Cellar Review Thread (2025)

Sierra Nevada Bigfoot 2011

Decided to bust one Bigfoot out of the cellar (actually the fridge) this new year's day.
Appearance: Surprisingly clear, good head.
Smell: Tootsie rolls, caramel with some oxidation.
Taste: Still quite hoppy, caramel falls to the background. Gives a bit of a floral note. Stays pretty bitter as it warms up.
Overall: I would never have guessed this was 14 years old if given to me blind. Maybe half that age. A great beer for aging experimentation!

 

At 6 years this is just getting into a glorious hop candy phase. The caramel is prominent, the citrus rind and pine are subsided but still discernable. I love well aged Bigfoot, they are especially good following something sweet.

 

I was worried this beer might be infected, based on the nose. Thankfully, the flavor was not infected. I have a feeling the stout flavors would have been more noticeable fresh.
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/36757/67161/
3.65/5 rDev -11%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.75
From a 500ml bottle. There might be a date on it, but I can't read it.

Great hiss and a ton of smoke upon opening the bottle. This is a pitch black pouring beer. Looks somewhat thick while pouring it. There's a ton of carbonation in this beer. I poured a little and got a 4 finger brown head. The head retention is decent for the ABV and there's no lacing on the glass. It will take a bit to fill up my glass.
There's a good cherry hit in the aroma, and it seems a bit wild and funky. This concerns me a bit, even though cherries are used in the beer. I am getting a faint cardboard aroma and I am getting some stout notes, but very mild.
My impression of the nose worried me that this beer might be infected. This is unfounded in the flavor. I am getting a good tart cherry hit here, but not infected. I am getting hints of the stout on the backside with chocolate notes. The stout flavors are very mild. I am getting faint hints of vanilla and oak in the flavor profile as well.
Bubbly feeling. Full bodied. Somewhat smooth. There's a good feeling from the tartness of the cherries.
This is an interesting beer. It may be past its prime, but it was fun to try it.

 

Cafe Vaillant - Paradox Beer Company - Divide, CO - Wild Ale - 8%

Coffee beers can get a revolting green pepper flavor when aged, even though I like green peppers. This beer has none of it. Great flavor to it.
Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/29972/160487/
3.98/5 rDev +8.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
From a bottle. 2015 version.

Nice hiss and some smoke upon opening the bottle. This beer pours pitch black. This is a 10 year old beer, but the carbonation is off the chart. There's a thick 4 finger brown head. This is going to take a while to fill the glass. The head retention is good. There's no lacing on the glass.
The aroma is quite wild and funky. I do get a faint hint of caramel in the nose. I am really not getting much coffee in the aroma. I only get it when I get my nose right up to the beer. This beer has aged, but getting no off putting green pepper.
Well the flavor is quite interesting. I first get notes of caramel. The flavor then turns to coffee, and it's coffee not green pepper. The wild funk really hits on the backside. Very funky and there's tartness to it. There's also a woody element to the flavor.
The feeling is bubbly as I would expect based on the carbonation in the beer. It is tart feeling. It has a bit od smoothness from the coffee.
Wow, this is for sure a unique beer, and I'm so glad I bought it.

 

Having a 2013 Doggie Claws



The 2012 I had a few weeks back was great, apricot and a little fig to go along with the abundant caramel. This doesn't have the same depth. Plenty of nice caramel and just a little oxidation. Drinking pretty nicely right now.

 

These age like champs, I look forward to reading your thoughts!

 

Wow! I am shocked as hell here. Vintage 2013, and it is just blowing me away. It is carbonated to a crazy level. So complex with malts and there's still one heck of a hop bite here. How is this possible after so long. I have 3 left and can, in theory get more. Wow. 4.5 on UT with this vintage.

 

Oooh, that label is beautiful.

 

Drinking a 2020 Bigfoot right now on a cold and snowy night here in Cleveland, OH. This beer was packaged on 12/4/19. Been in the bottle 5 years and one month. What an absolutely fantastic beer this is! Notes of toasted, caramel, bready malts along with a bit of butterscotch, some fruity notes of dates and fig, and a still a decent earthy, slightly piney and floral hop bitterness to round out the flavor profile. All of these come through on the nose for me as well. Has a slightly chewy, medium to full bodied mouthfeel. A perfect beer for tonight! Cheers all!

Eric

 

2013 Alaskan Smoked Porter


I had one of these about 11 months ago here: https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/cellar-reviews-2024.675664/page-4#post-7927446 (see, I got a new fridge!)

Pulled another out of the cellar today, man, it is tasty!
Appearance: Black, small dense head.
Smell: Black olives, ashes, roasted malts, distant smoke.
Taste: Dark chocolate, roasted malts, a bit of caramel, then a very long and lasting finish of smoke.

Maybe this bottle had a better life than the one from last year, it is outstanding! It's a different beer than when fresh, but I would not be able to tell this was 11-12 years old.

 

Back with more Hair of the Dog, a 2019 Matt this time. Strong ale with Munich and smoked malt aged in apple brandy and bourbon barrels. 2 years since I had this vintage and it's my last 2019 but I still have several 22s.



I gave this a 4.72 in July 2021 and while I wouldn't be quite as effusive with my praise now this is still tasting great. Probably a 4.5

I originally described a lot layers here to go along with the smokey booze. I do still get some chocolate, honey, and prune but now I feel like some of those layers are a bit muddled and the smoke more pronounced. This is still a great beer and I'm enjoying the hell out of it. I plan to check in on the 22s soon.

 

Kicking of the start of 2025 how I ended 2024; with an expired Bourbon County Brand Stout. This bottle is the first of two I cellared properly in a dark underground unheated (50 F ish) basement, pulled the first of two bottles to refrigerated 12/23/24.

I was told in the Great Lakes 2024 BCBS thread BCBS beers hold up indefinitely, regardless of brewer best by date, as long as they are "stored correctly". Many do hold up well, but we are testing the boundaries with a beer over 3 years beyond best by. Let's dive in.

Goose Island Proprietor's Bourbon County Brand Stout (2019)



Bottle Notes: Stored in unheated dark (inside a box inside another box in a dark spot) basement cellar until 12/23/24, refrigerated until this morning. Bottled 9/27/19, best by 9/27/21 11:56 AM (about 3 1/4 years beyond best by). 14.5%

2019 Proprietor's Description: Stout aged in Bourbon Barrels with coconut, vanilla, cacao nibs and pecans added.

Comparison vs. 11/29/2019 fresh draft review notes at Goose Island Clybourne (RIP).

• Appearance: Short briefly alive light dark tan head over base settles until a ring around the rim relatively quickly 4.25 vs. 2019 Dark pour, tan thin ring, nice.4.25
• Aroma: Coconut sun tan lotion, nice pecan and maple syrup. Pancakes anyone?! Where is the bourbon? AWOL 30 minutes post pour. 4.0 vs. 2019 Sweet Maple Syrup Aroma, bourbon backs well, very nice. 4.75
• Taste: Similar to aroma. Coconut, more coconut vs. sun tan lotion, cocoa nibs, maple syrup (the latter not added) the lead. No barrel, leather, typical BCB base. No vanilla either, which works on my end. Thought the desert flavors would fade and barrel rise, but the opposite occurred. Rating for what it is + description vs. expectations. Held up very well beyond barrel. 4.5 vs. 2019 Taste mirrors aroma, maple leads, vanilla backs. Bourbon well maseked but emerges as pour warms. 4.75
• Mouthfeel: Strength hits you about 1/4 in, well masked between sweet flavors and lack of bourbon taste. Cream rich body, sweet overall, sweeter than most BCBS offerings (that is until they seemingly did this with most Prop stouts starting in 2019, my "jumping the shark" prop moment). Coconut, maple syrup, milk chocolate sweet finish. 4.5 vs. 2019 Silky smooth creamy mouthfeel, medium to full rich body, very easy drinking. 4.75
• Overall: Beyond the lack of bourbon smell or flavor, I am enjoying this as is. Compares to the description except the maple syrup throughout (not an additive), desert Prop style that they have incorporated regularly, not my first go to, but happy with how this held up and glad I have one more bottle to enjoy later this year. 4.5 (4.75 on a curve considering this is over 3 years beyond best by). 2019 Overall solid pour. 4.75

So there you have it. Proper basement cellar storage, or refrigerated storage, can work well, Or perhaps not. I like to store bottles, never store cans, in the cellar long term as for me that yields the best cellar results. YMMV

Will enjoy my final Prop Bottle of any vintage later this year. Have held up on BCBS variant purchases since 2021 beyond "deep deal" sales, but reserve the right to purchase future bottles if I really enjoy a draft pour.

@Beer_Economicus

 

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2016 lagunitas high westified. I was enamored with this beer 8 years ago. I've bought willetized almost every year following hoping for the same but none ever lived up to the memory of HW. This 8 year old cellar bottle is every bit of as good as it was fresh and notably more refined than any willet barrel aged iteration since. Only notes of age are it seems perhaps slightly reduced in carbonation. It's striking how not sweet this is in comparison to Willett aged versions. It's also very subdue of any alcohol heat. The oak presence is 11/10 with an incredibly woody and dry flavor and feel. Bakers chocolate with surprisingly minimal bitterness alongside rye essence are the flavor cornerstones here.

I've had many coveted barrel aged stouts in the 8 years since I first had this and this is easily more enjoyable than any I can remember.

I'm amazed by two things drinking this. 1) that they have never been able to come close to reproducing this level with [presumably] the same beer just aged in Willett barrels and 2) that it's held up to every bit as remarkable as it was fresh.

 

Enjoyed your review. Here is your photo (they were the same based on my download).



In case you (or others) need assistance with photo posting.

How to post photos in forums:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/commun...g-pictures-to-the-forums-and-database.664980/

How to post beer and place photos for the beer / place database:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/how-to-upload-beer-place-photos.628231/

Cheers!

 

Thank you!