Side Project / Shared (2020)

Based on the price should I assume it's not as good as their other IPAs?
I mean $16 is practically a steal.

 

I opened a Blended 2020 last night and was absolutely floored by the depth of flavor. This is the best SP wild ale I have had since Unblended 41. I am happy that I opened it while there are more for sale.

 

To whomever asked about whether wax makes a difference:

Anything you can do to slow oxidation will make a difference. Whether you notice it will be a result of how discerning your palate is and how long the beer has been aged, as well as probably how good your memory is and when you had it last. Many people that intend to cellar beers for years and years will use electrical tape on every bottle they put down. I mean, it’s the only place air enters from, so it’s only going to help. Wax is the same way, although breweries generally don’t do it for this reason.

 

i had one Wednesday night, and while i enjoyed it, i pretty much had 2 thoughts: not worth $50 (i.e., not in the same league as Tete or even CdCs) & also that it seems built to be aged.

 

Agreed. I bought a few bottles to see it ages. Blended 17 was alright fresh, but it got way better once it had a year + of age on it.

Blended 20 hopefully is the same way because the bottle I drank was fine. Nothing to gush over. Yet.

 

To those that are have experience with aging wild/various sour style beers:

What gives you the impression it will do well with age, and how do you expect it to change? I can answer this for stouts and BA stouts, as that’s nearly everything that I drink, but I am not a wild/sour guy in general. My sister is, though, and it might be a fun gift to give her a bottle specifically telling her to wait at least a year, or to lay it down myself and age it until it has “matured” and then explain the story.

Note: I’ve read about (and experienced) how fruit vs non-fruited spurs differ as they age. That’s like the straight vs adjunct stout aging line of discussion. Not referring to this at all, and figure it is probably not worth rehashing.

 

The yeast might still be doing work, depending on the beer (why many old world breweries use cork and cage), reducing acidity and adding complexity. The development can be quite drastic, and much more beneficial than letting stouts or barleywines sit. Honestly the only reason I let stouts and bws sit is because I might buy them at volume, but I often intentionally age Gueuze and saison looking for an ideal experience later.

That said, the more generic "sour" and American wild, particularly fruited, I've sat on hoping to reduce acidity and haven't often found optimal results. There's a lot of strides to be made on our continent relative to Belgium.

 

My understanding was that the acidity doesn't actually change. However, I've read that some beers which are often significantly vinous tasting at the start do "mellow", which I assume is much like how a BA stout ages and the obvious bourbon bite will "meld" into the other components. The beer may become more balanced with age.

Is this what you're referring to, or are you saying that you find that beers are actually less acidic with age? Obviously I don't think you're talking about the PH, just for any clarity given my response.

 

I can't speak to the science, just my palate.

In my most recent experience last month comparing vintages of Cantillon Gueuze, I found fresher bottles to have a fairly potent acidity and peppery spice to them, while also some resinous cedar and even burnt rubber at times. Needless to say they weren't my favorite--I've always thought their fruited game was much stronger.

However, opening a 2013 bottle I found it exhibited a greater intenseness of that cedary humidor quality, without any rubbery pungency to it, while also having a much more pleasing mouthfeel and lower acidity (at least my stomach agreed with it far more). I felt no burn or sting whatsoever. It was pretty delightful and also very unique compared to all the fresher ones I've had by them, to the point it totally change my perspective on their non-fruited bottles.

 

most of the time with SP saisons & wilds, the more time in the bottle the more the initial “acidic shock” dies down. the fruiting rates have been so great that i don’t worry about that aspect fading. typically, less abrasive sourness and a more rounded, lively funkiness occurs with age.

 

you saw what I saw? By the time I clicked it to read the info...

 

I didn’t see sh*t (please share!) but I loooove me some Keyser Soze.

 

I got the info for those curious:

Package Consists of:
1 - Beer: Barrel: Time 2020 - 750 mL
1 - Coeur de Cuvée Blend #4 - 750 mL
1 - Le Saisonnier Blend #4 - 750mL
1 - Saison du Blé Blend #10 - 750mL
1 - Beer: Barrel: Time Glass
1 - Service Fee (100% of this fee goes to the staff)

$165

Said "Coming Sat 10/17" which is obviously wrong

 

the screen shot I saw that someone was able to grab said no proxies too. I'm sure a proxy page will surface this week as well, but who knows

 

ISO CDC 4 details

 

Yeah it was only up there for a few seconds, and was a no proxy. Seemed like a test, especially with the erroneous date. So the details may certainly change

 

I got a feeling in my stomach this won’t be up for proxies, fingers crossed it does, sounds like a killer package!

 

so the packages were up for sale?

 

Yup sold out instantly



















sorry I couldn’t resist. Not it was put online with a sale date, last existing one was for the cans from sat, so it said “coming 10/17” no proxies