Cellar Review Thread (2025)

2014 Firestone Parabola - Pours dark black with a quick dissipating tan head. Notes of oak and dark fruit in the aroma. Taste is sublime. Oak, cocoa, some dark fruit, nutmeg, small hint of vanilla rounded out by the bourbon. Finish is very smooth and a little thin. Overall, this is still holding up great over the last 10 years. Fantastic beer.

 

Good news as I think I am going to open a Parabola a bit older than that some time in next few days. Now I def. can't wait!

 

Cross-posting in NBW #236 - cheers!

4.21/5 rDev +1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

2019 vintage - poured from a 12oz bottle into a snifter.

Murky auburn body with fawn highlights. Fine beige collar rings a faint surface slick. Sandy lacing; fast legs; good retention.

Toffee, caramel, barley, figs, plums, and faint tobacco in the nose. Vanilla and alcohol grow more prominent as the ale warms.

Potent malt forward palate entry with a secondary wave of bourbon and a hint of oak/acidity. Baking chocolate, molasses, and loam with a low earthy bitterness. Dry, woodsy finish with some residual/returning sweetness. Vague fruity esters perhaps from the yeast?

Smooth, medium-bodied mouthfeel - faintly oily and quite warming.

Well balanced, potent, monolithic - one of the last remnants of a vanished era.

 

2021 Big Bad Baptist, new to me



4.14 overall, packing plenty of flavor, not a ton of nose or looks once the carbonation settles

 

Enjoyed your Firestone Walker 2014 Parabola review @liquorpig , look forward to future pulls from you and also @cavedave 's Parabola pull!

Trying to clear a few more before Cellaruary begins. I don't notes specific to this release, but will compare against my original review and one of my first BA reviews ever (my first week here).

This selection brings my cellar down to an even one hundred 2022 and prior year selections, and one hundred 2023-2025 appropriate cellar style selections. 2025 Goal is to get under 100 total by the end of the year, and clear all remaining 2019 and prior cellar beers.

Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout (2018)



Comparing vs. a 2014 Bottle enjoyed in early February 2015

2018 Bottle Notes: Bottled October 8, 2018 @ 9:04 AM. Develops in the bottle up to 5 years, so one year and 3 1/2 months beyond recommended cellaring. 15.2% ABV. Jared Jankowski the Brewmaster,. Goose Island tasting notes consist of intense aromas of charred oak, vanilla, caramel & smoke. Properly cellared in my basement from purchase until 12/23/24, then refrigerated for a bit over a month before opening this morning.

With the exception of appearance, let this warm 15 minutes after the pour before beginning my cellar review.

• Appearance: Primary departure is a lighter color and less prominent head, poured pretty flat. 3.75
• Aroma: Primarily cardboard, no change after an additional 15 minutes (30 minutes total). 2.25
• Taste: Improved from cardboard, but a shell of its former glory. Sweet chocolate fudge, sweet Jim Beam ish bourbon vibes. It's OK, drinkable, but not very good. 2.75
• Mouthfeel: Full sweet sticky body, drinks very strong, at or above the high ABV. Sweet chocolate fudge finish. 3.5
• Overall: I don't recall a more oxidized version of BCBS, even with selections far beyond the 1 1/3 years this bottle is past recommended drinking. Glad I only have one more, will pull for cellaruary.

Thinking of pulling my first canned 3 Sheeps Veneration (2022) to compare can vs. bottle and fresher vs. older (2018) treatment.

Cheers!

 

I rated the beer below last Friday, though via a different batch (2018) and package (bottle). 3 Sheeps discarded their bottle line I believe this year, which accounts for the shift to cans.

3 Sheeps Veneration (2022)



Can Notes: 12 oz canned 2/14/22, 13.7% ABV. Belgian Style Quad Ale with figs & molasses aged in rye whiskey barrels.

Cellar Note: This is the first of a four pack I bought a few years ago and cellared properly in my basement until June 6, 2024 when I transferred all four to my refrigerator until this morning.

Comparison to 2018 enjoyed 1/24/25 (Link)

• Appearance: Dark chestnut brown, bubbly accumulation along the sides, light small fine bubble lacing. Head a little fuller today 4.25 2022 vs. 4.0 2018
• Aroma: After 20 minutes from open to properly warm, getting a fainter aroma, seems a bit stale which is weird because this is four years fresher. Dark fruit, light rye whiskey and that's about it. 2.75 2022 vs. 4.75 2018
• Taste: Taste much better than the aroma would lead. Fuller and more depth, with consistent figs, raisins, rye whiskey and malty Belgian base. less sweet than what I experienced Friday, so win for me here. 4.25 2018 vs. 4.5 2018
• Mouthfeel: Very consistent with my Friday 2018 notes, with the exception of the fact their is lightly prickly carbonation left in this version, Very slight edge to 2022, though not enough to bump to 4.75. 4.5 both 2022 and 2018
• Overall: Beyond the aroma, there are only slight differences between the 2018 bottle and 2022 can. I'm giving the edge to 2018, and still wish these were bottled as that is the superior cellar method (IMO), but enjoying a great deal today as well. 4.25 2022 vs. 4.5 2018

And that's the last you'll hear from me regarding Veneration in this thread, but will pull one for Cellaruary and if any are left in 2026, I'll see you then.

 

This is the first time I've had this beer. It is at least 5 years old.

Raisin D'Extra - Dogfish Head Brewing - Milton, DE - Belgian Dark Strong Ale - 15%

This beer is quite good. My nose did mistake this for an imperial stout, but my taste buds knew better. It is quite delicious. I would wager it is close to what it was fresh. I have another bottle at work of it I could buy, and I may do so. Our distributor rep did have us mark it down to half price because of the age. I bought this bottle a couple years back at full price.
Review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/64/3089/

4.07/5 rDev +0.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
From a 12oz bottle. No date, but it is over 5 years old. Stored and served at room temp.

Slight hiss and a bit of smoke upon opening the bottle. This beer is a very dark pouring beer, brown in color. Slight amber hints at the bottom of the glass. There's a steady stream of carbonation bubbles rising in the glass. The head that forms is 1 finger and tan in color with smaller bubbles. The head retention is quite amazing considering the ABV. There's no lacing on the glass as the head dissipates to a ring around the glass.
Aroma is really like an imperial stout. I get just a ton of caramel hitting my nose. Tons of raisin, which is to be expected based on the name. It does have a slightly boozy aroma, but I was also expecting this based on the ABV.
Taste - This is for sure not an imperial stout like my nose was telling me. I am getting a good hit of raisin which lingers throughout. I am getting a slight brown sugar sweetness to this beer.
The beer is bubbly feeling. The body does seem thin to me. There's really little burn to this beer considering the ABV.
This is a very interesting beer, and it threw me off a bit based on the aroma. I can buy another bottle of it, and may do so.

 

Cross-post from the 2025 Cellaruary thread.

Mehndi (2018) - More Brewing Company

This was the first year of the Mehndi release I believe. Back when Shaun Berns was the head brewer (has since been at Phase Three Brewing Co.). I've had in the fridge for the last year or so but in the cellar prior to then.

Pours dark black with no head of any significance. Aroma is faint chocolate and booze but is very flat overall with noticeable oxidation. Flavor is mostly dark chocolate intermixed with some slight vanilla/booze characteristics. Oxidation is noticeable on the finish. Finishes very flat as well. Not much in the way of carbonation. Extended time has not done this beer any favor. Very one dimensional at this point and any complexity has been lost to time. Regretful I did not have this beer sooner. Cheers.

 

Cross-post from the 2025 Cellaruary thread.

Goose Island Bourbon Country Brand Stout (2014)
(Or BCBS, you look so good in 12 ounces!)



While I no longer have any 2014 BCBCS bottles left, I still have a few of these knocking about in the cellar I think. Might even have a BCBBW (Need to check asap!). Ah, seeing this label brings back some good memories of Black Fridays past. Anyway, on to Father Time's wrath.

An aggressive pour gives way to a small khaki head as can be seen above. An aroma of milk chocolate with some accents of noticeable oxidation in the background. Oxidation calms down a bit as the beer reaches room temperature. Flavor is almost primarily chocolatey goodness. Check that. It's all chocolate, all the time. I'm drinking liquid chocolate. Any barrel characteristics have faded into the ether it seems. Slightly disappointed in that. Mouthfeel is on point with the characteristic creaminess from BCBS of yore.

This BCBS vintage example is still a good to very good beer. However, it's not an excellent to world class beer as it was for a decent number of years post its release. Father Time with the TKO in Round 10 here. He's not undefeated for no reason.

 

Crosspost from Cellaruary:

Victory Old Horizontal 2008



Had a 2010 Old Ho back in November, let's see if this older one held up.

Appearance: Chunky, whisper of a head.

Smell: Leathery, tootsie rolls buried in earth.

Taste: Mild to low sweetness, quite earthy, one-dimensional, thin-bodied.

Overall: Past its prime for sure, nearing the grave. The 2010 was much better. I have a 2009 in my fridge, maybe that one I'll try near the end of this month.

 

Cross-post from the 2025 Cellaruary thread.

Surly Brewing Co. - Darkness (2013)
aka 'Brewcifer'



Brewcifer might be the first year I was able to purchase Surly Darkness locally. I've enjoyed Darkness over the years. One of my favorite RIS. This one, however, is not enjoyable. While a nice enough looking pour, the aroma was quite off-putting. Oxidation to the gills, dusty socks, prunes. And the flavor did not fare much better. Some prunes, raisins. dark cherry. Flat in flavor. This one was clearly lost to the ravages of time. It's certainly drinkable but not an overly enjoyable experience. More of a curiosity at this point. I think I have a few more recent vintages of Darkness. Hoping for better luck with those.

 

Cross-post from the 2025 Cellaruary thread.

Stone Brewing - Old Guardian Barley Wine Style Ale (2012)



NIce hiss of carbonation when lifting the cap. An aggressive pour highlights the ample carbonation still remaining. Once reaching room temperature, the aroma has noticeable oxidation but still plenty of herbal/piney hops present. A pinch of caramel coming through as well. Flavor-wise, a bit tea-like here. Some caramel. Piney/herbal hops come through on the finish. Mild bitterness. Nice mouthfeel and carbonation is spot on.

This one is certainly past its peak but has held up fairly well given its age.

 

Sorry for the stock image, my photo problems continue, but this is a better pic than my poor skills allow me to take. Waited for the right moment to open a Parabola for February's beer, and decided to save the 2011 and open the 2016. Live review. I am writing this before my first sip as it opens up.

The aroma immediately hit me as I poured. Dark chocolate and coffee, toffee and molasses, with some bitter notes behind wafted to nose. Now it's some minutes later and after a couple of Moroccan style hash tokes from hash I made with weed I grew in my legal to grow state. The aroma has faint barrel notes, but nothing like the strong vanilla and oak it had as main bouquet components when released. Cherry also is missing. Missing also are signs of age deterioration. This smells excellent.

Ah, first sip. Hmmm. Oh this is delicious. More sips follow. Cherry (missing in aroma), chocolate and dark roast coffee hit immediately, strongly, with the linger in mouth phasing through herbal bitter, cola, molasses, burnt caramel, and alcohol spice. It ends with soft bitter chocolate and alcohol spice gradually dominating. I expect to check back with other flavors when/if they develop, but I'm a lightweight now so going slow and easy..

As carb.'ed as ever it was, same perfect body and viscosity to frame the flavors, and a clean linger that begs for next sip.

The only changes I can pinpoint are missing barrel notes, a diminished aroma, and a more blended, less "in your face" type of taste, though still plenty vibrant. Amazing beer to drink as the weather closes in disastrously. Stay safe all.

 

2024 Vesboro by Willibald Farm Brewery, Ontario. BW with coffee. First review in BA. Almost 11 months in the can, but still a decent drinker, likely helped by the high abv. Coffee came through sweeter at samples below the room temperature. On warming, somewhat stale but then the barleywine base kicked in for malt and alcohol warming that sufficed. Rich smell.