Cellar Reviews (2020)

Cheers to that once fine beer. Definitely a key early beer in turning me onto to bigger and maltier beers

 

Love that beer. So disappointed it gone. Just saw someone else crack one of these in a Facebook group yesterday.

 

This was nostalgic seeing this right before Green Flash went into quality decline expanding too much. Those early Green Flash days were pretty solid.

 

2019 Jackie O's Bourbon Barrel Black Maple

Was looking for a nightcap after the last of my Barrel aged Narwhal Stouts and starting tomorrow it's supposed to be hellishly hot, spotted this and said why not. Poured a dark inky body with a small tan head. Smell is mostly maple sweetness with none of the boozy malty aroma of Jackie O's stouts. At the risk of completely embarrassing myself in a blind tasting if ever put to the test (I'm available Jackie O's), this is much lighter than a stout and deserves being lumped in with Imperial Porters. The sweetness is very prominent and perhaps further aging would balance it more. I wish these were a bit less pricey so I could buy multiple bottles and sit on them forever, like I do with Old Stock Ale, but that's not gonna happen so I'm happy with what I've got.

 

This is my oldest KBS at 2013. I have 2 more 2013s. Let’s see if it’s worth keeping those. Poured at cellar temp into my proper glassware.
Still a very respectable amount of head, still even at 5 or so minutes in the glass, a thick ring around the glass. Decent lacing.
Any sense of coffee or chocolate is gone on the nose. Mild roast, char, oxidation and the faintest amount of green pepper is currently present.
On to taste, for me it’s mostly oxidation. Unfortunate but not unexpected. Cardboard, roast, faint bakers chocolate. Unpleasant aftertaste.
For me, this wasn’t worth drinking. At this age, all the adjuncts have faded out leaving nothing of value (still my opinion).
It is what it is. Didn’t intend to keep it this long but lessons learned! Cheers!

 

2010 North Coast Old Stock Ale

Pours a clear dark brown in color, no head. Aroma of rich caramel and toffee with underlying bready earthiness. Similar malty flavor, with fig and plum in the finish. Not as sweet as expected. Medium mouthfeel, pretty low level of carbonation. Overall pretty good, but a bit of negative oxidation is creeping in.

 

I bought 3 bottles from the Noble Star Collection of August Schell and man, all 3 were so vibrant and tasty!







All 3 were of the Berliner Weisse style.

 

@AWA posting in another cellar thread about high westified going to shit told that me unneeded to crack one STAT.



I've gotta disagree with my fellow beer advocate. This one has anything but degraded and arguably improved.

Appearance is as frothy and chewy as ever.

Smell is sweet and spicy.

Taste is all oak. So much oak. Loads of rye spiciness. Peppery. Massive vanilla intertwined with the oak. Starts so sweet and finishes so dry.

Mouthfeel is ******ly chewy and dense.

Overall this was one of the best beers I had in 2016 and every bit as good 4 years later.

 

Glad to hear it. The cap on mine looked kind of dicey, so maybe it was a storage issue.

 

2011 Brandy barrel aged

Good carb and lace
Thin
Cardboard w slight chocolate and roast
Overall oxidized and not good

 

9 years is definitely a stretch for a ba stout. Did you notice any of the barrel character left at all?

 

None. That said I had the 2011 Eclipse aged in EC barrels recently and that was fantastic

 

I have two from 2016 and was going to wait until next year (five year to try the first). Given my understanding that they no longer make these, would you wait longer to have the first of the two?

 

2018 Epic Brewing Big Bad Baptist

Release #100 2/21/2018 11.8% 22 ounces

Had intended to sit on this a while longer but it was an uncommonly cool day today and this is probably the last big stout I'll have this year until after all the Oktoberfests are gone this fall. This is very similar to a 2017 I had a little over a year ago except the barrel and alc were more apparent in the smell after the initial 50 degree cellar fridge pour. There was still a lot of char bitterness in the initial taste which faded as it warmed up and became a very balanced taste mixing chocolate, barrel and booze as the bitterness faded. Does anyone know if this gets better with additional aging? I was not happy to find this last year only in 12 ounce cans!

 

I felt a bit guilty after picking up a dozen bottles and cans at the store today for the first time in a long time, so I decided to do the double dip in the cellar to compensate (meaning I'm not drinking ANY of the new stuff I got tonight... don't think too hard about it. I know I'm not!).

I've been sitting on this Old Guardian/Oak Smoked Old Guardian combo from Stone for a while now (well, just about 7 years to be precise, as these are both 2013). I'm almost positive I had at least the base version 'fresh' around that time frame (2012-2013ish), but I didn't take any notes, so this will be more about the horizontal than the vertical (which I imagine is some foreshadowing for where I'll end up by the end of the night after tackling these two bad boys).



Right off the bat I can see a noticeable difference in the pours. They are both in the ruddy copper amber type arena, but the base version is notably darker and has a lot more floaties. The lighter/clearer oak smoked version also has the more consistent head, though they're both pretty nice looking on that front and that could just be pour/glass variation. Both leave wonderful curtains and webs of lace.



Nose is also immediately different. Base version has some candied plums, the classic tobacco and leather. The other highlights it's variation. Light sweet oak, and mild smoky astringency dominate, with the higher 'lighter' notes highlighting the similar sides of the underlying barleywine, primarily the sweeter fruitier aspect.

Flavour-wise this disparity continues. The base version is just all big earthy bitter hops. Strong malt backbone with some spice to it almost gives it the impression of a really well done Rye IPA from the same era (but fresh), as it's almost completely devoid of the richer sweeter depth that I typically associate with the style (and enjoy a lot). Without the fresh notes I'm not sure for certain whether to attribute this to oxidation or intention, but it could be a little of both, honestly. The oak smoked version again showcases the lighter sweeter notes brought about from the oak, and has a nice subtle but heavy smoke character (I know that sounds mutually exclusive, but it makes sense in my head). The higher notes highlighted by the oak are a little high for my preferences, and I may end up cuveeing the two at some point to see if I can split that difference.



The oaked option is more effervescent, while having a fuller softer body to it. Both include the alcohol in a way that it's easy to take for granted.

Stone is incredibly good at brewing beer, that should not surprise anyone. And these are stone offerings through and through. Big and bold and bitter and unapologetic. That the hops are still so prevalent even after 7 years is impressive in its own right, and while I don't feel the need to seek out any future iterations, I wouldn't avoid them either, and I'm glad to have these two to compare, side by side.
Cheers!