February 2016 Cellar Reviews

Did some solid cellar cleaning yesterday...


This was interesting. The barrel character had an interesting tang component to it. Not saying it was infected but it sure tasted unique considering the elements that comprise the blend.


This on the other hand was incredible. Lucious and rich, beautiful execution of deep sweet barrel aging flavors: toasted coconut, caramel and vanilla wrapped up in blanket of pleasant boozy warmth.


Cherry was present and accounted for. Base beer was pretty linear and barrel character was nowhere to be found.


This was circa '08 bottling. Pretty good. I find it to be on par with all the barrel aged stouts that people chase after and yet, I dont think ive ever heard/seen anyone talk about this one.


2007 bottling. Arguably the finest bottle I opened in this "all day cellar sampling" yesterday.


This was about 5 years old. Decent, nothing to write home about.

 

This is encouraging, as I'm sitting on a couple 2013s and am in no hurry to open them.

 

My first one of these but been sitting on it for about a year. Flavors are so well integrated between the roasted coffee, vanilla and leather of the bourbon and sweetness of the base stout. Really really nice overall with strong, smooth, velvety mouthfeel.

 

In my efforts to clear my cellar of all that don't truly belong, I decided to open a 2013 Lagunitas Imperial Stout. Bottled on September 17th of that year and pick up shortly after for around $5. This was never really meant to cellar this one but here we are 2+ years later.

Aroma upon opening the bottle are fairly nice, but show moderate signs of oxidation and autolysis, mix of cardboard, light soy sauce and maybe some madeira. Carbonation is rocking; a two finger tan head forms, and it came off a little bit prickly at first. The taste opens in with some chocolate before big waves of age, soy sauce, madeira, cardboard, amaretto, and a light rust. Some of the roasted malts haven't quite turned to rust and come in near the end. Any alcohol that was in it has long since faded to fruit, aged booze flavors. Maybe some blood-like iron taste as well.

Well, there you have it. Don't age Lagunitas Imperial Stout. We all know that most beers shouldn't be aged; even if they are 10% and have no adjuncts. Probably not my worst $5 ever spent, even when talking only about beer. It wasn't the worst thing I have ever drank. At least I don't have to look at it every time I go to drink something from the cellar.

 

2014 Avery Uncle Jacob's stout, bottled 2/4/14. Review at 7mos here. 12oz bottle into a Teku at cellar temp, allowed to warm.

Look: nearly black, very viscous, essentially no head. (4.25)

Smell: very clean chocolate, mild cherry, maple syrup, vanilla. Smells very sweet, but delicious. (4.5)

Taste: good god is this sweet. I mostly remembered it being hot before, but this is bonkers sweet. There's some roast in the background (even a little smoke), but every other flavor is sweet—tons of maple syrup, chocolate, cherry, plum, grape jelly, molasses... (4.25)

Feel: pretty chewy, very dry, with maybe a touch too much carbonation. (4.25)

Overall: I'm torn on the taste rating. This thing is really delicious, but in the way deep-fried Oreos are delicious, and no one holds those up as examples of culinary excellence. I do think this beer required skill, but the sweetness drowns out almost everything else. In the end, if you want an über dessert beer, this should do the trick, but if you want complexity, maybe look elsewhere. (4.25)

 

2011 Gouden Carolus Blau

Pours deep copper with dark garnet ribbons in the light. Smell is Malbec soaked raisins, slight booze and caramel. Taste is rum cake with some yeasty bread on the back end of the palett, more fruity red wine comes through as it warms, still a slight booziness is detectable. Mouthfeel is smooth and thick with prickly effervescent carbonation; my mouth is tingly from both this carbonation and the barely there alcohol heat. As it warms the carbonation mellows considerably and the mouthfeel becomes heavier and slippery almost. Molasses begins to dominate the flavor profile with the red wine taking a backseat.

 

Drinking a 2015 Wizard Burial Ground (released Dec 2014) next to a 2016 WBG (released Dec 2015).

The beer seems to have lost a significant amount of the sweetness that I'm finding in the fresher version. Actually, it makes it much more Quad like, and less BB English Barleywine like. Aroma is still very pleasant and the finish is great, unlike some other top quads.

Overall this aged alright even though it was only 14 months, but I prefer it fresh.

 

2014 & 2015 Ten Fidy side by side.

Visually, the '14 settled to a thin head very quickly, while the '15 filled the glass with foam.
The nose on both were similar, but the '14 had more depth.
The taste difference was bigger than I expected! The '15 was bright with bitter chocolate. The '14 had lost that bitterness, held most of the chocolate, and gained a nice deep smokiness.
Mouthfeel was as expected on both, with the '14 gaining some body.
The conclusion for me is that these little black cans are worth holding onto for (at least) a year before opening. Time to squirrel some away.

 

Just cracked (finally) my 2012 Bell's Black Note 750.

A nice loud pop of the cork, was a little worried that age might have messed the carbonation, but from the sound of it, that's not the case. Pours a jet black color, and towards the end of my pour, a thin amber head forms that slowly disapates, leaving an amber ring around the end of the glass.

There is a ton of barrel and chocolate on the beer, no signs of oxidation on the nose.

Mouthfeel still has a load of bourbon, it really punches you on the face with this one and pushes the boundaries. For me, as someone who is not a bourbon fan, this is just below the level of it being too much, however the amount of chocolate and fudge you get keeps the beer in-check and prevents an overly harsh taste.

I will say the difference between this and fresh Black Note is that Bell's stouts usually develop a fudge like character as they age, which I've always been a huge fan of. I saw this in BA/Reg 9k, and the same goes for BN (4.3).

 

Had an '11 Allagash Ghoulschip.......

Moderate yet balanced acidity with an abundant amount of pumpkin pie, malted character. Subtle pumpkin notes in the aroma. Extremely drinkable with a lack of any sort of funk. Just seems like it has mellowed over time with a general "loss" of tartness. Doesn't take away from the beer at all in my opinion. In fact I think the pumpkin has now shined with age as it is more at the forefront of the beer.

An interesting evolvement over time.

 

Did a side by side tasting of Brassie Dupont Avec Les Bons Voeux. One bottle was a 2013 and the other was a 2015 for a perspective of what fresh tastes like.

2015- This beer is a big and rich saison that has more fruit ester presence, spiciness, and wheat malt in the flavor and the aroma. Mouthfeel was bigger than the 2013. Didnt like this as much as the 2013. This beer has always reminded me of a tripel and saison hybrid that still leans toward the saison spectrum of things.

2013- As soon as the cork came out of the bottle you could smell a ton of skunk. After pouring the beer and letting it breathe and air out the skunk aroma left the beer. The beer poured a thick head and looked nice. No floaties or other signs of too much time in the bottle. After the skunk aroma left you had hints of wheat and grainy malt, light stale hops character, and grass. Light clove spice with that signature flavor (their house yeast) of all the different types of Dupont saisons still intact. The beer did not have any skunk flavors despite the massive smell of skunk that was encountered which really surprised me. The wheat malt and grain profile is really nice in the flavor. No much hop character at all in the flavor. The mouthfeel was the most impressive. This big winter saison was was super drinkable and noticeable that the body had better carbonation and even dried out slightly. Really crisp and clean saison. The verdict for me is I liked this better with age and would definitely set a few bottles of Avec Les Bons Voeux in the cellar and pull them after few years. I think that this was really great time frame for aging those bottles. The five people who all got a pour of both 2013 and 2015 unanimously agreed on liking 2013 better.

 

Saint Arnold's Bishop Barrel 8

Intoxicating aroma from the moment the cap came off. Big time vanilla flavor from a year in Woodford Reserve barrels and another year in my cellar. Starting to dry out. Drink now if you've got one.

 

Enjoy before February 2023, 33 cl bottle with a swingtop cap poured into a 22 oz snifter. Fridge temp and warming. Dark brown pour, almost black, with reddish hues. Cream colored head faded to a little more than a film stop the dark liquid. A thick cream colored ring circles the glass. Aroma is more like a Flanders than an eisbock. Cherry tart, berry cobbler in the nose. Taste is tart and fruitful with a bit of funk. Rum barrel treatment comes out mid taste but is more flavorful than alcoholic. I'm not sure this is intentionally funky. Decent marks for oud bruin but this is an eisbock. Moderate mouthfeel. For the style I would expect more viscosity and richness. Rum fighting with tartness and funk to prevail as the beer warms. Not bad but far from on-point.

 

2010 North Coast Old Stock Ale
Amber-light brown with no head and no lacing.
Aroma is mainly medium and darker caramel malts with a slightly herbal, earthy hop note
Smooth and unassuming with medium/dark caramel malts combining with herbal, earthy hopping. Alcohol is well-hidden with a full mouthfeel and low carbonation.
Holding up well after 5 years - a nice sipper.

 

Deschutes Mirror Mirror, best after 2/24/15. I only realized once I opened this (my last bottle) that I'd just had it six months previous and probably could've sat on it a bit longer. And judging from that review, I guess I have a habit of forgetting that I've had this beer in the not-too-distant past. Weird.



Maybe it's just that it didn't have to compete against the Old Stock Cellar Reserve 2011 that was fresh in my memory at the time, but this struck me as notably better than six months ago. Much less astringent, less "Juicy Juice", and just all around maybe a bit better blended. There is still a touch of alcohol harshness, but all in all this is quite nice. Next time I spot a bottle I'll pick it up with the intention of sitting on it at least 18mos past its best-after date. 4.3/5.

 

Cracked open my last bottle of Wild Peach tonight for a friend who has never had this beer before.

When the pressure cap came off the bottle it had a loud aggressive hiss and the beer started foaming out of the bottle. That was even when the bottle was cooled in the fridge for a full day prior to opening the beer. A sign that the bugs are very active in this R&D beer.

Appearance: Muddled brownish body with massive off white head. The head has crazy staying power. It maintained a thick cap on top of the beer the entire drink. Gentile swirl brings back twice as much head.

Smell: Loads of fresh peaches and peach skin. Big oak with a touch of bourbon sweetness. Getting some nice funk too. Smells frickn glorious.

Taste: Peaches are big immediately, but fade into the background. Big dry oak notes just as the nose suggests. Loads and loads of funk and this is where Wild peach really surprised me on how it has aged. Light bitterness mixing with bourbon in the finish.

Mouthfeel: medium bodied with moderate carbonation. This sour has a juicy character and also has a very light and slightly dry finish.

Overall: Wild Peach is very wild, but not necessarily a sour fruit bomb like very sour blackberry has evolved into. Wild peach is unique because of the awesome funk profile that have developed. Wild Peach will definitely continue to develop for a long, long time. I bet that Wild Peach has over 5 years of awesome drinking experiences before it takes a turn for the worst. None of the peach character has fallen off yet, it is getting more carbonated, and the beer is getting seriously funkier! Wild Peach is the 2nd best beer that Dan Carey has ever brewed behind Very Sour Blackberry.

 

Anchor Old Foghorn bottled March 2013.

I don't remember much, if anything about fresh Old Foghorn, but here are some notes on a 3 year old version.

Taste/Smell: mix between malts and dark fruits. malts mostly fall in the toffee to nutty range but with a slight hint of chocolate. dark fruit (not sure if this comes from age or malts or what) ranging mostly from stewed plums to raisin with a little fig. Oxidation causes some notes of amaretto and sherry, along with some stale hops (not enough to detract from the taste.) Some light alcohol has held on.

Overall: I don't really remember my thoughts on this fresh (meaning it was amazing or terrible) but at 3 years this is easily in the talk for best american made barleywines. I don't have enough experience with the beer to say the best age for drinking it and I can imagine it being good still for at least a couple more years to come. Next trip to the store I will be picking up a new 6 pack and seeing how different ages play out. From my experience, much more rewarding to cellar than bigfoot thus far.

 

Had a 2011 last weekend and it was AWESOME! I agree on this being at least on par, maybe better than the 2011 Bigfoot I had the week before. Should have done a side by side. Can't seem to find this beer anywhere in CT or MA over the past year +.

 

I had a 2013 Arcadia Ales Shipwreck Porter last night for my leap beer. This bottle had big bourbon notes to it when it was fresh and they were still there last night. The bourbon really stood out immediately after opening but it was approaching borderline cloying to me as it warmed (and I have a sweet tooth). I was surprised at how little this beer has changed in over two years.