Cellar Reviews (2020)

Off the rest of the week, so Christmas vacation has officially started. Celebrating with a beer from a series I typically absolutely love, but interestingly was quite disappointed in the non-espresso variant of this 2018 vintage. Let’s see if the espresso one is drinking better than it’s “regular” Scotch BA counterpart.

Pour is dark brown out of the bottle and black in the glass with a super small fizzy tan head that dissipates almost instantaneously. Aroma is very interesting, it has a big capsaicin peppery heat up front and there are no peppers in it; hmmm. Once you get past that there’s decently big chocolate, subtle peat characters showing the barrel, and subtle dark fruits. Tastes completely different than it smells and thus I am truly perplexed here. Roasted malt, fusel alcohol bite, bigger scotch peat characters, coffee is noticeable and is mostly on the finish. Very little sweetness to balance which is atypical for this Dark Arts series. Not really sure about the Brett in here, def not any noticeable funk, perhaps some subtle earthy, drying notes. Fairly straightforward, not much going on other than roastiness, coffee and moderate barrel notes (read alcohol and peat). Mouthfeel a touch thin, it has noticeable alcohol presence but not bad considering the ABV, drinkability pretty good. Overall it’s not a bad beer but certainly falls short of expectations. Not sure if 2018 was just an off year or if quality has consistently decreased (haven’t had any 2019 nor 20 but should be heading to Asheville soon); regardless I long for the glory that was the 2017 Tequila variants.

Merry Christmas vacation BAs, let the National Lampoon’ing begin.

3.5/3.75/4/4.25/4
(Original/fresh review: n/a)

 

I miss this beer. It was a great one. Nice to see it holds up that long.

 

Wrapping/assembling Christmas gifts while sipping on this 2010 COAST Blackbeerd imperial stout.

Pours black with a big dense khaki colored head which has great retention. Doesn’t look like a 10 year old beer. Aroma is lots of chocolate, some smoked malt, leather, subtle dark fruits and a bit of cardboard. Taste is tons of smoked malt and charred wood characters. Very nice smooth espresso notes, hints of anise, solid amount of bakers chocolate, some balancing sweetness, mild bitterness on the finish. Mouthfeel is super smooth although perhaps a touch thin. Overall a very nice beer that’s aged quite well.

4.5/4/4.25/4/4.25
(Original/fresh review: 3.5/4/4.5/4/4; of note original review was before BAs 0.25 interval)

 

Early morning today, and here with an excellent three year old Barrel Aged Stout from Revolution Brewing, Deth's Tar.



This was canned 11/9/17 after 12 months of barrel aging. My initial review was of this same vintage, poured November 18, 2019. I believe this is from the initial four pack I ever bought from this most excellent brewery, which I didn't discover beyond Anti-Hero draft offerings until 2017. Has an extra year treated this well? Let's find out.

Beer looks as great as it did last year, full creamy rich head, very fine bubbles lingers for a few minutes. Some lacing as I drink this down. The aroma is not as complex as my review last year, mostly a nice smooth bourbon, a little chocolate back but no vanilla. Taste consistent, very nice pleasing bourbon, some sweet notes of chocolate. Very boozy, a trait I really like, though at the cost of complexity. A faint tingly carbonation remains 3 years in, very smooth rich and creamy. As I work my way through 1/3, the strong 14.8% abv is hitting me pretty good. Overall, this is a great stout, though I would prefer it fresher, I believe 0-2 years is the sweet spot for this one.

Am I glad I pulled this out this morning? Hell yeah.
Would I age this fresh? Yes, indeed.
Would I age this three years out? No, I believe fresh to two years is optimal for Deth's Tar.

Have many more aged Deep Woods offerings I will be pulling out over the Winter.

Cheers!

 

Christmas Eve beer #1 is a 2018 3F Hommage. Seemed appropriate for the holiday, you know Wise Men, Jesus, etc; ok ok maybe a stretch. Work with me here. Either way a good excuse to drink this new to me beer.

Pours a nice ruby red color, completely translucent with a small white tan head which is fizzy and dissipates quickly. Aroma is huge sourness, tart lactic acidity, with a prominent minerality and plastic like funk. Tons of fruit notes as well with huge raspberry, nearly as big cherry, and even some strawberry notes (although I know there’s no strawberries in it). Just an absolutely wonderful aroma. Taste is just an insanely huge puckering sourness. This is easily amongst the most sour beers I’ve ever had and I love that. Fruit notes balance wonderfully with both sour and sweet raspberry and cherry. Some clean mineral drying characters, moderate oakiness, essentially no pungeant funk notes but rather all sour/tart characters; which again I love. Carbonation is actually quite low, I think it’s fair to say that it tastes undercarbed, although the puckering tartness and drying finish make that low carbonation affect the product less than it otherwise would. Drinkability is excellent and I wish I had more of this. Overall just a wonderful beer; complex, bold, balanced, and delicious.

3.75/4.75/4.75/4/4.5
(Original/fresh review: n/a)



Merry Christmas Cellar Dwellers!

 

2012 J.W. Lee's Harvest Ale.

This is the vintage on the shelves in my neighborhood. And its been a while (2-3 years?) since I've had this beverage. Seems like a fitting beverage to kick off a comfy Xmas eve day around here.

Pours a slightly hazy, copper/ruby tinged amber. No head to speak of. Didn't quite keep all the sediment out of the pour.
Nose has apple, toffee, sweet breads, a little cacao. Some booze, like brandy or rum too. Very rich and complex nose that did have some weird plastic/bandaid notes when it was fridge temp but they've cleared out now.

Taste follows somewhat, with a dominant note of apple/pear brandy, some dark holiday bread, fresh leather, and a touch of fusel heat at the back end.

Overall a nice complex beer. Not my favorite but it's a fun one to visit every now and again and it does have remarkable legs.

 

Christmas eve beer #2. Ok, so maybe I had another, non-vintage, beer or two that I didn’t post here; don’t tell....

This one is a barleywine that I actually prefer fresh, as the barrel characters tend to interplay wonderfully with the base beer and those barrel notes fade with time. But this is the freshest vintage I have, and I like drinking these on Christmas eve, so here goes.

Pours very dark brown, nearly black, with a nice dark tan head. Aroma is massive dark fruits with fig, dates, raisins. Moderate semi sweet cocoa. Bourbon barrel notes still holding strong. Taste follows except with stronger barrel notes. Dark fruits, candied sugar, subtle black coffee, charred oak, moderate bitterness. The bourbon characters are nice, but are already starting to fade. Mouthfeel is very smooth, and it’s very drinkable for the high ABV. A wonderful beer that’s worthy of a special night.



Merry Christmas fellow advocates of beer!

 

Any of you fine folks familiar with North Coast Grand Cru? I had a bottle tonight and it was a real pleasant sipper, but had some unusual bright citrus/orange aromas and just a hint of a tang on the tongue.

Theres a beer on their website.called 20th anniversary ale that has the same basic label and description, and there's mention in the reviews here of a "2018" bottle. I'm just trying to figure out if it was age that lent those mild citrus characters or what.

Merry Christmas ya heathens!

 

2009 Samichlaus

Pours very dark amber, clear, actually some decent head until it fades. Mild toffee, booze, and a little fruit - apricot, berry. Simialr flavor, moderately sweet. Medium bodied, lower carbonation.

 

I have some bottles of Stone's Russian Imperial Stout that are anywhere from 3 to 6 years old. I am going to give a couple away for Christmas and we will probably drink them tonight. I do not want to sell them but wondered what they are worth now. Mostly for bragging rights so others will take the beer as seriously as I.

 

I'm a terrible source but I can't imagine those bottles having a terribly high secondary value. Maybe like 30 or so tops for a bomber? Asking on the trade value thread would probably get you the most informed answer (although feel free to go with my total guess too).

 

About 7 years ago I saw on a site that sold them. They were going for $100 for a 2 year old bottle. I wonder if the price has gone up or down since then.

 

There is currently a 9yr vertical ('03-'11) for less than a VR unit on one site

 

They're likely worth a touch more than you paid for them retail. Beers that are shelfies, & widely available, rarely accrue any "value" unless something extraordinary happens to the beer. Ditto 'bragging rights'. There are none.

Sites that sell beer often have stuff that is grotesquely overpriced & sit for sale for weeks or months before the 'seller' pulls it. So seeing it offered for $100 just means the seller is delusional, not that it is the going rate.

Give them away. Enjoy drinking them. Post here. That's it.

 

What he said. $20-30 max would be my estimation. Not much utility is cellaring widely available shelf beers to increase their resale value.

That being said, I bet 3-6 year old Stone RIS is drinking pretty, pretty, pretty good right now. So drink and enjoy!

 

I had a 2015 recently and thought it was amazing as well - so flavorful. I was really surprised/impressed and wish I had more.

 

I’ll bet it’s drinking incredibly right now, but have no idea how much it’d be worth in the wild. That said: I’d easily trade $4$ for in exchange for something similar I can find here for something like that if our boi just wanted to mix it up