Cellar Reviews (2020)

That was one of my favorite beers too. I was bummed I had only gotten a 4 pack when it was released, drank my the last bottle in 2018 right before the 5 year best by date.

 

2014 DFH Raison D'extra

Pours a murky dark brown color, thin head that fades. Huge boozy dark malt aroma, a ton of raison. Taste is not quite as hot, it really smooth. Taste is both big and bold and smooth - rum raison, caramel, molasses, not too sweet. Medium body, sticky mouthfeel.

 

Tonight’s beer is a 2014 Old Guardian.





Aroma is huge and very nice. Tons of sweetness, huge toffee and caramel, burnt sugar. Also big fruity phenols, not so much dark fruits but apple and some sweet citrus. Some balancing booziness to round it out. Flavor profile follows the aroma, but also has some additional characters including a pretty prominent bitterness and some oaky notes. All in all, this one is a winner.

 

2011 in EC 20yr barrels
Lots of chocolate on the nose
Minimal carb w lace
Great nutty chocolate roasted flavor
Slight oxidization on the finish
Medium mouth feel. Not overly viscous.
Overall a very solid and enjoyable barrel aged stout especially considering nine years in the bottle

 

Tonight’s been is a Stone Xocoveza. Wasn’t sure how this adjunct heavy stout would age, let’s find out.



upload pictures to internet

Pour is beautiful with 1 fingers plus width of dense cream colored head. Aroma is ridiculously huge , it has not faded at all. Cinnamon is insane, also with big nutmeg, vanilla, some capsaicin like peppery heat, coffee and chocolate are prominent. Essentially a perfect nose. Taste isn’t quite as voluptuous but man is it still good. It’s a little tamer up front with roasted and oaky notes, then on the finish there’s a wonderful cinnamon/coffee/chocolate character, like a cinnamon mocha latte that lingers forever. This is elite, I am downright shocked but how good this has aged.

 

So as I think I mentioned before in this thread I had gotten away from craft beer nearly entirely for a few years at this point, and what prompted me to dive back in was a vintage beer box I found in the cellar which I did not know I had. Tonight I finished the last unique beer in that box (the rest in that box are repeat beers). 19 unique beers in total, this is how I would rank them:

2015 The Perfect Nose*
2015 Brown Shugga*
2015 Xocoveza*
2014 Founders Imperial Stout*
2014 TenFidy*

2014 St. Bernardus Christmas Ale
2014 Palo Santo Maroon
2015 Curmudgeon Old Ale
2014 Old Guardian
2015 Weyerbacher Insanity
2014 Expedition Stout
2014 Wake N Bake
2016 Blackbeerd
2015 Old Stock Ale
2015 Lower de Boom
2014 Backwoods Bastard
2015(?) Pumpking

2015 Victory at Sea^
2015 FBS^


*elite/ world class
^don’t age these this long

Was a fun little experiment!

 

I would love to see a picture of your cellar one day if you ever feel like posting one. I am glad the w00t aged so well!

 

2010 Lost Abbey - Judgement Day

Pours a very dark brown, thin tan head that quickly fades. Aroma of dark malt, raisin, earth. Similar flavors in the taste, starts sweet but not too much. Medium bodied, lower carbonation.

 

2015 Great Divide Yeti
Bottled on NOV 16 2015. Consumed from a mead glass (broke snifter). Cellared at about 60-65F in basement.
Black with persistent rim of beige head with few dots of lacing
Aroma with graham cracker with dark chocolate coating, chocolate donut, faint licorice, medium caramel, raisin, and black coffee.
Flavor is much more roast forward with more licorice and medium and burnt caramel and an herbal hop flavor with high bitterness. This beer is not messing around. A lot of dark chocolate and more graham cracker with tobacco and black coffee with more piney hoppiness in the finish.
Feel is smooth with low carbonation and full body.
Impressive at 5 years — hard to find around here and only about 3-4 left from this case. Need to spread them out. Drinking great so would pop one and see what you think!

 

Eclipse EC 20 is one of the best beers I have ever had. I had a 2011 back in early 2013 and at the time I gave it the highest rating I had ever given a beer. 7 years later it’s still in my top 3 rated (along with Kuhnhenn Rasperry Eisbock, specifically 2012 bottling; and Ithaca Brute, batch 1)

 

2018 - MT Monsters Park Nicaraguan Rum Barrels with Cherry & Vanilla - Wow! I wasn't expecting this to be as good as it was. I toyed with sitting on it for a few years but I was afraid of losing the vanilla flavor, so I tapped it tonight. Pours a dark black with a quick dissipating head. Aroma of rum barrels is prevalent and dominates slight aroma of cherries. Taste of rum accompanied by cherries and vanilla. Slight warmth from the 15.8 abv but very drinkable. All the flavors are in synch with each other to create an incredible taste. Mouthfeel is great. Definitely a sipper but one I'd enjoy over and over again if I could get my hands on it.

 

2010 Avery - The Beast

Cap pops with a reassuring hiss. Pours a very dark amber color, very thin off white colored head that fades very quickly. Huge aroma of burnt sugar, brandy, a bit of apricot. But not overly sweet, more earthy. Similar flavors in the taste, as it warms it is a little warm in the finish. Sticky feel, lower carbonation. Rich and bold, but no where near as boozy or super hot as when it was fresh. Much improved.

 

2010 Stone Old Guardian, inspired by @zac16125 's post earlier in the week. This one has been hit or miss for me over the years, with a wide range of oxidation despite identical storage conditions. This particular bottle still has some sharp hop character on it, influenced by some of the orange gumdrop and black tea notes that suggest it's just past its prime. However, nowhere close to the wet paper towel notes that I sometimes get from bottles several years younger. Still light and fruity, with a mild astringency that lends some brightness on the palate. I dig it.

 

Tonight’s beer is a 2015 Bourbon County Brand Stout.





This beer pours leaving no head at all. It looks flat but it is most definitely noted carbonation is fine and zero signs of oxidation. Aroma is fairly muted at this point, with roasty and big chocolate fudge being the most prominent. Not many barrel characters, just some oaky notes. Taste is way better than the nose. This beer has developed into a sweetness monster. Sugary sweet with huge chocolate fudge notes up front. Balancing bitterness and big bourbon barrel notes with oak and vanilla on the finish. This is just absolutely incredible. This beer is obviously amazing fresh but it’s taken to even another level of awesomeness with 5 years on it.

 

Didn't Goose lose some of its adventurous spirit after the son of the original owner, who really liked to experiment, started partaking of what he produced a bit too much and went elsewhere after the buyout where now he's concentrating on mead? That's what I think I remember from "Barrel Aged Stouts and Selling Out" which was a very enjoyable book.