November 2018 Cellar Reviews

Just such a good beer, the amount of dark fruit they pack in it is incredible. One of my first barrel aged stouts and I remember it blowing me away as well. A local shop drops random batches now and then and I always scoop up what the budget allows.

 

yesterday i had the pleasure of cracking open a 2008 DFH World Wide Stout. i acquired it, along with some other vintage DFH bottles in a trade. not gonna let this one sit any longer. 10 years is long enough!! i put the kid to bed, turned on the big lebowski, and enjoyed these 12 oz for over an hour.


opens with a nice hissss. pours lively, with the head settling to nothing pretty quickly. the nose was enticing to say the least. i must have smelt it over and over for a couple minutes before tasting. aromas of deep cherry and light chocolate filled the glass. the taste is incredible. right away i feel that my palate (although pretty seasoned over the years) is not ready for all that is going on here. one sip gave me waves of dark cherry, dusty cocoa, slightly smokey tobacco, port wine and a bit of bitter espresso. hard to pick everything out because it melded so well together! the booze played a neat role here. after 10 years, it had mellowed so much that it was barely detectable. but i feel it gave the liquid a unique body.
overall, this was an incredible 10 year old beer that i cant speak highly enough of!

 

I had an..8 year old bottle back in the day that I reckon perfect 5s across the board still didn't do it justice. Amazing cellarability! If that's a word.

 

Wow you're right. This whole time I thought it was, my mistake. They could have fooled me, I just assumed with the foil and the ABV it had to be. My mind is blown.

 

If I'm not mistaken, it's the base beer for Tweak.. I'll sure somebody will correct me if I'm wrong..

 

I believe that's correct. "Formerly known as Meph Addict" they have now changed it to Tweak. I love Tweak but I don't get the same flavors as I do from Mephistopheles. Then again I thought Meph was barrel aged, so I'm now questioning my own palate. Its also a completely different beer with coffee and barrel added so there's that too.

 

2014 Stone Old Guardian barleywine 22oz

Pours cloudy amber with clearish edges, subdued and small tan head. Smells of bright apples, caramel, rum cake. Tastes of sweet toffee, smooth chocolate, some bright fruitiness. Surprisingly bright on the palate- not musty tasting or old by comparison to other older beers. Mouthfeel is thick and clean in the aftertaste, carbonation is low but balanced. A great shelf beer that ages excellently- this one could easily do more years but is drinking great right now.