November 2017 Cellar Reviews

2010 Lagunitas Gnarlywine
Stored at 65-70F out of light
Murky amber with low carbonation but leaves some lacing. Smells like slightly woody caramel with a little tobacco and earthiness. Flavor is delicious with medium caramel, fig, raisin, and light hop herbal character with slightly sweet alcohol on the back end. Feel is excellent with a bit of reserved carbonation and very smooth. Need to restock if the higher-ups still allow this to be brewed. purchased back in the day for $4.49!

 

2015 Sierra Nevada Bigfoot
Medium murk with short beige cap of head.
Aroma is mostly medium and medium-dark caramel malts with citrus and pine hopping and light booze.
Flavor is really surprisingly very good with caramel malts galore and complex hoppiness with pine, grapefruit and orange citrus, and that mellow woody herbal note that is a signature quality of SN Bigfoot.
Lush feel with big body and low carbonation.
I think I should be buying more of this and drinking it at 2-3 years. Really enjoyable cellared beer.

 

Brux- Russian River and Sierra Nevada collaboration. Not sure of the year, but I bought this bottle when it first hit shelves- 2012 I think?

Pours crystal clear deep golden with amber hues, minimal lacing rings the glass, carbonation constantly bubbles like champagne. Smells of apricots and nectarines, bright pineapple, slight sweet funk, with a deep sweet fruity finish and a hint of butterscotch. Taste is vinous and bright, slight tropical fruit with a balanced lacto-pithy twang, slight sulphur, and almost medicinal/menthol quality that is barely perceptible on the back-end. Mouthfeel is off-dry, smooth body with prickly and clean finish. Over all a nice clean drinker, very pleasant and diverse flavors keep you entertained as you drink.

 

I found this sweet fresh and at one year (which I like) - do you think this lost sweetness over time?

 

2 years was a beautiful spot for Peres Jaques to me. Flavor profile sounds about the same to me with maybe more breadiness but it kept its body.

 

2015 Goose Island Bourbon County Rare
(21Sep15 1507)

Enjoyed over a period of 90 minutes. Poured into two Rare Day snifters. Bottle cap showed signs of possible oxidation. Smell was chocolate and sweet malts. Small, thin head that dissipated quickly. Taste was dark chocolate, sweet, and minor vanilla. Thick mouthfeel. No heat or strong bourbon flavor. Until the last few sips this was very good - became bitter towards the end...almost astringent.

I stored this in the fridge for the last year or so. I suggest drinking soon but, a buddy drank one recently and said it was solid all the way through.

 

That’s the goal - I’ve got some 2010s stashed for just that reason. I was surprised how much I liked this fairly fresh. I agree with those that say 1 yr old SN Bigfoot is weird and not too great.

 

Dogfish Head World Wide Stout 2012

Pours black with amber edges, looks to be clear from the lighted edges; small prickly head, leaves ring of lacing. Smells of vanilla and whiskey, bitter chocolate, dark rum, molasses, still some heat coming through the nose. Tastes of bitter chocolate genache, the heat of the alcohol trick me into thinking I am picking up whiskey-like flavors, slight molasses. The mouthfeel is heavy yet dry, with alcohol heat still creeping up to warm you with each sip, slight carbonation prickles your tongue and picks up with the alcohol heat. This is a bitter chocolate lovers delight, with the alcohol learning to play nice with the sugars- based off of the heat I would assume this is still early for the beer at 5 years.

 

Also cracked open a 2015 SN Bigfoot

Look: murky brownish orange, bubbly with a thin tan head that sticks around

Smell: deep malts with a citrus hoppiness thrown in for good measure

Taste: A deep sweet malt, toffee, slight molasses flavor pervades but there is also a sizable hop bitterness present that manifests itself in citrus and a bit of pine flavor.

Feel: thick, smooth, and enough carbonation to balance things out.

Overall: an exceptional beer, fairly well balanced but still more hop presence than I expected. Would like to put a few more years on one of these bottles and see how it shakes out.

 

2013 Deschutes Abyss
Best after date 9/16/2014

Poured into two snifters. Definite signs of oxidation in the cap and muted aromas of chocolate and dark fruits. Oxidized tastes in the beginning - almost wet cardboard. But, after it sat out for a while the oxidation gave way to chocolate with a bitter finish. Thick mouthfeel and a dry finish. This may be a little past its prime.