March 2018 Cellar Reviews

Raisins , dark fruits, caramel but not overly sweet, minimal oxidation. Plenty of warming. Held up really well.

 

Now we’re talkin!

 

Southern Star Buried Hatchet Stout. I picked this up when I was in South Padre back in February, 2016. This is my last can, and I can say that this ages amazingly.
The coffee is gone, but the chocolate is still there. The head was minimal when poured from the can. Smooth, and easy drinking, with a solid kick from the barrel. Quite boozy feeling.

Yes, this beer can be aged, and is tasty when aged.

Fresh review:
4.53/5 rDev +13.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5

Pours really dark. The head was fairly thick, but did dissipate fairly quickly. The nose is has coffee in it. The taste has coffee and chocolate competing. They work well together, and this is a solid stout. Yes, I will get it again, gladly.

 

Well played @Victory_Sabre1973

 

Oh man my favorite stout from the south!

 

Southern Tier Compass

look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

This was a 2015 bottle given to me, along with others, by a friend cleaning out her beer fridge in anticipation of moving. It poured a slightly dark yellow with a large white head which slowly dissipated with moderate lacing in a Nonic glass.

I don't thing aging this served it well. I could barely smell any rose hips and citrusy hops which surely have faded with time and they were borderline nonexistent in the taste. In fact it tasted like a generic American Pale Ale which I'm sure was not Southern Tier's intention. The good news is that this is the last bottle I received that should be negatively impacted, or not enhanced, by aging.

 

2016 Oscar Blues BA Ten Fidy (canned on 11/04/16 "Make Mordor Great Again")

Poured from the stovepipe can into a snifter. Pours dark black with a good amount of head that slowly dissipated. Dark roasty aromas; chocolate; some barrel. Taste is chocolate, surprisingly bitter with a strong bourbon finish. Mouthfeel is thinner than I remember for regular ten fidy but, coats the mouth and barrel flavor lingers. Overall very good and held up well.

 

Do you think it lost sweetness over time?

 

I showed some real restraint holding that bottle so long, eh?

 

I do. I reread my review of it from years ago and I noted how bigly sweet it was. Either I exaggerated with that comment or the beer mellowed out; I reckon that it was the latter.

 

2013 Smuttynose Barleywine. Clear amber with a big head, beautiful lacing and a nice layer of lingering bubbles all throughout. I don't think this beer has lost any carbonation after five years and showed no signs of oxidation. Aromas are brown sugar, caramel, just a hint of booze and a hint of bitterness. Taste is brown sugar, toffee, caramel, molasses, a hint of dried black cherries, vanilla, leather and resiny hop bitterness. Finish is sweet and a bit boozy. Beautifully complex beer and I think at the sweet spot for an American barleywine.


I didn't take a picture or take detailed notes, but last night had a 2016 Central Waters BBA Barleywine. Fresh was boozy, bourbon-forward, but 2 years did wonders to it. A perfect balance of sweet, bitter, bourbon, and oak.

These are perfect examples of why I age beer, and why I'm aging mostly barleywines. Most are actually significantly better after a few years, not just different or aged for the fun of drinking old beer. It's a shame there are so few available here, including Smutty, which is sadly no longer around.

 

Pipeworks BA Grand Guignol Act One (Bottled Fall 2015)

Poured from a bomber - split between three snifters. Minimal head but residual ring and lacing. Chocolate aroma not much else. I’m palette fatigued but get roasty malt, chocolate, dark stone fruit aftertaste and some heat in the back of the throat. Balanced well. Excellent, thick, coating mothfeel (perfect body). Overall a great sipper.

@dscott421 bottle says aged 12 months in Elijah Craig bourbon barrels.

 

Central Waters Sixteen

I opened a Fifteen & noted that it had fallen some from it's peak, when it could probably have cured cancer. Thus, working through my remaining bottles of Sixteen too.

This hasn't fallen quite as far, but it isn't the world-class beer it was. Still tons of sweet malt & a nice dose of chocolate, but the barrel is fading & the complexity has diminished. Fallen all the way from an "A" to probably a "B+". Still a really good beer, but no sense in holding on to it any longer.