Cellar Reviews (2021)

Good evening cellar dwellers! I meant to pop a couple special cellar offerings in honor of American Gluttony Day, aka Super Bowl Sunday, but too much was going on so I didn’t end up having anything special (although thoroughly enjoyed a 2019 3F Oude Gueze and a Hopslam). Since I missed out yesterday I figured I’d dive in today with this 2019 Cantillon Nath.

Pours a slightly hazy golden straw yellow with 1 fingers width of bright white head which has good retention. Aroma is tart lactic acidity, lots of oak, and a decent amount of an earthy, almost woody character. I’m not going to lie, I’m no rhubarb expert (only time I can even remember having rhubarb was in strawberry rhubarb pie), so I’m not even sure what they smell/taste like but I’m guessing that’s the somewhat sweet yet earthy character I get on the nose. There’s a bit of white pepper spice which I don’t typically get with Cantillons, some floral notes to round it out. Wonderful and complex aroma. Taste is lots of tart citrus, quite sour, with an almost vinegary note on the finish. It’s very drying on the finish, with huge oaky notes. Lots of citrus with lemon, subtle orange zest, a bit of bitterness on the finish which again I don’t typically get from Cantillons (it is quite subtle though). Balancing fruity sweetness, which again I can’t really claim to know is rhubarb character, but that would be my guess. Some sweet and tart red berry notes. A fairly large minerality, not as puckeringly sour as many, and notably more oaky. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, appropriately highly carbonated, vibrant mouthfeel with a huge drying finish that makes you long for the next sip. Overall, a delightful beer. Not amongst my favorite Cantillons but still notably better than almost any other lambic brewer/blender.

4.5/4.5/4.25/4.5/4.5

capture

 

Tonight’s beer is a 2015 DFH 120 Minute IPA. Bottled 1/14/15, so just over 6 years old.

Pours a less than appealing very murky brown. I’m pretty good about keeping the residuals out of the glass but this one snuck up on me and slide in. Small amount of head dissipates very quickly as expected. She’s not a looker. Aroma is loaded with rich American Barleywine notes: huge caramel, toffee, massive candied sugar, subtle fruity phenols, some indiscriminate hop bittnerness, even some herbaceous woody notes. Spirit like booziness. Just a ton going on. Taste follows except with the addition of fairly prominent cocoa notes early on. Like the nose there’s huge caramel and toffee characters, lots of burnt sugar, notable bitterness moreso then i typically get from this beer. Some sweet notes to balance, one may say port-like but only subtly so. I do fear a touch of oxidation is creeping in, this beer should age for a LONG time, but this was obtained via trade so hard to say it’s previous cellar conditions. The oxidation isn’t too bad though, it’s pretty subtle. Mouthfeel and drinkability are impressive as always. This is remarkably mellow for the ABV, and wildly drinkable; like doesn’t even make sense that this is 18% ABV. Overall, I love this beer fresh and at any age i’ve ever had it. I will say about 6 months ago I had a 2016, making it what approx 18 months younger than this one, and did rate that one higher. Not sure if this is a fair shake though due to the aforementioned mild oxidation issues. Regardless, I enjoyed this very much as always.

3.5/4.75/4.25/5/4.25
(Original/Fresh: 4/4/4/5/4.5, of note original review was before BA had the 0.25 interval)

 

I've only ever liked 120 aged and I am sure it had more years on it than yours.

 

2017 Cabernet Cask Imperial Stout Aged in Jefferson Reserve & Groth Wine Barrels ( Napa Valley )

Pours thick and lightly carbonated with mahogany color and minimal caramel colored head.

S: Tobacco notes, red wine & dark chocolate

T: Follows the nose, some oaky notes and a little booze bite. Rich red wine & chocolate, plus oaky barrel notes, just a little vanilla Bourbon note as this warms. Finishes a little dry wth lovely chocolate, Cab notes & a little leafy hop

MF: Medium/thick body with super restrained carbonation

Still drinking great, this goes well with chocolate and I am sure would kill with some prime rib. I might even rate it a little higher than the 4.43 I originally did.

 

Hair of the Dog - Adam. Batch #99, seems like this is 2018, but I bought it a few months ago. Shelf aged wonder I guess.

Pours a very dark brown, garnet color highlights come through the edge of the glass. very complex aroma - touch of smoke, pipe tobacco, dark bready malt, plum, dark cherry. similar flavors in the taste, all the flavors are there but in subtle layers. lower carbonation, thick, coats the tongue

 

Cellaring very nicely, this Imperial Scotch Ale is and there's still some on the shelves.

A great mix of caramel malt and smooth whiskey, toffee with some of, what I call, good oxidation. Vanilla notes are mid palate, finish is smooth yet assertive.

Improved over fresh? Debatable. I reckon that it is just as interesting in its own way.

 

Tonight’s beer is a 2018 Bourbon County Bramble Rye. Bottle date Aug 23 2018 so right around 2.5 years. I posted a review of this vintage less than 4 months ago, so I’ll keep this one short as I don’t anticipate it changing all that much in this amount of time.

Pours opaque black, head is bigger and more dense than most other Bourbon Counties, and its a lighter color tan. Aroma is loaded with a boquet of berries both sweet and tart, coupled with moderate chocolate notes. Both barrel and roasty notes much more subtle than most BCB variants. Some fusel ethanol to balance, quite nice. Taste follows in that it’s a berry bomb, more on the tart side of the tart-sweet berry spectrum, but otherwise it falls quite a bit short of expectations. It’s slightly more roasty than the nose, but i get almost no barrel notes which is obviously unique for a BCB stout variant. I don’t get any chocolate, or really any of the other typical BCBS base beer characters. There’s some faint bitterness which providers some balance but overall just super one dimensional. Mouthfeel is lighter side of moderate body and is a bit lacking in this regard as well, although drinkability is good. Overall, it’s kind of funny that for some reason in my mind this is a variant I love, but every time I review it (and also then later go back and look at previous reviews) I’m reminded that this is actually one of my least favorite BCB variants, clocking in around the 4.25 overall mark. This obviously is far from a horrible rating and I would gladly drink more of these, it’s just disappointing compared to its Bourbon County and Variants peer group. I have one more in the cellar, which I should give at least another year or two to see if these berry notes subside, but I’ll probably forget and end up drinking my last one in a few months (what’s that about alcohol affecting ones memory).

4.5/4.5/4/4/4.25
(Original/fresh review: 4/4.5/4.25/4/4.25; of note original review is from the OG Bramble, the 22oz bottle I think from ‘12 or ‘13; 2018 at 2 year mark review: 4.25/4.25/4.25/4.25/4.25)

 

Typically I don’t put a lot of weight into studies with a sample size of N=1 , but you know I think I’m going to trust you on this one!

 

2013, found in a local bottle shop, hidden in the back of a beer cave. Didn't even know this came to the US.

Thin off-white head, brown with red touch, somewhat clear. Aroma is huge sweet honey soaked raisins, hint of plum, and red grapes. Taste starts with red grapes, hint of plum, then fades into a thin red apple sweetness, ends with a sweeter dryness and lasting honey roundness. Body is light with medium to high carbonation. Overall nice, maybe missing some of deeper thick body that I’d expect of a double but age probably has to do with it. Has held up well for 8 years old and actually really surprised I’m getting a lot of honey. Would love to try this fresh.

 

Five year old Black Albert. Smoothest Russian Imperial Stout I've ever had. No bitterness at all after five years, even thought it's 100 IBUs. Roastiness that is typical of a RIS is nonexistent. Very complex flavors with dark stone fruit coming though. Excellent 4.5.

 

This evenings beer is a 2018 St. Bernardus Abt 12. Best before date: 16-11-2023, I have seen some debate amongst whether the best by year is 4 or 5 years post bottling but for Abt 12 I believe general consensus is 5 years from bottling, which would put this one right around 27 months. I typically find the 2 year mark to be the sweet spot for Belgium Quads, let’s see how this one is drinking.

Pours a very very dark mahogany brown, nearly black except when held to light. Approx 1 fingers width of slightly off white colored head dissipates at a moderate rate down to a film which then last throughout the duration of the drink. Aroma is biscuity, caramel, and sweet bread. I also get candied sugar, nice balancing spice including pretty prominent clove which is rare for me to pick up in a beer. Just a wonderful balance of sweet, spice, and doughy on the nose. Taste follows but is sweeter than the aroma, especially up front with lots of caramel, toffee, even a touch of cocoa. The spice hits on the back end with white pepper and a more subtle than the aroma clove. Some balancing bitterness on the back end as well. Just so well balanced with a great complexity, yet approachable and not overwhelming. Mouthfeel is vibrant and it very impressively pulls off that big Belgium beer combo of high carbonation yet still somehow quite smooth and very drinkable. Overall, a phenomenal beer. Really if one were to look at the balance of quality to ease of obtainability, I’d say you’d be hard pressed to find a better product than this. I should drink more of these.

4.5/4.5/4.5/4.75/4.5
(Original/fresh review: 4.5/4/4.5/4.5/4.5; or not original review was prior to BAs 0.25 intervals and was about 7 months old bottle)

 

I'm not seeing the pics in the last 4 posts?

 

me as well....

 

Tonight’s beer is a 2016 Westbrook 6th Anniversary. An imperial stout aged on cocoa nibs, roasted hazelnuts, and vanilla beans. This was the last of the Westbrook Anniversary series that I picked up prior to my move away from Charleston (and subsequently the only regular anniversary I had for which I didn’t then have the barrel aged version). I liked this beer when it first came out, although it wasn’t my favorite of the anny series coming in at a 4.23 fresh. Let’s see how it’s aged.


Pours a completely opaque jet black with a large dense dark mocha head that has good retention. Aroma is roasty, big leather. Still has big chocolate and vanilla notes. Perhaps a bit of a nutty character although that’s probably placebo, and I don’t get any specific hazelnut notes, per se. Tastes like an adjunct stout with faded adjuncts, if that makes sense (which it is). Lots of roastiness, actually decent amount of cocoa but it’s more like bitter dark chocolate as opposed to smooth milk chocolate. Big leather and some tobacco. I get essentially no hazelnut and the vanilla is very very subtle. Mouthfeel is fairly smooth, moderate drinkability. Overall, this beer has certainly not gotten better with time. I mean that’s to be expected it’s an adjunct forward stout I guess, but I will say that some of these Westbrook anniversary beers have aged remarkably well (I’m always surprised how well Mexican Cake ages amongst others). It’s definitely not a bad beer, but at this point it drinks more like a middle of the road basic IS as opposed to anything special.


4.75/4/4/4/4

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

 

Yeah, they did all show up but not at first.

 

Oomph, there they are.

 

Tonight’s beer is a 2019 Chimay Grand Reserve. No specific bottle dates other than the cap (there’s a lot number which is illegible) which includes only the year, so this is somewhere between 14 and 26 months.

Pours a very dark brown with some ruby hues when held to light. One fingers width of off white colored head has decent retention and leaves some lacing. Aroma is caramel, tons of dark fruit, a molasses like sweetness, candied sugar, some yeasty notes and a mild to moderate spice. Taste follows and is wonderful. Lots of dark fruits, some cocoa, caramel, balancing spice bite, some alcohol on the back end to round out the flavor profile. Carbonation is high, it’s relatively smooth but not to the extent of some of its Belgium Quad/Strong Dark colleagues, it is very drinkable. Overall, a fantastic beer. Drink Belgium beers, be happy.

4.25/4.5/4.5/4.25/4.5
(Original/Fresh review:4/4/4.5/4/4; of note original review was prior to BAs .25 interval)