Cellar Review Thread (2025)

I took an intended break from the aggressive cellar clearing through late Spring. I plan on enjoying my remaining five cellared beers from the late 2010s before year end, and then work aggressively once again in Winter and early Spring 2026.

I really enjoyed a 2025 CBS draft pour last month at Dunning Pour House, so going to start the first of five with my last cellared CBS.

My three previous CBS Cellar Reviews and comments:

• April 10, 2020 (2017) - I am glad this one held up well over time, the lack of coffee or chocolate was offset by the nice smoothing of the bourbon and the increased creamier / richer body.
• April 27, 2022 (2018) - This is a solid enjoyable beer, but degraded from a top shelf bottle to one subject to the savages of time.
• November 27, 2023 (2017) - Getting plenty of burnt coffee roasts backed by maple aroma wise. Maple syrup has mellowed a bit, but blends really nicely with the base and barrel. Feels creamy, rich and decadent. Everything here exceeded expectations.

Founders CBS (2019)



Bottled 9/16/2019. Cellared for a few years before finally pulling to refrigerate perhaps a year or two ago.

Looks great, maple syrup and slowly emerging barrel as this warms.

More mellow than the memory recalled fresh draft, but solid. At proper temperature, the base is muddled, the syrup declined as expected. Roast malt more prevalent on the nose than aroma, barrel nice but doesn't come together with the base as well as perhaps if I opened this a few years ago. No carbonation, above medium body, but seems a bit watery. Still strong, barrel and roast coffee and malt notes on the finish.

Overall I am enjoying, but probably should have pulled in 2022 or 2023 for a peak cellar beer experience.

 

Won't hit all five this week, but I'm drawn to cracking this open now. I've reviewed this beer and vintage twice before, with today's can being the final one. Summaries and links to the first two reviews below. I have never aged a deep woods can this long, any further reduction in quality is my fault for keeping over seven years.

• May 19, 2022 - I like barleywines. They are not my favorite style, but a do really enjoy a well executed English Style. Miss the Goose Island releases, but Revolution has more than made up for that loss with their annual Straight Jacket and every year or two release of this version with the extra age. I prefer these a bit fresher, on on draft if possible, but these really age well refrigerated, so you can continue to age with confidence.
• August 6, 2024 - Glad this held up OK, but definitely a shadow of former greatness. Glad I only have one more 2018 left. Will try to drink a fresh 2014 can later this week.

Revolution V. S. O. J. (Canned October 10, 2018) - aka Very Special Old Jacket



Appearance: Nice bubbly full head and active carbonation. Head dissipates after about five minutes without leaving a trace.

Aroma: Strong excellent bourbon and malty barleywine aroma. No cardboard or other off notes.

Taste: I dove into the aroma and taste only five minutes after pulling, and getting a syrupy sweet base, barrels less prevalent in terms of strength. Very mellow, far more than it should be, but digging the aged impact. Far better experience than noted in August 2024. No plum or cardboard like in 2024, even as this warms further.

Mouthfeel: More syrupy and sweet, carbonation still there but gentle to non impactful. Sweet malt base has hidden the barrel more than expected, but the strength (13.8%) is very much felt.

Overall: This is different than the fresh version (both this vintage and the two more recent). It's a different beer. Very good, not excellent as it is when fresh. Worthy of cracking and opening now, just have lowered expectations due to seven years in the can.

 

Side-by-side of 2014 Celebration and 2025 Celebration:


2014:
Appearance: Cloudy dark amber, good head.
Smell: Slightly oxidized, tootsie rolls
Taste: Mild sweetness, tootsie rolls, oxidized caramel, a separate sweet candy note, mild earthiness.

2025:
Appearance: Slightly hazy amber, huge head.
Smell: Sweetness, piney, floral
Taste: Bright, piney, floral, hoppy.

I absolutely love when beers age into the tootsie roll flavor, was not expecting it in Celebration! The hops are just an earthy suggestion in the 2014. Maybe I'll pick up a few more, Blue Max in Burnsville had a bunch on the shelf last time I stopped.

 

Cross posting with the holiday beer tasting thread.

2022 St. Bernardus Christmas Ale



It’s the most wonderful time, of the year!

 

Cross-posted from the Holiday Beer thread

Schloss Eggenberg - Samichlaus (2009)

Still a few bottles left from the case that I've had of this year's vintage in the cellar since it was fresh. Now at 16 years, still complex fig, leather, and tobacco - but seems on the down slide as there is a little negative oxidation in the finish.

 

They still have 2014 there. Damn. I was there last year and they had a crazy amount of aged beers. The Boom Island ones scared me because their older beers have been known to go "boom" in the bottle.
Now to my aged beer.

Schell's Cave Aged Barrel Aged (2024) This is a Dark Lager. 10.9% ABV

This is still one hell of a beer and I would say it hasn't fallen off at all. This is going down too damn smooth for the ABV. So much malt flavor going on here. So smooth and delicious and dangerous. I could down many fast. I can't wait to try this year's release. I also hope Schell's considers doing a collab with Black Frost in the BA department. They are from the same family.

 

I had two bottles of these left, one fell and did not break but started to fizz through on Saturday. I salvaged it, and it was great, so enjoying my last one from this vintage this morning. This is my first cellar review for any vintage of this selection.

Central Waters Pecan Kringle (2020)



Cellar Journey: Properly cellared in cool basement after purchasing within a year of release. Refrigerated June 9, 2025 during my final cellar transfer until opening this morning.

Original June 21, 2020 Review Link of same vintage

• Appearance - No discernable change. 4.25 2020 & 2025
• Aroma - Several flavors noted fresh, pretty much all glorious pecan kringle today. Different, but still enjoyable. 5.0 (2020) vs. 4.25 (2025)
• Taste - Mostly pecan, not getting much of the barrel today. A bit muddled, but still good. 4.75 (2020) vs. 3.75 (2025)
  
• Mouthfeel - Carbonation keeping this fresh/alive, middle creamy body, very sweet, pecan kringle from go to finish and beyond. Body seems thinner than fresh review. 4.5 (2020) vs. 3.75 (2025)
• Overall - Pure desert today vs. glorious barrel and varied flavors fresh. Was a mistake to keep these this long. 4.75 (2020) vs. 4.0 (2025)

Still targeting my final three 2010s before New Years (2017 & Two 2018s).

 

Turning to the oldest home cellared beer I've ever attempted.

Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Barleywine Ale (2017)



Previous Cellar Review of Same Vintage conducted June 14, 2024:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/cellar-reviews-2024.675664/page-11#post-7998680

Comparison 2024 Cellar Review vs. Today:

• Appearance: Identical
• Aroma: Consistent, after warming get a nice oak barrel and red wine sweet aroma with raisins and dates.
• Taste: Cold tastes like a red wine with a malty beer poured in. Upon reaching proper temps, getting the breadth of the aroma. Tastes marginally better today than the 2024 review notes, though wincing at times due to the syrupy excess sweetness.
• Mouthfeel: Fully body, sticky syrupy, more so at minimum than my 2024 review. The rest of the 2024 comments are consistent today.
  • Creamy body, carbonation negligible by the time I dive in. Drinks very strong, boozy, sweet and malty, sweet malt finish.
• Overall: I'm more of a stout guy, with Barleywines hit or miss, especially sweeter ones like this one. Definitely degraded over time, should have drunken this last decade or bought less, but still plan on finishing, though may break this into two halves to get things done before finishing with lunch.

 

Bottle dated 1-14-21.
Had my first of two bottles with the same date on May 7th 2022. This time around there is less white grape character and it’s more spicy and sour. Probably waited a bit too long on this one.

 

Barncat Brandy Barrelled Rat Queen Imperial Stout
Bottled December 2020
5 years cellared

Opened at holiday tasting and the brandy has advanced to a port-like quality. Solid mouthfeel, the base imperial stout has given way to this taste.

Great barrelling. RIP Barncat, long live Barncat.

 

Kuhnhenn Senior's Quadruple
Bottled December 2021
Four years' cellaring and this senior is better than ever, I am talking about the beer now. Yeast in finish works tremendous and good mouthfeel and complex overtones up front.

 

Necessary Evil Caribbean Rum
Bottled March 2022
Two years past "expiration date" of December 2023
The Rum flavour and base stout's malt taste and body give rise to a real prize of cellaring. Purchased just before expiration date in an unlikely place.

 

Great Lakes Brewery (Canada)
All Our Fathers' Sins
Bottled March 2019

six and a half years' aging on the beer has brought to fore the bourbon barrelling aromas and strong taste, which bourbon it was we could not ascertain.Popular at our tasting.

 

2018 vintage


Drinking fantastic. Merry Christmas everybody!

 

2019 vintage - superb! Full review here and in NBW #284 (4.33/5)...