Cellar Reviews (2021)

A jump to the basement for this treat, 2012 version is very Sauterne like in texture. So very good.
The BA base has this listed as a Baltic Porter, according to De Molen they use "top fermenting yeast" so I believe it fits the bill of this tasting.
Cheers all

Tsarina Esra

Porter - Baltic | 11% ABV

Brouwerij De Molen
Bodegraven, Netherlands

4.19/5 rDev -0.2% | Average: 4.2
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Poured from an 11.2 oz bottle, vintage 2012 into the Harpoon Leviathan glass.
A - Chalkboard black color, a thin offwhite cap starts to assemble, decides to give up. Reassembling into a thin off white ring during the remaing time.
S - Blackberry reduction, fig, dark chocolate, cigar wrap tobacco. Hints of dark toast, char, black licorice
T - As complex as the nose, with the bulk being focused on the chocolate, blackberry. Madagascar chocolate 70+% is the closest comparison. Fig stops in for a bit then moves on. With a little rise in Temperature the tobacco and lite char take the stage a bit.
M - Luxurious, simply luxurious. Silky smooth, hefty on the palate desert wine in body, silky smooth, sweet start moves to center and stays there. Fully coated palate is treated to the slightest hop bite. Finishing as it sarted slightly sweet and lingering forever.
O - A spectacular treat , rich and full, slick but not overbearing. Cocoa, dark fruit and a complex aromatic thread all add up to a real treasure


#240

 

I'm not popping any of my Cantillon's any time soon and I too want to get back there.

Ok in support of Shanex getting to 40 over on WBAYDN 3068 I pulled a 2011 Fin du Monde tripel out of the cellar. Salut! It's taken on some colour for a lovely deep gold.

First taste I got stone fruit and apple with malt in the middle and a touch of honey on the finish. The missus thought she got a little tobacco. This beer has developed a lot of complexity in the cellar. As it warms up more malt is coming up.


From my last post on WBATDN I listened to that Bombino session which prompted me to buy the album Agadez which is playing in my ears now.

 

2015 New Glarus R&D Golden Ale.

--------------------------------------------

originally consumed on 10/21/15.

500 ml bottle sealed with New Glarus logo pressure cap.

poured into HF wine stem.

Appearance: No surprise here with the color... is it a golden yellow body. Massive white head with a creamy and dense consistency. Head drops down to a thick cap. Lots of head clings to the side of the glass.

Smell: Lemon and earthy hops plus brett. This smells glorious, the aroma is all about the brett and hops. And they pair flawlessly together.

Taste: Much the same as the nose. Light earthy hop bitterness. Bright lemon citrus hop presence as well. Earthy and fruity brett. Mineral presence found here as well that is reminiscent of well water. Biscuit/bready malt presence that is light, but found in the perfect proportion.

Mouthfeel: medium bodied beer with moderate almost high carbonation levels. Creamy carbonation that has a dry and prickly character about it. This is super drinkable beer. Rustic, crisp, and clean beer.

Overall: This is not the same as 2009 R&D Golden Ale. This is actually excellent straight out of the gates as where 2009 Golden Ale needed alot of time to become something great...either that or my taste has changed. While this is categorized as a belgian pale ale, my mind keeps going towards the likes of a dry-hopped brett saison because of the hop profile and the brett yeast that was pitched into the beer. Either way this is a fantastic beer and I don't think this beer will last long with me. I had intentions of cellaring bottles, but I like it how it drinks right now so I am drinking most of my bottles fresh.

A-4.5
S-4.25
T-4.50
M-4.50
O-4.45

Calculated overall score(fresh)- 4.44
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Cellar review 3/16/21. 500ml bottle poured into St. Sixtus Goblet.

Appearance- Bright and glowing golden bodied beer. Heavy white sediment settling down into the bottom of the glass. Plenty of fluffy bone white head at least 3 fingers tall. Drops down to a thin cap. Light lacing on the glass.

Smell- Bready malt, hay, starchy, light lemon citrus, stale barnyard funk (definitely in a good way), fruity esters galore, ripe / sweet banana, and a lot of white pepper. Complex. The nose is banging on all cylinders! This is better than I remember/reviewed when beer was fresh.

Taste- The banana's are fricking huge! Sweet and ripe banana's and a hint of the green starchy banana's too. When 2015 Golden Ale was fresh, you did not taste any banana's what so ever. Tons of fruity yeast esters as well. White peppery yeast that is dry and drives deep to add balanced complexity to the beer. The yeast is really driving the flavors in this beer right now. Dusty funk and dry oak that permeates throughout this beer at all times. Honey on buttermilk biscuits are what remains of the malt profile. Lemony citrus character is no longer represented in this beer. I think that this beer has become very yeast driven and is quite reminiscent of a well aged Belgian Pale Ale like Orval.

Mouthfeel- light end of medium bodied beer with moderate carbonation levels. Semi-dry body. Clean & crisp finish with spritzy carbonation. Rustic Belgian yeast profile.

Overall- This is aging very well. No surprise; based on following and tasting 2009 Golden Ale many tome over the years. I really enjoy these R&D Golden Ale releases from Dan Carey. Golden Ale really has become a personal favorite from the R&D series. 2009 Golden Ale became amazing with a decent amount of time; did not love it fresh & it really surprised me the older it gets. 2015 Golden Ale was great fresh & really enjoying this aged too. 2015 Golden Ale reminds me a lot of a substantially aged Orval with just the right amount of Wisconsin spontaneous fermentation Terroir. Lots of layer of complexity here that were enhanced over time in the bottle with spontaneously fermented yeast developing over time in the bottle.

A-4.25
S-4.50
T-4.50
M-4.50
O-4.50

Calculated "Cellared" overall score- 4.49

 

Just out of curiosity what was the ABV on that golden ale?

 

I kicked off this morning's WBAYDN thread with this.

I'll kick it off this morning with a 2015 Schlenkerla Urbock. Attack is all about the smoke. Smooth and rounded for a great taste sensation from the attack through the middle and into the finish. Medium light body. Smoke dominates but malt comes through. Colour looks to be a little darker than fresh. This has held very nicely in the cellar.

 

Well in response to DoctorZombie in WBAYBN 3069 I figured I'd pull out one of my Imperial chocolate stouts. This beer was brewed four our beer club by Garrison out of Halifax. We had an interclub contest to choose the label design and I think a little fun was had by all.

2015 This beer is so smooth now, I get a little musty malt and dark fruit with dark cherry. Roasted malt and toffee lead to cocoa nibs on the finish. It's aging quite well, I have one every couple of years.


The story behind the winner as voted on by the membership. We were over 4000 people, over 1% of the drinking population in NL. The beer club work completely changed the face of beer in this province.


The first beer with my face on the label but not the last.

 

An excursion into the cellar to end a two-week dry run yielded this bad boy:



I have always been a sucker for this beer. For a long time it was the most 'regional' bourbon-barrel-aged stout that saw limited production and distro in my area. Sure, there were other quality BBA stouts out there (Abyss comes to mind, and I love that beer), but this held a special place in my heart. On top of that, my first son was born in 2014, and this bottle was a present from my wife that Christmas. So, yeah, special brew to me.

This was bottle 3071 of 3600.



All things being equal, I had high hopes but was also worried about the corked & caged 750 and how the carbonation had held up; I had opened a 2012 or 2013 in the last two or three years and it was completely flat, though tasty enough. This one popped with very good but not overwhelming pressure and poured beautifully:



Pours mostly pitch black with dark caramel edges showing some light. The head had large bubbles and faded pretty quickly to a steady ring. Giving it a '4' on the look.

Very rich notes of chocolate and caramelly bourbon meet the nose, almost what I would call decadent. I mean, at close to fridge temperature, this thing already had a near-perfect score for me. It mellowed out some and added some woody and charry notes, with some rich malt sweetness. I would rate it somewhere between a 4.25 and 4.5 on aroma at the end of the session.

Tasty, leaning sweet but with plenty of roasty notes and some of that barrel char arriving as well; the chocolate and caramel are present here as well. Has a good bourbon character and the heat is completely gone at this age. Again, somewhere between a 4.25 and 4.5.

Good carbonation in a medium-to-full body with a touch of lingering dryness and appropriate bitterness and not a hint of booze. Call it 4.25 here, as the body could be bigger, though nothing is wrong.

Overall a wonderful brew that has aged beautifully in these 6-7 years. Part of its life was spent in a box in a closet, and for the last 4-5 years its been fridge-cellared waiting for this moment. My palate adjusted well, even after the two weeks off, and though I probably started by grading it too high (excitement? anticipation?), over the 6-hour-session (starting with an afternoon pour and culminating with a night cap) I think this is solidly still a 4.3-or-so beer at this age. I do not know how it could hold up much better as it ages moving forward.

Cheers Cellar-Dwellers.

 

Anyone out there have one of these?

 

Block 15 Imagine. I believe this 2013?
Pours flat no head or carb
Toasted nuts w caramel and fig on the nose
Watery mouthfeel
Some heat on the initial flavor profile w a tart malty finish. Raisin, chocolate fudge, and carmel dominate the taste.

Overall decent but strikes me like a poor mans BC stout. Hides its advertised 15%abv well.

 

6% on 2015 & 7% on the 2009

 

Right, not designed to last too long in the cellar.

 

I am bad at writing reviews but recently had 16/17 Bell’s Expedition Stout and Founders Imperial Stout and both were great, slight edge to Founders

 

I know I have a few of the beers of fame in my cellar too, not sure if I'm going to break any out. I might go back through my books of tasting notes to see if I can find any of the ones I've had to put up.

 

2013 Vintage

Pours deep black w slight head w retained lace

Nose: strong bourbon w hint of coffee and toasted nuts and raising

Mouthfeel is thick and creamy with residual linger sweeter on the tongue

Taste: bourbon and more bourbon. Dominates the coffee and toffee

Overall still very boozy and tasty. Had fresh years ago and coffee has faded further into the background. Was never prominent but now even leas so.