Sigh. He passed away away several months ago. There was a commemorative thread dedicated to him, that I believe you can still access.
Ugh. Such is life I guess. Didn’t know him personally but I always enjoyed his commentary on here. Will miss those and his ever present Jerry avatar. Will pour some out for him and listen to a nice Playing in the Band next time I visit the cellar.
2012 Fred from Hair of the Dog. An American strong ale. Poured at 60 degrees. Tons of carbonation, which is a bit odd for most HotD beers. The taste is wonderful. Toffee, prunes, malts, honey, raisins. So damn smooth. Doesn't taste "old" in any way. Truly an amazing brewery for creating beers that age gracefully.
2013 Black Tuesday from The Bruery. The taste is fantastic. This is such an iconic beer, and the taste still brings me back to when it was released. Toffee, black licorice, tons of bourbon, chocolate, vanilla, prunes, and raisins. Lovely beer.
2019 Bigfoot. This is one of the great vintages to age. This turned out super malty. Notes of caramel, pine, grass, and leather. The bitterness has definitely eased off with age.
Bigfoot has been one of the theme beers throughout this entire 12-page forum thread. Because of that (thanks to all who have posted about it, and to my shame for waiting so long!) I bought my first sixpack of it (2026 edition) last week. Loved it — even unaged! — and am looking forward to both drinking more of it and cellaring a little of it. I think my cellar and fridge will nevemore be without some of it.
2024 Fundamental Observation. Although not crazy old, it is from over 2 years ago. Hasn't changed too much since it was released, which is likely attributable to the 14% ABV. Tons of vanilla, bourbon, some roasted malts, molasses, black licorice, and chocolate.
2018 Samichlaus. Holy crap this is good. Maybe the sweet spot for this beer. Caramel bomb on the taste. Like sucking on a Werther's candy. I can't believe a 14% ABV beer can taste like it has no alcohol in it. Huge malts, a touch of vanilla.
