Cellar Reviews (2020)

Reasonable. When I wanted to use it, one of the items I was hitting on was a sort of "candy like" or "hard candy like" sweetness. It wasn't specific to a candy or flavor so much as it was the way the sugar from a candy tastes, which isn't (for example) like turbinado sugar (which is a very specific taste).

 

I often use the term “candied sugar” to describe beer. The flavor I am trying to describe with that term is essentially caramelized sugar, think basic rock candy flavors (the kind on the wooden stick you’d get as a kid, the basic flavor that had a brownish tint).

 

Tonight Im sipping on Founders Frootwood. Vintage 2017, although technically bottled on date was 12/20/2016. I thought this beer was pretty good fresh but nothing special. Never really intended to age it but I did, so let’s give it a shot.


Pours reddish copper color, hazy, 1 fingers width white head. Aroma is cough syrup esque cherry and bourbon. Quite sweet on the nose, subtle maple. Taste is very sweet, some oaky bourbon notes on the finish. Cherry is most prominent flavor. Subtle bitterness to balance out. Overall, it’s pretty good. Hasn’t developed a lot over time, and remains good but far from great.


3.75/4/4/4/4
(Original/fresh review: 4.25/3.25/4/4.5/4)

 

I haven't had any of their BA BWs, and only one stout (or BA beer of theirs period) - FO. While I enjoyed FO, I was disappointing it didn't have more barrel. Granted, it's a vanilla stout, so I think it's difficult to impart barrel sometimes. What about for this beer - how does the barrel stack up compared to, say, a BW from someone like GI, where there is heavy heavy barrel influence, and it's obvious.

Just trying to paint a little clearer picture in my mind, where I have something to compare it to. Appreciated the review. Thanks.

 

Split an 8/29/2018 Founders Curmudgeon Better Half with a friend who had happened on a bottle. The sweetness that I initially complained about has recessed into a very pleasant level as the rest of the beer has aged very well. I will probably reciprocate with what my friend shared but am glad I have a remaining bottle to savor in the future.

 

I can not rectify these two statements in my mind. I can't stomach the sweetness of so many of the popular big ba brewers these days, and have specifically avoided any bottle logic for that very reason.

I'm stoked with how active this thread is this year, I need to get myself together and pull something out of the cellar soon. It's been a hell of a month (year?) and I've just been reaching for easy, regular, beers I don't need to think about. Hopefully we'll be getting some cooler weather and work will slow down a bit and I'll find some time to crack open a bigger beer soon

 

BDCS 2020 tasting really good

 

from my experience Bruery beers withhold their age,

 

First NFL Sunday Funday of the year. Kicking off the season right with a BCB Prop ‘16. One of the few BCB variants I haven’t yet tried (along with ‘17 Prop which I will pop soon, and a couple of the ‘19 variants which I will eventually get around to trying), so no fresh review for comparison. I think this is the lowest BA rated Prop, skimming through reviews it looks like there was somewhat of a love/hate dichotomy with this one. Ive been looking forward to giving it a whirl.

Pours jet black, fizzy dark tan head. Aroma is big chipotle pepper. Some fusel alcohol, bit of roast and very subtle cocoa that you really have to work for. It’s a pepper bomb on the nose, even after 4 years. Taste is much more balanced and much better than the aroma. Quite sweet, significant maple syrup. Fairly prominent chocolate and some oak barrel notes on the back end. Peppery heat is noticeable but not nearly as prominent as the aroma, it compliments the flavor profile nicely but may still even be a bit higher than I would prefer. I imagine fresh that this beer was super hot. As with all BCBs, the ABV is very well masked. Drinkability is surprisingly good considering everything including the peppery heat. Overall, I actually really really dig this. Is it my favorite Bourbon County variant, no but it’s also def not my least favorite. I would say its not even my least favorite Prop (I think it’s better than the double chocolate one). Very much enjoyed, I have one more that I will likely age several more years to see if the peppery heat diminishes even further.

4.25/3.5/4.5/4.5/4.5

 

Second cellar beer of the day. 2015 Bigfoot, one of my favorite beers to age.

Pour is slightly hazy, mahogany colored, large 2 fingers width of head. Great lacing. Aroma is candied sugar, fruity phenols, lots of sweet caramel malts. Taste is prominent bitterness, burnt sugar, caramel, some herbaceous notes. Super smooth. Delicious as always.

4.5/4.5/4.25/4.75/4.25

 

Seems as good as any night to open this. I have one bottle after this.


I poured from the fridge, I put it there last night from the basement floor (cellar). Pours still as black as night, minimal head that is gone within the minute. The beer sits still in my glass with no carbonation. No lacing to speak of but it does leave some slickness on the sides of the glass as I rock it around.
Aromas of char, smoke, caraway, licorice, carob and vanilla.
First sip is amazing. Any heat that was there is now gone. Dried fruits, leather, chocolate, vanilla, butterscotch and oak are what I’m getting. Tastes like bourbon candy at the finish. Okay, just a small bit of ethanol too.
Mouthfeel is still thick and smooth but just a bit less than when fresh.
Overall, I’m still impressed with this one and the time it has behind it. My last bottle could go on for at least another year I’d say. I’m not sure I’ll let that last that long.

 

Tonight’s beer is a Bruery Etian. I actually only very recently purchased this (shelf turd?) but I believe it was only brewed/bottled once, and the bottle says 2018 so I think this is still cellar review thread worthy!

Pour is murky, nearly opaque, large tan head. Aroma is phenomenal, super complex. Tons of dark fruits, complex spirit and barrel notes including bourbon, port and sherry. Malty including toffee and candied sugar. Taste is exceptional. Malt bomb, with caramel and toffee for days. Lots of dark fruits. Significant and very nice chocolate characters which I was not anticipating. Big sherry and port notes, less prominent but still present bourbon characters. Some vinous notes, bitterness to round it out. Dangerously drinkable for the ABV. Incredibly complex. Blown away by this one. Wow.

4.25/4.5/4.75/4.5/4.75

 

Not a cellar review but a question for you knowledgeable folks here...do you think it would still be an enjoyable experience to drink a 2018 Horus Goshawks Grasp? I am sure it was excellent fresh but being a double coffee stout I worry what the time might what done to the coffee

 

Several questions:

1. Do you already have this in your possession?
2. If so, what would you do if you didn’t drink it?
3. What had your experience been with other aged coffee stouts?
4. Where do you fall on the “coffee tastes like green peppers in stouts” spectrum?

 

Probably still good. In the great coffee stout aging debate my sense is that thinner bodied stouts and less sweet stouts don't hold the coffee flavor as well. My understanding (no first hand experience) is that Horus makes very thick (thiccy thicc possibly) and fairly sweet stouts. That would lead me to believe that, while the coffee might have lost some nuance in 2ish years it's probably still there. Also though, @Beer_Economicus raises some good questions, especially whether you already possess it, and if not then what is the cost of obtaining it?

 

1.) I do not, it would be part of a trade

2.) If I had the bottle I would drink it, if I not I guess I could give it to a local bum or something

3.) I don't have much experience with aged coffee stouts but I know in general they don't age well but I figured a 2018 may still be on the cusp of being a quality beer. I've done KBS verticals where I liked all 4 years

4.) I've actually never gotten a coffee beer with the green pepper notes people describe. Something just feels off about a double coffee beer and my guess is like 50/50 it would still be pretty good or not so pretty good. So basically flip a coin.

Weller SR. So a shelfie a bit north of $30

 

If part of a trade, I guess that's something you have to make a judgement call on, principally based on whether you want the coffee to POP! or be better incorporated. Every coffee stout that I have had fresh is more in your face (what some might call unbalanced) than when aged (more subtle, more rounded, no sharp edges, well integrated).

If you're a coffee addict as @Harrison8 is, you would only want the beer fresh. However, if not, I'd say go for it at $30, which I think is essentially MSRP (maybe less?).

Don't compare other aged coffee stouts to KBS - it's like comparing other coffee stouts to 2012 BCBCS - Others just don't compare. My point isn't actually that KBS is fantastic, but that KBS actually ages fairly well. They know what they are doing in terms of sealing their bottles. Yes the coffee and chocolate fade some, but in general they hold their own well after years. It's how I compare BCBS aging vs. most other BA stouts. BCBS tastes virtually the same in years 1-3 after bottling. Years 4+ you notice changes, but even at 4 years it's not dramatic - it has to go longer to round out the edges.

Regarding the Green Pepper: Several members on here, @eppie82 comes to mind, get green pepper flavors a LOT in coffee stouts. In my experience from reading people's comments - including his - and from some personal experience, a beer may NOT give many people that green pepper taste fresh, but when aged many more people tend to develop that flavor. 2017 BCBCS is a good example for me. Fresh, I don't get any (ok, maybe a little?) green pepper. At 2 years? More - a noticeable amount. Not everyone feels this way. Since you don't get it, I wouldn't worry about it, especially on only a 2-year aged beer.

 

OH, if it was me I wouldn't personally make that trade if that was the sole purpose of the trade - BUT, if I was you (and wanted it), and it was part of a larger trade - I'd be fine with that.