Cellar Reviews (2021)

I can only hope that mine was a one-off. Still though, crack em if you got em.

 

Sipping this 2017 BCB Northwoods Stout. I thought it was good but not great fresh. Had one in fall 2020 and thought it had developed very nicely and improved with time.

Pour us opaque black with 1 plus fingers width of mocha colored head that has good rention. Fantastic aroma of blueberries, maple syrup, almonds and granola. Barrel notes are present but subtle. Roasted malts and chocolate round it out. Wonderful nose. Taste is a great balance of sweet, roasty, and boozy. Berry notes are present, blueberry or course as well as some ripe red berries like cherry. Decent amount of barrel characters, an approach harsh bourbony ethanol character and decently strong charred ok. Chocolate completely the flavor profile, a nice rich dark cocoa. Mouthfeel is full bodied and it’s silky smooth. ABV is certainly noticeable but not in a negative regard and actually helps to add balance to the final product. Overall this beer is excellent and seems to keep getting better with time. Somewhat remarkable for an adjunct laden barrel aged stout actually. I have one more in the cellar, the question is how long will I take it out.

4.5/4.75/4.5/4.5/4.5
(Original/fresh review: 4/4.5/4.25/4.5/4.25;
2020 review: 4.5/4.5/4.5/4.5/4.5)






Cheers BAs!

 

Man that is super shitty. I don’t have any 12s, only 1 13, was going to try to take it out 10 years, still probably will but regardless that’s not encouraging.

 

2011 Smuttynose Barleywine - Pours a nice ruby color with quick dissipating head. I'm impressed with the upfront carbonation in the head. Smell of dark fruit, bread/biscuit malts. I notice that there's not much carbonation left on my 1st sip. Dark fruit flavor with a touch of sweetness on the end. A nice sipper. One of my favorite barleywines. I wish they still made it.

 

Bummer. Maybe that explains why they have a 5 year recommended drink by date now.

 

2017 DFH Oak Aged Vanilla World Wide Stout



Time flies when you're enjoying cellared beer. I originally planned on cross posting this on the New Beer Weekend thread when lo and behold I saw that I'd had a 2017 one of these previously (I didn't age this 6/15/2017 bottle myself but bought it cellared from a local bottle shop) and forgot. When I popped the cap nothing happened and I thought "oh shit, don't be infected or flat". The power of suggestion initially made me think that it had a medicine taste to it but as it warmed up and my anxiety level subsided (16% FTW) it became just fine. In fact the aging may have made the smell more complex because what seemed like a malty cola smell intermittently released a strong vanilla blast. Taste is likewise complex as vanilla, malt, char and barrel contend for attention. Alcohol is very much in the background. Mouthfeel is deceivingly light for such a sipping beast. Wonderful experience despite initial impression.

 

Just a quick note on this beauty, a 12 oz. bottle of 2017 Sierra Nevada Narwhal:

Packaged on 8/7/2017, bought sometime the ensuing fall/winter, stored in the bottom of my fridge since.

It's still a near-perfect RIS, and overall I've no complaints. But it may actually be growing a slight bit bitter with extended age. At 6 months to 2 years in the fridge, I've considered it about as good as this style gets. Now pushing almost 4 years old, it's still very good but some of the milk chocolate notes I typically get are gone, some of the general sweetness is gone, and it's showing more of the darker notes, bitter baker's chocolate, espresso, semisweet dark chocolate (80% plus cacao) and a lot of wood-char.

Some of this change could be chalked up to my ever-evolving palate, of course. And it should be noted that the beer's sturdiness is fantastic. The mouthfeel is as good as ever, and while the flavor notes may be changing a bit, they are still in harmony with each other. Nothing's getting unruly or out of bounds here. Plus, based on the lightish pour and crispness in the mouthfeel, I'd say there might be another 2-4+ years worth of carbonation life in my other two bottles still in the fridge. Maybe more, but I like carbonation and don't want to lose too much.

Cheers!

 

Another quickish note on this not-so-beautiful brew, a 2019 bottle of Prairie Artisan's Basic Becky:


Bottled on 9/6/19, bought in November 2019, aged in the bottom of my fridge since then.

I bought two bottles, drank the first right away and hated it. You see the additives: pumpkin, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, coriander, clove and caraway. Not sure what they left out (), but I digress. The spices dominated everything with allspice and clove especially dominating. The underlying stout foundation was nonexistent. The beer sucked.

So I thought I'd age the second bottle to give the barley malt a chance to reassert itself. It has not. The aroma is acceptable, like a candle shop maybe or an old-school house decorations shop in an old-school mall, all spice and incense. But the flavor remains spice and more spice, shows almost no malt sweetness or anything you'd expect from a big stout and it's too bad. Prairie Artisan makes some fantastic stouts. This ain't one of them.

I wanted to age the bottle I drank today another 2-3 years, maybe longer, but our stout + rye whiskey thread in the Other Beverages forum caused me to reach for it. I'm glad I did and that I got it out of my fridge, because as strong as the spices tasted today, I'm not sure 100 years would be enough time for the barley malt to tame them.

It's my fault for trying this beer and being stupid enough to buy *two* bottles. I wanted to give a beer with that much junk in it a chance. Never again.

Cheers!

 

When you say fridge, I assume you mean normal fridge temp (~40 degrees)? Because that will slow the effects of aging. I find fresh Christmas Bomb to be just like you describe this one, but cellaring it at 55 degrees for two years dials the spices down significantly into a beer I enjoy.

 

Yep, normal fridge at normal fridge temp.

From reading reviews on this thread and watching WBAYDN posts, I figure my fridge slows the aging process about in half. 1 year in my fridge = 6 months at average cellar temp

I live in Texas and own just one fridge, so my cellaring options are limited. The fridge has worked great, and like I say, I wanted to age the Basic Becky longer but pulled it to pair with rye whiskey in the stout + rye whiskey thread. Next time I have a beer like that, I might pull it and leave it somewhere in the house where it can age at room temp for a month or so before drinking.

It's good to hear that Christmas Bomb tames down with time. I don't doubt it. Prairie Artisan makes some fantastic beers ... FWIW, regular Bomb is one of my favorites.

Cheers!

 

Bottled January 13, 2016. 11.5% ABV

Pours a tawny red with little carbonation. and no head.

Smells of caramel apple .

Taste is a smooth layering of stone fruit, sour apple and the rum barrel.

Overall excellent and happy I could get this at the cellar sale.

 

Pulled out my final 2017 Bourbon County Brand Coffee Stout tonight.



This rested in my cellar the past few years, before being pulled exactly a month ago for refrigeration. How did it hold up?

Beer is more flat in terms of head and carbonation. Smelled prevalent pepper and was a bit nervous. However, it tastes great, roast coffee held up well with a smidgen of pepper which made it great. Sweet maple noted, full body and very creamy. Only planned on pouring just over half, but was so enjoyable I cracked open the temporary wine cap seal and poured the rest. Enjoying still a half hour in with four ounces to go.

Of all the barrel aged imperial stouts I have cellared over time, Bourbon County beers have held up the best, which is good because I have boxes more in the cellar. Hopeful to pick up more on clearance in the Fall this year when retailers clear their inventory for 2021 Black Friday (jumped on the $3 Base / $5 Variant local sale last year).

2018 is my youngest "coffee" (coffee barleywine) at this point. 2018 is the first year GI switched to 1 or 2 year guidance for select variants, so I'll try to work through my 2018/2019 stock through the Winter.

Cheers!

 

As promised:


Union Jack

Canned 12/16/2019

Bottled 05/05/20

Tasted side by side on 01/21/21

Appearance is strikingly similar to what I’d expect from a fresh UJ. The foam from the canned sample dissipates first, but that’s the older one. Bottled, the foam hangs on for a while, longer than I’d expect. The aroma is all faded hops, musty and dimmed, but not entirely unpleasant, and almost nonexistent on the canned sample. The body from the bottled Jack feels thinner, and it falls off rapidly on both beers, but even after a year it’s still obviously a Union Jack. It might be the Dry(ish) January talking, but Faded, old, and oxidized, I’ve still. had worst fresh beers.

I hung on to both of these for so long by accident, in the way something can get tucked behind those condiments you never use, or buried in back of the produce drawer.

 

Haven't seen this beer posted in these threads, but enjoyed this 1 1/2 year old (bottled 11/21/19, BB 11/20/22).



This is one of my highest rated beers. Never recall having an older version before, but cellared this bottle and pulled it out after just over 1 1/2 years on it, best by date 11/20/22 (a three year shelf life).

The fresher version is bolder and crisp in terms of carbonation and yeast. This version is very mellow and incredibly creamy, both the head and base. Banana yeast and fruity flavors mellowed wonderfully. Not a completely different beer, but love the contrast versus the fresher version which usually does not last long in my refrigerator after purchase. This is one of the few beers now on my "intentionally cellar" list, though I also love the fresh versions of each (BCBS and Unibroue Grande Reserve 17 the others on my either or list).

Musically powered by REM.

 

Been working through my stash of 2018 Ridgeway RIS and really loving where's its at now. Fairly thin mouthfeel with a nice bitter coffee and raisin/prune flavor. Might have to clean the store out. I only have 1 left

 

Tonight’s beer is a 2017 Bruery Terreux The Wanderer. Generously sent over as an extra, although I unfortunately don’t remember which kind BA sent it my way. This is a new to me beer which I know nothing about other than what it says on the label, so going in blind.

Pours opaque, and a color somewhere between ruby and mahogany. Large tan head dissipates at a moderate rate. Aroma just has a ton going on. Burnt plastic like funk, dark fruits, caramel, subtle pungent cheese, semi-sweet varietal red wine. Taste is fairly unique. Quite tart, actually quite sour although not puckering. A very nice spectrum of dark fruits, with cherry, blackberry, some vinous notes. Subtle caramel. A bit of oak, subtle bitterness to balance. Only the faintest pungent characters which for me is a plus. I don’t really get any bourbon chanters but that’s not a big deal, there’s certainly enough going on. Flavor profile is really quite exceptional. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with a nice carbonation and drying on the finish. It’s got the mouthfeel of a great traditional Belgium sour, with a higher ABV than many of its sour counterparts yet that ABV is completely unnoticeable when drinking it. This one is dangerously drinkable. Overall, I am very impressed with this. Didn’t have particularly high expectations but man, this is really quite excellent.

4/4.25/4.75/4.5/4.5
(Original/fresh review: n/a)

 

Tonight’s beer is a 2018 Cycle Thursday. I’m fairly certain I’ve had this beer before but maybe not as I couldn’t find a previous rating. Bottle specifically says not to age, and it wasn’t my intention to (at least not this long), but here we are.

Pour opaque black, small sliver of dark brown head that dissipates quickly. Aroma is big coffee and huge bourbon. Honestly surprised at how well this has held up, both the adjunct and the barrel. It smells somewhat like an OG BCBCS (god I miss that beer), although not quite as voluptuous. I get fairly prominent toasted marshmallow, a bit of cardboard, and roasted malt. Really wonderful nose. Taste is good but a bit of a let down as it lacks both the coffee and bourbon punch that was on the nose. These characters are present just not to the extent of the aroma. I also get big dark fruit, in fact these are the most prominent characters I get. Fig, cherry and berry characters. Roasted malt on the back end. A bit of an herbaceous character to round it out. Mouthfeel is full bodied and thick. ABV is well masked but drinkability is quite limited due to the very low carbonation and syrupy viscous nature of the beer. Overall, it’s a good beer but has some limitations. Nothing like the glory days of the small batch Pegs Cantina brewed offerings.

4.25/4.5/4.25/3.75/4
(Original/fresh review: none)

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