Cellar Reviews (2024)

Cross posted in the Celluary thread-

Junie ‘22 Reserve #2
Aged 2 years in Blis BBA Maple Syrup Barrels and then had cacao nibs and salted caramel added in. Fortunately for me the Blis barrels trumped the salted caramel and presented a truly decadent treat. CBS on steroids.
Cheers all!

 

Another cross post with the Cellaruary thread;

My last bottle of the Whiskey Barrel Aged Old Rasputin. Not that I haven’t tried to get more but the only one that gets sent here is the Bourbon Barrel version, which is good, just not as good.
But *this* beer looked awesome, great head leaving rings of lacing, smooth and soft viscosity which prompted me to sip when I wanted to gulp. The taste lost a little of the whisky bite that set off the malty flavors so well, but it was still very, very good.
Oh well, someday I’ll find it again.
Cheers all!

 

I decided to do a big one to end Cellaruary on leap day. This is a 2013 Dark Lord. It's still amazing. No carbonation on pouring. The smell is deep roasted malts and dark chocolate. The mouthfeel is very thick with decent carbonation given the age. It's full of dark chocolate, roasted/char malts, and a sweet, slightly soy sauce finish. Very good beer.

 

Cross posted on the Cellaruary thread-

My last offering for Cellaruary, Founders BA ruZZian Imperial Stout. From 2020.
This one didn’t need to be opened over a sink, like several of the others I’ve tried, but it did have more head than most BBA stouts. And the photo doesn’t really show the color well, the foam was dark chocolate, and I mean *dark* chocolate colored.
The taste was sublime. Kosmicki at his best. A hint of char that dissolves into dark chocolate, dark fruit and dark coffee flavors. Pure BBA Stout with nothing added. Absolutely delicious.
The feel is just right too, a little viscous to prompt sipping with a fair amount of carbonation that keeps things from getting sweet.
Sad that this is my last one, but more so that they haven’t released it in 4 years now.

 

Can’t seem to stop grabbing the old ones-

Not sure when this was canned but it’s been at least three years now. Might be my last one too.
Drinking very smooth, very dark fruit and leather malty notes. Quite tasty, nice surprise.
Cheers all!

 

Wow, this held up nicely!
Maybe some of the peaks of the date and caramel notes were a tad subdued but still a sublime sipper.
For your consideration: 2011 Mother of All Storms

 

Exc. news! Sounds like you really enjoyed! I have at least one more of that year! Last one I had three years ago (?) had turned into liquid nirvana. Hmmm, sounds like April's beer for sure.

 

Batch 5/2012 Capt. Lawrence Cuvee de Castleton My March beer
Opens with a psssst but pours just north of still, thin ring and intermittent bubbles all the fizz there is (hey I'm a poet I'm allowed)
Nose is less strong than when released but still a balanced and clean shot of fruity notes that lean more toward sweet apple and stone fruit than grape, a good backbone of saison yeasty tart and sourdough and some soft fruity sweet to make it a great aroma.
Nice mix of above flavors with grape showing up in the taste as well. No barrel notes remain, but it is a softer, less strong version of itself that has become delicious in its own right. Finish is soft white grape, nice hints of alcohol spice, and sourdough with fruity sweet just strong enough to make an exc. finish.
Heavier mouthfeel than optimum, almost no carb.,, but the delicate nature of this beer saves it from leading to buildup or cloy. Finishes clean and long.
Has held up well, enjoying completely, but should have been consumed many years ago, truth told.
@jonphisher @thebeers

 

Cheers Dave, thanks for the tag; would’ve otherwise not known you enjoyed said beer. There is something special about reading your reviews knowing it’s your only beer of the month. See you around…

@thebeers thanks for creating that question thread

 

Now I'm thinking to climb to the next rung of my MoaS ladder...2012, '14, '14. Time to stop holding on for that "perfect" occasion.

 

Just dug this bottle out of the beer fridge—I knew it was there (along with one more XXVII and a few later vintages) but I didn’t realize I had never tried it before. Better late than never—preliminary review below. Cheers!

4.18/5 rDev -1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
22oz (best after 7/20/2016—check) into a tulip. Pours a deep dark chocolate brown with a thin mocha head, patchy lace.

Aroma is rich and roasty, slightly bitter. Cocoa, coffee, roasted nuts, a hint of vanilla.

Taste is a nice balance of bitter and sweet. Same roastiness as the nose with a mix of hazelnuts, chocolate, and toasted coconut.

Mouthfeel is on the heavy side of medium, just right. Velvety smooth with just a hint of boozy heat.

Overall another excellent Black Butte anniversary beer that has aged very nicely.

 

J.W. Lee's Harvest port casks 2012 smells like a used book store full of 1970s sci fi; the flavors take me to raisenets at a grimy movie theater though. Lingering red vermouth finish. Old english barleywines are so good; expectations are exceeded.

 

2018 - still sublime. The maple syrup has receded a little but still front and center. Excellent beer.
Cheers all!

 

I don’t really have a review for this per se—but I will say that I’ve been drinking a bunch of Old Stock bottles from 2010 to 2015 over the last year or so and, true to its name, it holds up remarkably well. It has that sweet fruity malt backbone but I don’t detect any oxidation or “cardboard” flavors that are sometimes present in beers of this vintage. I have not done a side-by-side between a fresh and 10-year-old bottle, so maybe the difference is more pronounced than I think, but all I can say is this is still a very good beer if you enjoy a heavy malt presence. Cheers!

 

Another one I intended to drink last month

Received from @Dimidiata in an LIF associated with NBW BIF - just don’t recall which one at the moment.
But this is astoundingly good, the base stout holds its own along with the vanilla and chocolate. Really well done. Thank you Christine for this.

 

My last Bigfoot of any vintage. Still has that piney hop bite but maybe trending toward more herbal qualities—I favor English barleywines over American but Bigfoot remains a unique beer and holds a special place in American beer history. Cheers!

 

Jack's Abby "Framing Hammer" 2017(?): This is from the last vintage where the non-barrel aged Framminghammer was bottled, and has aged better than I'd expected!

A healthy spritz of carb. Medium bodied, but well attenuated. Complex flavors of black strap molasses, licorice, and Chinese 5-spice. I've had younger adjuncted barrel versions that haven't developed as nicely as this.

 

2020 TG/Bottle logic collaboration
20 month bourbon barrel imperial stout with Vanilla & Panama Geisha Coffee.

Pours like thick motor oil w no head and a tin tan lace

Nose is chocolate and vanilla w some bitterness. No overt coffee

Mouthfeel is as viscous and slick as any beer I can ever recall. Coating remains well after swallowing

Lots of chocolate and vanilla on the taste. The coffee has faded.

Definitely some heat w the finish going down.

Some slight oxidation going on w the finish but over still an excellent sipper. Love thick hot vanilla BA stouts so this is still checking all my boxes