Cellar Reviews (2021)

New Glarus Oud Bruin 2016

Poured into a mason jar from a 12oz bottle. Deep amber color, clear, no head. Some cranberry aromas. Mostly sweet taste with a bitter/tart finish. Initially had licorice flavors which mellowed into said cranberry. Medium bodied. Overall quite drinkable for coming into its fifth year.

 

Have not had this in a minute. Has some nice fig/licorice flavors still. Much thinner than todays motor oil thick stouts. Not much barrel left at all. Some residual oxidization on the finish. Still very drinkable

 

2012

 

One of my favourites, I have quite a few older 330's in the cellar but I figured I'd give this a go. I was a bit surprised that the tartness has pretty much dropped off but I like the dark cherry on the front. The missus thinks it tastes like Dr Pepper.

 

How old is that one? I love it fresh but have never aged one. My experience with the style is that I prefer fresh.

 

I certainly do enjoy them fresh but Flemish Reds as a style do cellar well. Obviously they evolve over time and maybe they turn into something you like less but maybe they turn into something you like more? Each bottle will probably have a degree of variation but that's half the fun. I have a bunch of bottles going back to at least 2014 maybe longer and I have a few Rodenbach tucked away too. Personally I enjoy pulling out random bottles years after they should have been opened and just seeing what they turn into. Like IPA's 6 years later etc. I've been lucky enough to pull out some that have been absolutely incredible. One New Years the Deus I opened was unbelievable! I was rotted having to share any of it! Just happy I have at least 8 still down there.

 

I love these Bruery Anniversary series beers Don’t think I’ve ever come across one that wasn’t excellent.

 

Speaking of minutes, haven’t seen a Bells Black Note 750mL in a few minutes!

 

They age so well. Fruet was my jam

 

I just found a few bottle of Autumn Maple 2017 in the cellar. My partner hated them so I drank about 4 cases of it.

 

Mid day cellar dive during a day off from work. 2015 Captain Lawrence Cuvée de Castleton.

Cork pops with barely any noise, that’s not a good signs. An aggressive pour yields only a few fizzy bubbles which I can barely call a head, also not a great sign. Color is crystal clear and dark golden. Aroma is sweet, fruity esters, lots of bubblegum, some pungent cheese like funk, ripe fruit flesh including peach. Essentially no tart/sour/acidic citrus on the nose; the wild characters are exclusively funk. Taste on the other hand is tart citrus upfront, followed by pungent funk and huge lingering oak on the finish. Lemon zest, a bit of orange peel. Mouthfeel is ok, it is undercarbed but not fully flat as anticipated, and the tart characters helps mask the lack of carbonation somewhat. It is very drinkable. Not gonna lie, overall I’m pretty disappointed in this one. This beer was a pseudo big deal back when I picked up this bottle and I remember being pumped when I stumbled across a couple bottles at a little bottle shop in upstate NY. I was a bit disappointed with it fresh, and sadly I can’t say it’s developed much over the past half decade plus. It’s not a bad beer, but comparing it to the well done true lambics from Belgium, well there’s not even really a comparison.

3.5/3.75/4.25/3.75/4
(Original/fresh review: 3.25/4/4.25/4.25/4)

 

That makes me wonder what my Propeller lambics are going to be like whenever I decide to open one. They were a big deal when they released and were extremely hard to lay hands on. I pulled a few strings to get my hands on two when they were only selling one per person.

 

Second cellar beer of the day. You may not know this about me, but I kinda love Bourbon County’s; also I’m a sucker for Wheatwines. So needless to say, BCB Wheatwine- right up my ally. I loved 2018 when fresh, have a couple of these ‘19’s in the cellar but don’t think I’ve actually ever had one of this ‘19 year vintage as I couldn’t find a past review of the ‘19. Let’s give it a whirl.

Pours mohagny with amber hues when held to light, with a frothy tan head that hangs around for a while before dissipating down. Aroma is wheat, booze, caramel, big butterscotch, subtle cake batter, rye whiskey, and oaky vanilla. Taste is butterscotch, fusel alcohol, bitterness on the finish. Some harsh whiskey notes. That’s actually a good word to describe the flavors of this beer in general, harsh. I also get some caramel, a touch of cinnamon, raw oak. Unfortunately these are all somewhat overpowered by the fusel alcohol and bitterness. Mouthfeel is nice medium body with appropriate carbonation. Drinkability is limited by the aforementioned fusel alcohol.

Overall this is a pretty good beer but no where near the original 2018 BCB Wheatwine (and no where near the 2020 BCB Wheatwine variant-Caramella).

4.5/4.25/4/4/4
(Original/fresh review: 3.5/4.25/4.75/5/4.75; of note original review is of 2018 vintage)

brunch hampstead

sawmills restaurant ilfracombe

 

For the on-going (today and tomorrow) on-line porter tasting, I brought up a 2014 Alaskan Brewing Smoked Porter from my cellar.
ABV: 6.5%
IBU: 45



Very dark, black, impenetrable even with a back-light. ½ inch tan head that recedes fairly quickly to bubbly islands and a ring. Some disconnected lacing around the glass. (And a quite vigorous second pour resulted in a massive 3 inch head in the Imperial pint nonic. This large head was rocky and deeply pitted as it more slowly receded, and left sticky lacing. Sorry, no photo of the second pour.)

The aroma is sweet and smoky, but the smoke is not overpowering; it is subtle, even. But it is definitely more campfire smoke than the smokiness from the roasty malts I got with the Summit, for example. Dark fruits provide the perception of sweetness.

The taste has an interesting mixture of smoky brightness. No bitterness in the initial taste nor in the middle. Some begins to appear in the finish, and gets a bit stronger in the aftertaste, and stronger still as the beer warms. In fact, by the second half of the second (warmer) pour, the beer is noticeably more bitter. The smoke is obviously there, but it is not heavily so. The base porter shares the spotlight, bringing dark fruits and perhaps molasses, along with a brightness - perhaps floral. This beer is all about subtlety and balance. Even at 6+ years, this is a lovely porter.

The mouth feel is a bit thicker than the previous two porters I've had today. IOW, just on the thick side of moderate.

Overall, this beer has aged very well in my cellar (or, more precisely, in my Minnesota basement, so the temperature was a relatively constant 60°F +/-). I have two more (2015 and 2016) in the cellar I will enjoy another time.

L: 4.25 | S: 3.75 | T: 4.0 | F: 4.25 | O: 4.0 | Rating: 3.98

 

*Original review*

New Glarus 25th Anniversary Ale. (brandy barrel Quad)

On draft at the source: taster glass at the brewery 8/11/2018.

Dark brown beer with thin white cap. Dark fruits, caramel, brown sugar in the nose. Tastes of so much dark fruits paired with oak and hint of brandy. nice caramel and brown sugar notes. Very balanced flavors here. Mouthfeel of this beer feels lighter and more drinkable than 11%. Perfect carbonation and soft mouthfeel. Creamy body. Very slight booze. Dan brews incredible Quads. This is just as good as the big names from Belgium and their World Class Quadruple offerings for this beer style.

L- 4.25
S- 4.25
T- 4.5
M-4.75
O-4.45
---------------------------------------

*cellar review*

bottle consumed 3/13/21. Nice little hiss as the bottle is opened.

500ml bottle poured into goblet.

Appearance: dark brown bodied beer with red hue when held up to light. A thick 1 almost 2 fingers tall of creamy egg shell white colored head that drops down to a thin ring.

Smell: Oak barrel and dark fruit bomb. Lots of fruity Belgian yeast.

Taste: The beer opens up with a sweetness and light bitter bite. Dark fruits galore paired with huge oak presence and barely detected hint of brandy. Still has caramel and brown sugar, but the sweetness is dialed down from fresh. Yeast has given this beer a black pepper note in the finish that is spicy and zesty. Very interesting how the yeast has changed in this beer. It was fruity and sweet and now this interesting pepper note. The black pepper teams up with the oak to add some dryness to balance out this Quad even more from being so rich and sweet as it was fresh. A pleasant surprise. As this hit room temperature, the sweetness increases and the brandy expresses itself a little bit more; adding to the fruitiness flavors of this Quad.

Mouthfeel: medium bodied beer with moderate low carbonation levels. The beer has still got adequate carbonation, but its not as carbonated as fresh. The mouthfeel has suffered a little bit, it is no longer that creamy, sticky, and fuller mouthfeel; it has become more "slick" and slightly thinner, but not by too much. Drinkability is still excellent; that did not change at all. The alcohol is not easily perceived.

Overall: Still a delicious brandy barrel aged quad. One change is to the head. The head is smaller and has diminished staying power; despite an aggressive pour into the glass. The yeast's flavor profile change was the most dynamic of this beer. The yeast changed from sweet and fruity to expressing big black pepper notes. The black pepper works fairly well too. The zest of the black pepper spice really tames / balances the sweetness of how this quad was fresh. Not something that I would have guessed. I would have thought this beer would have stayed sweet. This beer is still holding its own. I wish the caramel and brown sugar notes were as prominent as they were fresh.

L- 4.00
S- 4.25
T- 4.5
M-4.25
O-4.39

 

I’m pretty good at showing restraint and giving cellar beers their time but 23 years, DAMN! Well done there!

 

So sorry for the loss, looks like a fine friend
Best