I have. Almost drinks like a light spirit with none of the booze to deal and all the complexity and bourbon goodness you could want!

2013 Bourbon Fred from the Wood- Nice big head; this beer looks like a grand champion compared to Bourbon Fred from the Wood. Very fruit and very spicy in the nose. It even took on a ginger character in the nose and flavor. Light oak presence barely any of those awesome tobacco notes that I remember from this beer less than 6 months ago when I last cracked one open. No signs of oxidation though. The beer is very well carbonated and has a very nice feel to it. Slightly boozy, but I think that is because the beer is very spicy right now and that makes it seem boozier. I think this beer hit a weird spot at the current time.

We decided to take the remaining 6 oz of each 12 bottle and blended them. The goal was to make completely still Bourbon Fred carbonated once again! We found that a 2 to 1 ratio did a really nice job. That still gave us all the great bourbon complexity of Bourbon Fred from the Wood with the carbonation of Fred from the Wood. Fun little beer experiment with a buddy who is a cicerone. It got pretty nerdy.

 

Rooting for the Chiefs with an unintentionally aged bottle that I never got around to drinking. Dark Truth Stout from Boulevard in KC. (Best by 5/15/14). It serves its purpose. Roasty nose with anise. Signature ashy flavor is still there. Very smooth with a hint of wet paper oxidation starting to show up. I wouldn't have planned to age this and am at least glad I found an occasion to open it.

 

2012 SN Bigfoot Barleywine
Stored dark in boxes at about 68-70F, consistent

Murky auburn with pretty healthy 1/2-finger beige head with tons of lacing.

Same caramel and light chocolate malty aroma with earthy, woody, herbal hopping.

Huge maltiness with medium caramel but whopping bitterness with woody, earthy hops contribution.

Mouthfeel is creamy and smooth with low carbonation not surprisingly.

Enjoyable with solid, fairly predictable malty flavor profile but signature woody hop bitterness.

 

Had a very nearly year old Ten Fidy today. Not too much difference from a ~2 month old version that I last had, except noticeably more lacing and very slightly more sweetness up front.

 

Founders Imperial Stout, January 2013, December 2013, December 2014 bottling dates from left to right. Brief tasting notes and comparison:

January 2013: Roasty, cocoa, dark chocolate, a bit of grassy earthy bitterness on the backend with good balance. This has aged nicely with more of the malt coming out but with enough hop bitterness to maintain that balance. Incredibly easy to drink with a lot of flavour, but not overpowering. No oxidative notes.
December 2013: More dark fruit, similar roasty, cocoa, dark chocolate, a bit of burnt coffee bean, but compared to 2012, there is a good deal more earthy bitterness, with a bit of a grassy, herbal bite. It seems that the hops are somewhat outbalancing the malt here, which is weird since I would imagine it to be the other way around.
December 2014: It's balanced, and reminds me a lot of the fresh version. Plenty of malt and a good amount of hop bite that balances out. Drinks great, a lot of complexity and flavours here from both the malt and the hops. Overall doesn't seem to have changed a lot compared to fresh, but I didn't feel like continuing with the vertical and opening up a December 2015 bottle as it was already looking tough to finish these 3 bottles.

Conclusion: The cellared bottles are doing great at the 3 year mark though I will age a bottle or two for another year to see how they do (looking for the end point where they start turning/oxidizing), and I'm going to let my December 2013's go at least another year before drinking more of them to see if it attains some more balance.

Note on storage: These bottles were stored in the back of a room temp closet the entire time (My wine fridge is all lambic, no room for much else), so I was surprised to not have any oxidative notes or cardboard.

 

Just shared a Mirror Mirror from Deschutes a few nights ago. This was the 2014 edition, April I think.

I had this beer immediately after its release and thought it was good, but too sweet and sappy to be excellent.

With the better part of two years of age, it has completely transcended its former status for me. The sweetness and laboriously sappy mouthfeel have backed off and allowed the wine barrels to properly enter into the taste with a slightly thinner (read: better) mouthfeel. Maybe some slight oxidation characteristics, but not enough to interfere at all.

As this beer is still sitting on the shelf here and there, I'm unexpectedly looking forward to buying it again.

 

Just picked up fresh Founder's Imperial Stout last week . . . which means a trip down to the cellar to compare to prior years! Love these trips down to the basement.

Found my last 2011 bottling (Dec 2012) and also brought up one of my 2012's (Nov 2012). Did a comparison of 2015 vs. 2011 on Sunday . . . and then 2015 vs. 2012 on Monday.

While the 2011 did not offend, it also didn't "wow" me at all. No off flavors, per se . . . just didn't pop on the tongue. The 2012, however, was a completely different story. Roasty, chocolatey, smooth and delicious! In my mind, 3 years is without a doubt the sweet spot. The 2012 hit me in all the right places and just warmed my soul.

So, while just one man's opinion, I wouldn't go much longer than 3 years for Founder's Impy Stout. I'll happily be enjoying my remaining 2012's over the coming weeks.

 

just pulled one on friday. very enjoyable!

 

4/14 and 9/15 Brother Thelonius

wanted to see for myself if this was worth cellaring. the '14 had lost a great deal of belgian yeast quality, but really pushed those dark fruit flavors out into the light. towards the end of the glass, the '14 really lost steam and just tasted like a beer that sat out all night. kind of disappointing, but a fun little experiment.

 

Agree with the reviews on Founders Imperial Stout. Did a 12, 13, 14, 15 this weekend and 12 and 13 were both heads and shoulders better than 14 and 15. It was crazy how different 12 and 13 were from each other. I liked 12 slightly more and my buddy liked 13 slightly more, but at that point your couldn't go wrong with any either of them. I think I have 5 2012s left, will probably drink most of those and save 1 for next year's vertical.

 

Founders Sweet Repute 2013 is on tap as I type at Crunchy's in Lansing, MI. A nice surprise on an always-great tap list.

Sweet coconut and caramel nose. Similar flavor profile but much more refined from fresh. Boozy finish but no indication that this beer is above 9% ABV (it's 12.6%). If I still had a bottle I'd sit on it for another 1-2 years...but I'm going to drink the shit out of this on tap tonight and get a ride back to my hotel!

 

This past weekend, I split a 2011 Abacus (which is batch 001 of Sucaba before the name change).

It's been 3,000 miles of travel and many, many beers surrounded that one. However, maybe it was the company (two best buds living across this country from one another), maybe it was the beer, maybe both. But this beer was quite possibly the best I've had ever.

Do not hesitate to open it if you have one.

 

Avery Samael's Ale Batch #10, April 2012

Dark reddish amber with only a thin rim of head and quite a few floaties despite careful pouring. The beer is quite clear except for this though, brilliantly so. Heavy heavy caramel and toffee, alcohol, light herbal note in the aroma.

Huge malt bomb but delicious with slightly buttery toffee, burnt caramel, light oak tannin note in the finish. A little cough syrup in the finish too is a bit of a downgrade. Some vanilla comes through as well. There are some earthy tobacco notes also. Definitely a sipper. Between some
steely alcohol and that cough syrup, it is a tad boozy but what do you expect at > 15%. All in all very well done.

Lush mouthfeel, surprisingly not syrupy, full-bodied with low carbonation.

Big surprise as I did not like the previous iteration but it had 7 years from bottling versus 3 on this one. I'm sure there are some batch to batch differences. A huge array of flavors in a fairly drinkable package without overbearing oak character. Really flavorful beer with a huge array of flavors. High price tag but not a bad once in a great while option from the cellar.

 

I had a 3 year old bottle a couple of years ago and it had this caramel/buttery graham cracker/cheesecake thing going on that was amazing. One of the better aged beers I've had from Avery.

 

Last night popped a 2013 Bruery Smoking Wood. Overall reason for aging here was smoke was overpowering and wanted to see what impact aging would have on it. Overall I think it was an improvement. First tastes are loaded with roast, chocolate sweetness, spiciness still from the rye barrels, vanilla, alcohol and still a punch of meaty smoke. The flavors are much more complimentary and emulsified now to create a nice complex porter. By the end of the bottle however the smoke still got overpowering on the palate. This was counteracted by chilling in between pours which accentuated the chocolate and vanilla and muted the smoke. Unfortunately the rye flavors were also muted by the reduced temperature.

 

Just opened a bottle from 5/2013 last night. It had a lot of the same characteristics that you are describing. The "cough syrup" notes were more like pleasant cherry notes in my vintage. Maybe after another year it evolved into what you are describing. The biggest flavor present was definitely the oak. Loads and loads of oak....and booze. 3 years and it still had quite a bite. Overall really enjoyable sipper!