October Cellar Reviews

didnt think you could cellar a berliner weiss

 

You can cellar anything with nipples on it. Berliner Weisse contains Lactobacillus which over time should become more prominent in the beer.

 

There's still some in my town but I doubt I'll go the distance with despite my favourable review. I had the same experience with a fresh and a ~6 month old bottle and the same amount of patience as you. I'm too old to play the waiting game.

 

i have nipples, Bay01. can you cellar me?

 

Judge me if you'd like, but this drinking great:

 

2007 Old Rasputin
Still forms a dark tan head; smell is really outstanding with a strong, smoky/woodsy smell to it. I really didn’t expect to have such a pronounced aroma, let alone such a good one. Smells a bit boozy too, a bit like whiskey or bourbon. Maybe scotch… I’m amazed at the level of carbonation still present. It doesn’t feel like it’s thinned much. And the flavor is equally as alive. Roasty, woodsy, tobacco, coffee/espresso, dark chocolate—it’s all there, yet melded together, with an even flavor profile. It would have been smart to drink a fresh one next to it to really mark the changes. Overall, super impressed with how it aged.

 

You've been judged.

 

SN 30th Anniversary Fritz and Ken's Ale. Copy/paste from the review I just posted:
750 ml cork-and-cage bottle poured into an Olde Hickory glass. Sizeable tan head with incredibly tenacious retention. Plentiful soapy lacing as well. Dark and lovely down below.
Smells of berries, figs, roasted and burnt malts with hints of smoke and soap. I caught myself kinda wondering if this stuff was gonna be a bit on the awkward side, but one sip made me a believer. (And of course now I'm kicking myself for not grabbing more while I had a chance; I've only got one bottle left after this one.) There's a smoke-and-leather thing going on here that reminds me a lot of HOTD Adam, which happens to be my favorite beer. Add a lush, velvety feel and you've got a winner on your hands. Great balance of roast/burnt malts, bitter chocolate, moderate sweetness and dark fruits with the smoky/leathery combo tying it altogether. Pleasantly warming. Interestingly, I recall having an impression of this stuff fresh as something along the lines of "nice big roasty stout, pretty straightforward", but it's cellared into something quite interesting. Very nice indeed.

 

Widmer 84/09 25th Anniversary Double Alt, bottled April 2009. This is one of those occasions where a relatively cheap cellar experiment ended up working out pretty well. While nothing about this beer really screams "alt" (not even the sticke variety), it's a smooth and pleasant sipper with plentiful apple and golden raisin fruitiness, buttery toffee and dry port. Tastes closer to an English barleywine than anything at this point. Interesting.

 

Not really "cellared" but last night I had a Short's Freedom of '78. IPA bottled in March of this year...so it's got some age on it for the style. It was awesome! Tasted like sipping grapefruit, super fresh, tart and nicely balanced. TONS of white floaties, probably due to the age.

This was extra'd to me in a trade probably 3 months ago and I just got around to it. I can see this one being quite enjoyable for some time still, even though it's an IPA. I'd have loved to try this fresh and I wonder if the grapefruit was still there along with more forward hop notes. Awesome beer.

 

Goose Island Bourbon County Stout 2007 bottled on 10/12/2007

I was a little worried since it has been a while since I had a 2007 BCS. I rather remember seeing here or there that it was moving past its prime and showing its age through oxidation. With that in mind, it took some work but the twist-off cap came off with just a hint of fizz from the carbonation. However, the pour on this beer showed that it was almost completely flat. The aroma was at first of a medicinal quality that eventually yield the expected vanilla sweetness and slight hints of roast I have come to expect.

The first taste was still great however. A sweet dark fruitiness with a woody complexity that makes you think every stout should be barrel-aged. The complexity of this beer is still very much the highlight with flavors continuing to be detectable long after a sip has been swallowed. There were hints of sherry which I suspect is oxidation related but if I wasn’t looking for it so hard I’m not sure I would have found it.

I think as an in your face beer BCS 2007 is likely past its prime. However, I still think this beer can develop some and may still have interesting years ahead of it. Too bad I am now down to my final one. I’m suspicious of that twist-off top so who knows how long I might hold on to it.

On a final note I kind of like the old BCS label, I’m a sucker for a story on a beer.

 

Stille Nacht 10/2009

Woried about it gushing but only a faint hiss when the cap opened. Smells thick and caramelly with a slightly dark fruit tinge. Almost like a barleywine-quad hybrid. Starts out with the carmel richness with a noticeable but slow rising warming sensation. The really interesting part of this beer was the finish. It had this low intensity tartness that lingered for awhile. Can't think ive had anything quite like it. The way that the alcohol warmth and tart finish showed up at low intensity long duration really was a revelation. Havent had a fresh(er) one for awhile. Going to be harassing my local spots to get this years as I have a couple 2011s.

 

year or so old jolly pumpkin weizen bam.

(pasting from that link)

750ml bottle into Duvel tulip. Sticker says Batch 411/412. I bought the bottle last Summer in Boston.

(4) Appearance: Free pour yields a 1 inch frothy white head that sticks around and leaves a small semicircle of lacing. Pours a not-quite-translucent yellow and leaves a few spots of lacing.

(4) Smell: Lemony and acetic at first (poured cold to avoid the bottle blowing up like every other Jolly Pumpkin beer I've ever had). Grass and sweet berries come out quickly, underpinned by some real barnyard brettanomyces funk. Gets a lot funkier with time, along with some bright estery aromas around the edges (if "around the edges" makes sense for an aroma).

(4.5) Taste: Mineral-y with barnyard funk leading to sweet berry tartness--lemon and strawberry. Healthy lactic sourness up front.

A few sips in and I'm reminded that this is far and away my favorite Jolly Pumpkin beer (have had it a few times now). It's packed with really bright, clean flavors of fruity esters, bacteria-induced fruity and sour flavors, yeasty clove, a building banana note, etc, always sort of dirtied up by this musty but pleasant brett funk. Building acetic note compliments everything else more than one would expect. Lactic sourness is complemented by a nice (French?) oak undercurrent. Overall just a really nice flavor.

(4) Mouthfeel: Light-, almost medium-bodied. Watery, but the lactic sourness and oak gives a creamy/milky backbone. High but appropriate carbonation. Puckering finish.

(4.5) Overall: This beer is exactly what it should be. Maybe some other similar beers have more wow factor, but this one is just spot on; you can tell the intention behind this beer (showcase oak, funk, and a really delicate hand with the base beer), and they nailed it. Refreshing, lots of subtlety, tons of flavor, and holds up for well over a year. Masterful beer.

----

"cellaring notes" barnyard funk is a lot more prominent than a year ago, but the beer remains subtle and refreshing. i actually really love the dirty funk... it's very much the hot raunchy woman spicing up the otherwise refined, pleasant, but sterile party, if that isn't too stupid a metaphor.

i wouldn't say age is necessary, but i think it's helped the beer a bit.

 

Lots to catch up on, but here are a few:

2009 NCoast Old Ale

Amazing. If you have this vintage, drink them now. I'm not going to do a full review, but just drink them...trust me. I wish I could get more

2007 Great Divide Hibernation Ale

Sadly, this has fallen off. I'm not sure if it was cellared incorrectly (got as extra), or if maybe this one just doesn't cellar as well as I thought. Either way, it has a medicinal taste to it, with some caramel notes as well. I'm not going to give it a drainpour status, but not too far.

2007, 2009, & 2010 Expedition Stout again...delicious as always.

 

2011 Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout
Still a bit hot on the finish, but tasty as when fresh. A little more dark fruits pronounced. IMO one year isn't enough on BCS. I just got antsy and pulled one for the heck of it.

2010 Expedition Stout
As genuinedisciple said above, "delicious as always." Very black licorice heavy right now, but I picked up some of that delicious dark chocolate on the back end. I love this beer. Oh dear, yes I do.

 

2011 Schell's Burton Ale

Lost some of the crispness of the malt and brightness of the hops, but still a nice drinking beer.
Malt is smooth and flavorful and still holding a nice herbal and "green" hop flavor. Alcohol is more apparent, but not hot or interfering. Best when fresh, but still a nice drink.
I hope they make it again sometime.