December 2017 Cellar Reviews

2012 Deschutes Dissident wild ale

Pours bright and clear copper with ruby tinges, an aggressive carbonation quickly scrubs away any off white head foam. Smells immediately at a distance of sweet cherries and ripe fruit, a closer whiff brings tart cherries, bleu cheese, citrus pith, dates, dusty lumber. Taste is complex- tart cherry followed by dry bleu cheese, sweet dates, Chardonnay. Mouthfeel is full with semi-sweet lift to lighter flavors, prickly carbonation adds punch to the mild acidity. This shows no signs of slowing down.

 

2011 Sierra Nevada Bigfoot barleywine ale; home waxed year of purchase.

Pours a bright medium oak, crystal clear, ample and billowing khaki head that slowly crunmbles to a lopsided dollop of foam. Smells of dark honey, clover honey, light molasses, flowers, sweet wort. Tastes of sweet wort and honey, floral tea, coffee and toffee, as it warms it becomes a wonderful honey mocha cocophany of smoothness. Mouthfeel is silky and smooth, very sweet and full with a hint of carbonation tickle. Dang this is tasty and sweet, I am a definite advocate of waxing Bigfoot in the cellar.

 

Widmer W'11 KGB
This held up okay. Still a little sweetness and even a hint of malty sharpness. The oxidation was minimal. Seems a little thinner and less complex. Drank it to the bottom so it must have been all right.

 

Avery Uncle Jacobs stout, Batch 2- June 2013; 16.5% abv.

Pours black, thick, like a slurry, brown oak head that lasts for several minutes before leaving lacing behind. Smells of bitter chocolate, slight espresso, molasses. Taste is sweet chocolate, mocha, chocolate truffle. The heat and sweetness make it a well balanced and mellow chocolate liqueur; the mouthfeel is smooth and full, slight prickle of carbonation. I can tell this has smoothed out since I had it last (2 years ago I think?), this certainly has some legs left on it.

 

2010 SN Bigfoot Barleywine Ale -- night 1 of 6 night vertical (2010-2015)
Cellared at 60-65F in basement
Pretty strong pfft and pours murky dark amber with short light beige quickly dissipating head
Caramel aromas with soft herbal hop notes. Mellow aroma profile.
Flavor amps the intensity with big malt flavors, burnt toffee, raisin, date, tobacco, and leather with a reasonably bitter finish. Mild+ boozy but not bad at all.
Feel is smooth with full body and medium carbonation.
Enjoyable but I think there is some fade.

 

2016 On Fleek Imperial Stout

Poured into snifter from 45* F fridge. This has oxidized dramatically... lots of that sherry-like flavor that was quite off-putting. I typically tend to think that's a neat feature I find in the imperial stouts I age, but this was not the case with this one. Kind of a bummer because I was definitely a fan of this last year when I first tried it. Luckily I only cellared 2... this was certainly no drain pour though, pham- your boy finished it no problem.


That's the fun (at times) of putting away beers that aren't tried and true- who knows, it could have gotten better at a year old like Expedition does! We'll never know if we don't try... though I wonder if a smaller, nomadic outfit like Stillwater has the level of O2 control that some of the bigger dogs have.

 

I think both the hop and malt characters have lost some intensity. As it warmed, maltiness did improve but it still seemed a bit muted compared to fresher examples.

 

still have about 6 of these left..sounds like now is the time to drink them!

 

2011 SN Bigfoot Barleywine Ale - night 2 of 6
Cellared at 60-65F
Similar murky amber pour into snifter with 1-finger beige head that falls away quickly
More fruity and less musty, leathery aromas than the 2010, plenty of caramel and some herbal and tobacco notes too
Wide array of caramels through the flavor profile, more varied than last night with also some plum and date dark fruit with plenty of hop bitterness and herbal/floral hop character. A really delicious beer, with more edge than 2010 but still not as much as I’d like.
Full bodied and smooth on the palate.
Super barleywine overall but I have a feeling I am going to like the 2012 more if it has a brighter less muddled profile like 2011 did compared to 2010.
2011 > 2010

 

2009 Bell's Expedition

This was good. Probably a little past prime. Lost most of it's carbonation. Not even a pffft upon opening, and a very small dark ring. Thinned out a little, but still rich and complex. Good dark fruits and smooth roast. Poured heavy and still looks like motor oil.

 

2010 Duck Rabbit Russian Imperial Stout
Notched with 3 11 on side of label so date is an assumption
This one has lost a little as most of the malt aroma is raisin and fudge and on the weak side. A little bit of paper/cardboard.
Flavor also has lost some as oxidation has kicked up the caramel to overly sweet bordering on cloying and the roast is gone. A lot of chocolate with nougat in there, a lot like a very sweet 3 Musketeers bar.
Body has also thinned but the carbonation has held.
Not too bad really but this one is best inside of 2-3 years by my palate.

 

2012 SN Bigfoot Barleywine Ale - night 3 of 6 -- sorry I missed last night -- had a tooth pulled and didn't feel much like a beer.
Cellared at 60-65F, served at 57F
Hazy caramel amber poured into snifter with 1-finger frothy beige head that leaves dots of lacing.
Aroma is much more hoppy than the previous older iterations -- more floral, grapefruit and herbal, earthy notes which combine wonderfully with the range of caramel aromas. Hint of fruity booze.
Hoppiness has definitely come to play in the 2012 -- big woody, herbal flavors with floral and lighter citrus. The hop intensity and bitterness is big but not too much and seems balanced with the malt assault with toffee, hazelnut, lighter caramels, darker caramels, and touch of drying roast character. Yeast may be playing up the fruitier notes. Really tastes amazing. Alcohol is incorporated smoothly and adds a touch of sharpness.
Feel is the best of the three I have tried -- I drank about half of the beer in the first 3-4 sips as it has superb balance of carbonation and full body to where it has lushness but also tackiness and still finishes with some dryness to keep you coming back.
I am really impressed - the 2012 encompasses all of the malt character without harsh hoppiness or bitterness and presents an exceptionally well-balanced American barleywine with big malt and hop flavors alike in a highly (read dangerously) drinkable package. 2013 tomorrow!
2012 > 2011> 2010

 

2013 SN Bigfoot Barleywine Ale - night 4 of 6
Cellared at 60-65F, served at 55F
Less murky - can see through it from the bottom to the head - dark amber with 1-finger of frothy head leaving a faint band of lacing.
Aroma is still balanced but hoppiness seems a bit brighter with more citrus/floral and less wood/herbal. Caramels are not as varied as the 2012 and have a faint cotton candy or frosting aroma.
Flavor is still killer but no doubt more hoppy with a strong grapefruit and orange citrus coupled with floral notes and more woody in the finish. The caramels are not as round or complex in this version and seem more straight medium lovibond crystal. Heavy bitterness and a bit more heat but still exceedingly drinkable.
Best feel or the group so far with enough carbonation to make the beer feel lively but subdued enough to make it pretty easy to drink.
I really enjoyed 2013 and it was close for me for the top spot so far with the 2012, but I think 2012 holds the top spot given more malt complexity and better hop-malt balance overall.
2012 > 2013 > 2011 > 2010

 

2014 Founders Imperial Stout. Cracked it upon hearing the news that, in a fit of avarice and stupidity, Founders is discontinuing arguably its best beer. Unbelievable.

Three years has turned an intense, powerful, even at times abrasive beer when fresh into a silky smooth, velvety, delicious dessert. Full-on milk and dark chocolate, vanilla, coffee, and burnt sugar. What was once a persistent and almost ashy roast/hop bitterness has mellowed significantly, almost to the level of a Tree House IPA. It's there, but only as a counterweight to keep the beer from getting too sweet - not the distinct and insistent component that it is in fresh versions. No alcohol to speak of whatsoever either. Carb has died down to BCBS levels, but it works great with the whole chocolate cake vibe I'm getting here. Overall, I'm really impressed and very happy that I hung on to a few of these.

 

I've also been on a renewed lookout for FIS after hearing the news of it being left out of next year's lineup. I don't have any left at the moment but am hoping I can track some down and stock up.

In the meantime, I'm enjoying a bottle of Clown Shoes' Rexx from July 2015. I seem to recall hearing it might be making another appearance, which I would really appreciate. I think the 2015 run is just past its peak, though, with the floral notes from the base red ale starting to morph more into orange gumdrops and paper pulp due to oxidation. I noted some orange zest in my original review from September 2015, and Clown Shoes' bottling line and bottle caps don't seem to be equipped to favor extended ageing experiments, so two years and change is about what I might expect. I've had plenty of their beers this old or older, including from a recent tasting of the full Billionaire series, and the oxidized notes I get here are pretty familiar and consistent with other retired beers from their lineup.

 

2017 KBS aged 9 months:

Look is beautifully black as night, cold coffee, and oily with a delicious scent of bourbon that has majorly toned down. Taste is of mild bourbon, green pepper coffee, and chocolate. The coffee richness has faded, bourbon character has faded, no vanilla, and no coconut. Why do people do verticals of this? Flavor already fades at 9 months. Love this beer fresh but is only good fresh. Wanted to have this while it snowed but didn't do justice. No reason to hoard this beer, it's nothing ageable. But fresh It's one of the greatest. If you want it aged go to brewery at least there's was aged in the barrel.

 

Had it on tap a couple of weeks ago, fantastic. Drink them now!

 

2016 Ten Fidy aged 1 year:

Bought this at a liquor store didn't pay attention to date as I bought it while excited about the CBS bottle I purchased. I wanted fresh to see difference in aging but not going to really complain because this beer was amazing aged 1 year. Beer was dark as oil with 3" head. Drunk it at room temperature and was super dank chocolate and coffee. No alcohol detected, straight up delicious. I am going to age the other 3 only because I have so much beer but aged 1 year was delicious, best non-barrel aged RIS I've had. Curious how it tastes fresh and looking forward to how it will taste in 4 years. Wish I could post a pic but couldn't figure out how to attach it.