Cellar Reviews (2021)

I have two tonight, 2016 Troegs Mad Elf and 2017 Springhouse 10th Anniversary Bourbon Barrel Stout.

Mad Elf is drinking well. The Cherries have really mellowed with a jammy flavor and touch of fig on the end.

Springhouse is getting close to its last legs. Nose of roasted peanut and wood barrel. Flavor is oaky and bitter dark fruit with a hint of roast on the end.

 

Didn't think to get a bottling date off this, but I received this last year around Christmas. -No, actually, it was a few months earlier, after a friend went out to Fort Collins.



Tonight is a new to me beer

Odell – Barreled Treasure

11% ABV

The beer is listed as an “Imperial Stout aged in Bourbon and Rum barrels with Cold Brew Coffee Added” on the bottle, and “Stout – American Imperial” on BA.

The beer was removed from a 45ish degree temp fridge after having been refrigerated for approximately 1 year. Beer poured into a nonic pint.

First Impression: Looks like your everyday stout. 4.0

Appearance: Classic stout. Dark, Rich, and a khaki head that does not immediately disappear. A very inviting beer. 4.35

Smell: Coffee, coffee grounds, and peppers up front, followed by sweet cream, chocolate, malt, and maple syrup. The maple with a hint of vanilla really comes through towards the end as you breath heavily through your nose, exhaling out your mouth. 4.25

Taste: This is actually quite enjoyable, but for the style I wouldn’t say it is well done. It says that it is barrel aged, but I would never get that from the taste. Taste is pretty much one-note: Coffee, which is given some backup by chocolate and roasted malt. 3.75

Mouthfeel: Thin for what I’d prefer, but I’m not sure exactly what is considered ‘to style’ in this case. It’s a tad bit too carbed for my preference; I think I prefer stouts a bit more still. While that is a personal preference, I think, to a degree, that is common across the style. 3.75

Overall: I enjoyed this, but I enjoyed this as a coffee stout, not as a BA stout, or a BA stout with coffee. While I am quite surprised that this wasn’t a pepper bomb, which I am grateful for, I still wish that they didn’t use cold brew. It always thins out the beer. I much prefer for them to use the beans directly. But, complaint aside, again, this is a pretty enjoyable beer. It has gone down quicker, easier than I expected/intended. 4.00

BA Review Score: 3.956

When I went to review this, I noticed that there were very few reviews, but one of them just so happened to be by the great @beergroot . It looks like our total scores were almost identical, although our numbers were flip flopped, with his taste and feel higher, while instead my look and smell were higher.

My review can be found here: https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/267/446973/?ba=Beer_Economicus#review

 

2016 Americano Stout.
Description says they used a SHITLOAD of Ryan Bros Espresso beans( same company they used for 2013 Esoresso IRS *tear*) , also has Columbus, Chinook,Amarillo and Cascade hops( wtf) which is a perfect compliment to the roasty bitter coffee flavor .
Look is all stout. Dark black and an inch or so of mocha head that reduces to 1/8 inch and stays put.
Smell is all Coffee and piney/citrusy hops. Picture a coffee shop pouring you a shot of espresso of humanely sourced Ethiopian beans and bringing a small saucer of julienned lemongrass...thats what this is. Which is strange considering its almost 5 years old
Taste is similar to nose , bitter chocolate, bitter hop flavor, roasty almost burnt coffee taste similar to an 80% dark chocolate and finishes off with a pleasant faint hop bite. Wish i would have purchased more than one six pack because this is a testament to why Stone was great. Fuck i miss them

 

2018 Bell's Expedition Stout

Sorry no photo but it really turned out crummy. 12 oz bottle dated 9/10/2018, the first of a sixer purchased after a vertical at the bottle shop. The vertical revealed, to at least this unrefined palate, that with age the taste got more milk chocalatey and less like dark chocolate. Also the hops gradually faded so it was more and more like chocolate cake batter.

A nice beer to enjoy after putting up the Christmas tree.

 

Hitting my remaining 2-3 dozen new to me cellar beers from two ends, fresh ones still available to others in the New Beer Weekend Thread and very old or beers no longer sold here.

Grabbed one of my oldest cellar bottles today, and it looks, smells and tastes good with first take, so I'm embarking on a formal review here.

Destihl Brewery Saint Dekkera Reserve Sour Ale



Bottle Notes: Purchased on a store shelf at Fischman's going out of business sale in the Summer of 2019. Cellared until pulled 6/20/21 to store in the refrigerator. Bottled in 2013, Barrel Numbers 59,91,217,232. 16.9 oz, 7.2% ABV. Flanders Oud Bruin. Sour Belgian-Style Ale Aged in Oak Barrels.

Saint Dekkera Reserve Sour Ales are naturally soured by spontaneous/wild secondary fermentation and aging in oak barrels with a microflora wonderfully unique to our Downstate Illinois Terroir, where we embrace the individual wild character of each barrel to produce our beers with a wide array of acidity, sourness and unadulterated funkiness. When stored properly (55 F), this beer can be cellared, but please enjoy before you perish. Cheers!

Appearance: Multiple pours into a large tulip glass. Dark brown near impenetrable base, generous bubbly head lingers for a few minutes before leaving a generous cream layer over the base. 4.5

Aroma: Strong sour tart aroma, pleasant cherry taking the lead. Funky, any trace of bourbon has faded over time. Smells wonderful. 4.75

Taste: Consistent with the aroma, tart funky and sour cherry predominant flavor, getting some of the oak barrel upfront. Poured the tail end of the bottle, more sour and tart, Band-aid emerges at this stage. 4.25

Mouthfeel: Faint carbonation remains 8 years later, light body, sweet and tart balance works well, light and easy at first, but feels more potent than the listed ABV as I work through the bottle. Light tart and sweet finish. 4.25

Overall: This bottle held up wonderfully over the years. Really glad I pulled this out today, funky, bursting with aroma and flavor, any bourbon has faded but overall this works really well and wish I had more bottles of this. Need to visit Destihl next year, everything I've had there has been very good to great. Cheers! 4.5

Feared this may not have held up well, primarily due to the possible long time on store shelves before proper cellaring / refrigerating, but this held up great, and is a great example of this wonderful style. Hope your next cellar beer is a enjoyable!

 

So i had this a while ago but can't remember EXACT tasting notes( and don't know if i posted it here), but i do remember loving this shit.
That being said, i have another one in my "cellar" and will be drinking it this weekend and will report back live with tasting notes to the best of my ability. ( it will either say It Was Good or Bad)
2013 Fyodors Classic ( now known as FYODOR)
@BigIronH

 

Today is the Revolution Brewing Deep Woods release of three beers, including this annual release, my favorite of all of their annual releases.

Ryeway to Heaven



Note: There are no separate entries in Beer Advocate for annual vintages of this beer, there are no significant changes from year to year, sometimes slight changes to the ABV from year to year.

Can notes: Canned 11/19/20, refrigerated at the brewery and at home since purchase. 15.8% ABV.

Bourbon and rye barrels work tigether in harmony to breathe life into our Ryewine. This unforgettable ale is brewed with over 60% rye, yielding entirely unique malt and barrel-derived complexities. Enjoy an ample body that suggests sweetness but still finishes smooth and dry. Enjoy life now, or store cold.

My OG review is linked here:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/22072/189995/?ba=ChicagoJ#review

At 4.72, it remains one of my highest rated beers. I love rye, and this is the closest way for me to get the great flavors of rye whiskey without going straight to the source.

A year in, the complexities noted in my original review are slow to emerge, but do as this warms. However, the rye is main star of the show, with a very nice rye whiskey dominating the proceedings. Looks the same, mouthfeel a little thinner than I mentally recall and note in my OG review.

As this warms, it gets a sweeter fruity taste, raisins and plums, backed my a nice smooth bourbon, the rye shows a little restraint at this point, giving the complexity noted in my OG review. Overall, I don't believe age hurt it beyond a slightly thinner feel, but age didn't help it any at all. Revolution Brewery suggests you drink these beers fresh, and I agree with them.

Overall very much enjoying, but no need to hoard these. Drink over the Winter be assured there will be more for you next year.

Cheers!

 

Oh man that sounds good. Tavour is my only source for Revolution and so far I have only seen a variety of Deth's, which I've loved. Hope this pops up sometime.

 

such a great beer. The only deep wood series beer I've had the pleasure of trying. Got my last of the 4 pack in the beer fridge to be enjoyed soon.

I need to have a dedicated cellar clearing month soon in general.

right now I'm drinking an undated bottle of schlenkerla marten, so probably worthy of a cellar review

 

2014 Fyodor's Classic . Barrel Aged IRS

One word :

Fuck me this is amazing!!! Eberytjing i look for in a BA IRS/RIS

 

2013**** can't edit

 

2018 East End Gratitude

I had a 2008 bottle way back in 2010 and raved about it. Probably buying into the hype a bit back then, I am enjoying the hell out of this right now though.



I get strong raisin, light tea, and some faint potpourri up front. The finish is sweeter with plenty of caramel and brown sugar. There is also a toffee note that peeks through with sharpness that could use a little softening. The hops are all but gone at this point, just a whisper of lingering grass Call it a 4.3 overall. I've got a 2020 that I might age to 4 years or so.

@sulldaddy has a great review of a 2016 further up the page, he paints quite a picture.

 

Deth By Cherries. Fill date 11-11-20.



Deth by Cherries was my favorite Revolution Deep Woods beer last year; even among a fantastic line up that included VSOJ b2 and the DB VSOD.
I had this at cellar temp, there was a surprising amount of carbonation at first which dissipated quickly. The nose is LOT of cherry, vanilla, booze , and a slight hint of chocolate. It smells like an old fashioned but with too many cocktail cherries in it. The flavor is a bouquet of cherries: jammy luxardo, ripe bing, tart morellos. It's so well done and never goes medicinal or artificial. There is more chocolate on the taste, along with cinnamon, maple sugar, vanilla , wood. It's sweet, but the sweetness comes from the fruit rather than feeling like a bunch of sugar was added. Very smooth. Mouthfeel is a touch thinner than medium.
Compared to fresh , it's a a little smoother, and although the beer was not hot fresh , the booze has settled down. On my early pours the tart cherry flavor dominated, but this lessened as the beer warmed and opened up.
Deth by Cherries remains an incredible beer 1 year in. Fruited stouts usually don't work but this is such a well done and elegant beer. I preferred this fresh , but I'm definitely looking forward to the two cans of this I have left.
Overall: 4.4 , (4.7 fresh)

 

Dang old postimages.org has been super finicky with me lately and I can't get an image to upload right now.

However, im doing a side by side of narwhal 2021 v 2018. And by gum! I've found the age that I may just prefer to fresh!

Fresh has the dark chocolate, licorice, and slight herbal happiness that I love. With a touch of dark fruity bread underneath.

In the 2018, those sharper top notes have fully faded and the nose is full on raisins and prunes with some molasses/toffee notes holding that up.

I will now start socking 2 or 3 bottles away each year to revisit around the 3 year mark as 1 and 2 year aged bottles always seemed disjointed and incoherent to me. Those herbal and bitter overtones clashing haphazardly with those rich sweet undertones. Glad I stuck it out on the 2018 bottle and I hope I have another one hiding in the cellar!

 

It's funny, I greatly prefer it with one year and feel it falls off greatly by 3. Different tastes!

 

No doubt. I was starting to get pretty dubious about all of these people saying that narwhal aged well!

 

A wonderful melange of date, grape skin, and dark, dark caramel malty pleasures with a pointy resinous hop quality in the finish. Alcohol character is there but subdued and mainly adds sweetness. Supremely drinkable for the ABV — watch out!

 

Sorry - 2012 DFH Olde School Barleywine