Hill Farmstead (2020)

Lawsons seemed to pull it off

 

Hey guys, first time popping into this particular thread. I have a question:

2017 Aaron

Anyone know if this has held up? Does Aaron tend to hold up well? I'm not a huge fan of cellaring certain ales (besides lambic and unfruited wild ales) longer than two years. Aaron is one of my biggest bucket list beers, and I now have the opportunity to trade for a '17.

Thoughts?

 

‘17 bottling date? The Vintage 15 on the label? That was bottled 5/2017 and released January 2018. So over 3 years in the bottle by now.

If you’ve never had it and you want it, I think it’s worth it.

There is only one other fresher batch/bottle and even that was bottled over 2 years old. So, not getting a fresher one unless a new batch comes out this year/early next year, but that could also be harder to trade for since it's been since September 2018 since it was last released.

Good luck.

 

I got to try '15 and '16 Aaron at the Side Project Invitational in February and both were superb. '15 being my favorite. I also recently opened a 2014 Mother of all Storms and it was near perfection. I wouldn't hesitate to trade for a 2017 Aaron or any other 3 year old BA barleywine.

 

Mad river valley and craftsbery are two very different places. Covid aside many true locals in the craftsbery area are not thrilled with the traffic Hill brings and would happily trade off the minor secondary economic benefits Hill brings to the area( willys, Parker pie, and highland would all be fine without hill) They also have basically no Covid in the area and are still very weary of non locals, even those from other parts of Vermont. .

 

Thanks. Just being a "mega-want", I'd hate to get a poor impression of it with a stale example. Barleywines are one of the few styles I'll sit on over 2 years, but I've had examples that have definitely passed their prime. If you didn't think there were any issues with a '15 bottling, then perhaps that '17 is just fine.

Good to know '14 MoaS is still good. I've been worried my '15 will be cardboard by now. I'll open that one soon!

Thanks for the help. Looks like I'm getting Aaron.

Cheers!

 

I would pull the trigger- Barleywine ages well. I had a 2014 vintage in 2018 and it was stellar.

 

I don’t typically care much for like “must haves” or “before I die” stuff with beer, but Mother of All Storms is a beer I caught wind of at a certain time or place and it is THE one. I was even out in Oregon a few years back on a severe (but ultimately fruitless) hunt.

Get the Aaron.

 

Gin Brother was probably one of my favorite on site beers I had last year. How quick did that fly this week? Impressive, but I'll be in the area Columbus day weekend if anyone bought too much.

 

Outstanding beer for sure. Not sure I’ll get this batch either. Had batch 1 before, have batch 2 in the fridge.

Was up for less than a handful of days on the retail page. Went out of stock on Tuesday night, but popped back up on Wednesday, then gone.

 

Do it. Aaron is a completely ridiculous beer. I’d be shocked if it had fallen off noticeably since 2017.

 

Barrel-Aged Everett is back after a long slumber. Last released just after Christmas 2018 (12/26). $3 bump up in bottle price for same size/format, $25/$22. Only 2 pp then, conceivably no limit nowadays.

I’ve only had it twice. Back in the summer of ‘14 side by side with Everett (both 500 ml bottles) and the ‘18 release in the spring of ‘19, which was a near perfect beer for me. Base Everett is legendary. Hope to get a shot at this batch.

 

It's true, we need to see Aaron again soon. The last batch was my personal favorite of the vintages I've had "fresh". Sat on some older Aaron for a year or so and was enjoyable, with some alcohol burn still present. The last batch seemed damn smooth months from release.

 

Feels silly calling HF dialed in, because really they're almost always dialed in, but the Mary and Edward I've had so far from these most recent batches are unbelievable. Wish I could side by side it with Poetica - been a long time since I've had any of them, but this isn't giving up very much at all.

 

I retract my last statement. THAT would've been worth the drive up.

 

when this is all over I'm buying a stash house in Greensboro Bend with my second stimulus check

 

March 1, 2008, Greensboro Bend: Minus 41F.

 

You've had two pairs of gloves this entire time?

Yeah ... It's the Rockies