Cellar Reviews (2019)

2016 Lagunitas High Westified has aged stellar.

I was a big fan of it fresh with the huge spicy rye barrel, chocolatelyness, and vanilla all while not being sweet nor bitter.

Two and half years later and many revisits since I can't really say the flavor has changed much, which is okay with me. To the best of my recollection, it still tastes like the first one I had.

What I can say has changed is the mouthfeel. It increasingly tastes more and more creamy and/or whipped.

Shame willetized couldnt follow in its tracks.

I'd highly recommend cracking one of these now if anyone snagged an extra couple back in 2016.

 

A few months ago I happened across some 4 packs of 3 year old Goose Island Lolita. It was in a cool place and protected from light so I gambled and bit the bullet.

I wrote the first draft of my review for this site while drinking the first bottle and have since been fine tuning it while drinking two more bottles. This is my third draft of the review while I'm having the 3rd bottle. (The remaining bottle is going to be cellared for a year or so since the "best by' on this beer is 5 years.)

Bottled 4 Feb 2016.

The slightly hazy reddish tinged dark amber colored beer pours out into a Duvel glass with a thin loosely bubbled white head that soon recedes to a thin irregular island of foam and a thick ring around the glass before it disappears entirely leaving while leaving no lacing on the sides of the glass. At first, sipping creates a few scattered bits of lacing that quickly slide back down to the liquid but eventually there’s no foam at all.

The aromas include a hint of acidity/tartness, lots of raspberry and some red wine grapes against a background of some earthy, leathery funk and a bit of oak.

The flavors are much as expected from the nose and include raspberry, red grapes, with some light, almost vinegary tartness with the earthy, leathery funky character in the background. There’s also a bit of oak and what may be a very light bit of bitterness from the hops.

The mouthfeel is medium bodied and mostly smooth with the light finely bubbled carbonation. The finish begins as the flavors begin to fade into a fairly long dry ending that remains tinged with fruit, light tartness and what seems to be a bit of bitterness remains as the other flavors all gradually disappear in the back of the palate.

The beer has a tasty balance with both some fruity light tartness and some light sweetness. The tartness is well controlled and does not overpower the other flavors so that the berry flavor, the red wine grapes and the sweetness come through as well as do some musty barnyard funk and some oak. An enjoyable drinkable beer worth trying and having more than if you find it and have to buy a 4 pack, especially if you are able to age some of the bottles. I'd say that so far aging has done it no harm for my tastes it may be even more enjoyable than if I'd found a fresh bottle.

Cheers, all!

 

Jackie O’s - Dark Apparition 2016

Poured from a 12.7oz bottle into a Lagunitas jar glass. Residual rim of foam around glass. Dark malt and chocolate aromas - nothing crazy. Lots of plums in the taste - that’s surprising! Some oxidation but not enough to be off-putting. Overall very good and wouldn’t let this go much further.

 

Jackie O's Vanilla & Coffee Bean Bourbon Barrel Dark Apparition 2018

Infected. Fuck me. This was supposed to be an excellent experience.

 

Jackie O's Bourbon Barrel Aged Dark Apparition 2018

Likewise infected. It's a fairly long drive to Athens but I've done more impulsive things...

 

Epic Brewing Big Bad Baptist Imperial Stout 2017

4.39/5 rDev +0.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

This was part of release #90, brewed on 5/29/2017 with an ABV of 10.8%. Kudos to Epic for making this info available at their website. 22 ounce bottle poured into a DFH tulip produced a generous and persistent light tan head topping a dark brown body. At my cellar fridge temperature of 50 the smell of the bourbon was well hidden with the malt char predominating but as it warmed the chocolate, bourbon and barrel rose up and provided an intricate balance of aromas. Likewise with the taste but even more so. The mouthfeel for this was full bodied and creamy.

I had heard many good things about this, which is reasonably affordable and available at the local grocery store. They've all been validated.

 

Looks like a frustrating few hours. Glad this one worked out!

 

Bell's 30th Anniversary Cherry Stout Reserve
Just hit the 1 year mark on these, I have one left and if this one is still solid I will do my damnedest to keep that last one for another 6 months.

L: Pours s solid mahogany/burgundy, the deep red that is disguised as black shows through on the edges in the light. Very pretty.
S: The smell is a boozy chocolate cherry up front. A molasses sweetness lurks in the back ground, along with some figgy and plum notes. Aroma is more pleasant than I remember but I have consistently identified those booze filled chocolate covered cherries.
T: First sip impression is that I am amazed at how much tart cherry flavor comes through still. There is enough of it to almost give the impression of a sour stout. There are some light roast/char notes as well as some of the other dark pit fruits coming through lightly. Just a bit of chocolate and vanilla seem to dance around the edges. A smokiness that I tagged in both earlier bottles is gone now. Very pleasant taste.
F: Smooth and satiny as ever. A nice break from some of the monster stouts that are more common these days. This is certainly no lightweight but you don't feel like you are drinking from an oil can.
O: Overall this is still very nice and maybe getting better. Almost making me wish I'd grabbed two four packs. the edge has come off the cherry enough for it to meld better with the surrounding flavors. Simultaneously comfortable and unique.

I am definitely weighing letting the last one go another 6 months. It seems possible that it is peaking, maybe even just past it's peak for me, but there is always the chance that it has deeper surprises waiting if I can be patient. In any case this is a beer to remind you that those folks in Comstock know what they are doing in the brewing department

 

2018 Narwhal from Sierra Nevada
Just about at the 9 month mark on this one. The first of a 6-pack I bought specifically to cellar, told myself I would take it to a year before I cracked one but I just couldn't wait.

L: Pours that beautiful deep dark black with a solid cafe colored head that persists admirably.
S: Smell was evident from the moment I cracked the bottle, figgy, dark fruits, raisins and brandy. Some light char and a mild spiciness, like a holiday coffee cake waft around the back edge. Smell is already a bit cleaner than it was fresh, with some of the edge off
T: Taste comes in much more bitter than the smell. Dark chocolate and a sharp wood char note up front. As it warms up the char recedes and the chocolate is nicely complimented by a mix of prunes and a lightly spiced bread.
F: A little thin for the style and maybe a little thinner than it was when fresh. Still not bad but certainly the one area I could see improvement

Overall this remains a splendid beer. I'm interested to see how it progresses and hope that I can be patient enough to keep one of these for at least 2 years. Hopefully I will see it again in a few months and can gorge a bit on the fresh stuff.

 

2017 Backwoods Bastard
Picked up this yesterday out of the cooler at a weird little gas station near my house. They also have 2017 CBS bombers and some other weird old founders stuff. A really over the top selection of 22s, especially for a kinda ghetto gas station, that ultimately results in lots of old bottles in their coolers. Excited to see how this one is doing though.

L: Nice maroon/burgundy color with a thick and lovely caramel colored head that is very active and dissipates pretty quickly leaving moderate lacing.
S: Smell is rum raisin cake, along with dates and vanilla. Very sweet and fairly boozy.
T: Taste is much less sweet, almost nutty, like almonds and pecans. The fruitiness and booziness that I remember from fresher tastings is heavily muted now, there is still some thin apple/pear notes and something like a faint cherry flavor but I'm not getting any of the raisin or plum notes that I usually associate with this beer. There is a bit of boozy bite and some woody, tannic bite but all in all the flavor seems pretty well subdued, I am even getting a bit of that 'cardboard' taste I've heard tell of but never personally experienced. It's not as bad as I envisioned it but it is a bit dissapointing.
F: Mouthfeel is nice and smooth. Not as full bodied as I recall but it's been a while since I've had this one so it's possibly a trick of memory. Really pleasant aspect of this beer that adds to a deceptively drinkable experience for a 11+% beer.

All in and all this is a nice beer, but I think two years is passed it's prime. As far as I can tell this has been in the stores cooler this whole time, and in any case being inside a cement building in my town means the temp never gets above the mid 60s, so I think it might just be the lifespan of the beer for me. It's still very pleasant, and certainly satisfied the barleywine itch I was feeling when I picked it up. They were still charging $14 out the door for the bottle, I may see if I can catch the owner in there one day and ask if he would discount some of his old stock for me but at full retail I certainly won't be racing back there. If they've got it next year maybe I'll add an installment

 

2016? Founders Brewing - Lizard of Koz
I broke down and picked up one of these from the cooler at an odd little gas station. As far as I can tell Founders only released this thing in 2016 (around november I think) so lacking any dating on the bottle I assume this is about 2.5 years old. I know that these bottles have been in this gas station cooler for over a year. We did see this on tap about 15-18 months ago at our best beer bar but I don't know if that coincided with a bottling run, if it was just another keg only run, or if (as they often do) this bar just put on a vintage keg. Anywho, here's the thoughts

L: Really wonderful appearance, thick black liquid with a towering creamed coffee colored head that persists tremendously and leaves impressive lacing. Serious legs in the wine world.
S: Aroma is strong, popping out as soon as the cap is popped and permeating the room as it is poured into a bottle. Chocolate and blueberry dominate. The blueberry is surprising, I have never personally experienced this smell so strongly in a beer before.
T: Blueberry dominates here again, almost like they just added blueberry juice to the finished beer. Vanilla plays a strong second fiddle. There are other vague but bright fruit flavors (blackberry, green apple, and persimmon especially) and a not entirely pleasant chalky taste lingers in the background.
F: Mouthfeel is pretty excellent on this one. Not as thin as many barrel aged stouts in my experience, not as thick as the appearance might have suggested. The feel is the best attribute of this beer in my opinion. Many a big stout would do well to emulate this mouthfeel

All in all I'm not mad that I bought one bottle but I won't be going back for more. The blueberry is too strong in the flavor for me, blueberry juice is not what I am looking for when I crack a beer. If you really love blueberries or have always sought out a more blueberry heavy stout then this thing is still going strong and will definitely scratch that itch. For me, it's just a bit odd.

 

2008 Schneider & Sohn Aventinus Weizenbock

4.25/5 rDev -1.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Bought at a bottle shop last fall after they told me they received some aged at the brewery.

500 ml bottle poured into a DFH tulip. Small quickly disappearing tan head over a dark brownish copper clear body. Smell is of dark fruit, caramel and sherry. Taste is very sherry forward with other sweet caramel/vanilla flavors hidden. Any wheat banana and clove tastes are long gone. Mouthfeel is still very refreshing.

By itself this is very fine but I have a feeling that this is well past the time for maximum complexity. Next time I'll try a younger one or do a vertical.

 

Firestone Walker Parabola - 2017 12 oz bottle.

L: Deep brown color, little carbonation and almost no head.
S: surprisingly sweet and light, plum, brandy, hints of chocolate.
T: chocolate and figs and brandy. Alcohol burn comes out a bit as it warms. brandy flavors switch to more whiskey like flavors as well. Also start to find more of a tart bitter note that reminds me of wine, the barrels are stacking up quick. there's also a much more robust sweetness as the beer warms, more chocolate and molasses
F: a little thin but not unpleasant. Kind of impressive for such a big beer honestly
Looking at my review I think, gross, but honestly it's a super pleasant beer. It's definitely big and boozy but at damn near 15% what can you really expect. If memory serves I think that I really do prefer this beer at closer to 1 year as opposed to this 2+ year (appears to have been bottled 1-16-17) but this is still a really nice sipper.

 

by far one of the best beers out there. So insanely complex and layered flavor. I was told that they have barrels they use in their blending that are decades old

 

2018 Bo & Luke from Against the Grain

My final bottle from my first little haul of my favorite new to me stout from last year. When this one comes around this time I will definitely try pick up enough to hold on to for longer than 6 months.

Pours a deep dark brown with a rich brown head and lots of active carbonation. smells of cherry and oak and vanilla fill the area around the glass. Flavor is chocolatey and lightly smokey up front, dark stone fruits and bitter barrel play around as well. This has mellowed just enough that I wish to recant my previous statement, next year I will save all of mine to this point, the boozy edge has come off this to the point that it now tastes like the perfect tribute to bourbon in beer form. All of the toffee/caramel, vanilla, apple/pear, smokey, grain glory of a sip of good bourbon with none of that famous burn.
For those of you that really enjoy bourbon and bourbon character in stouts I would say this is a must try. It's brewed as a tribute to bourbon by a Louisville, KY brewery and smokehouse and they nail it. It's also 18 bucks for a 750 so a good deal to boot. It was delicious but pretty hot when I first had it about a month or 6 weeks after bottling (no bottling date but I got it in december and it had been available for a little over a month at that point) now, after just about 6 or 7 months, it has mellowed into quite probably my favorite new to me beer of the year.