2012 Bourbon County Stout, disappointment?

Bad bottle. I've had about 12 bottles of 12' BCS and all have been great.

 

^ What he said..... but times 6

 

I don't have previous vintages to compare to as 2012 was my first time tasting BCBS. But I will say this beer underwhelmed more than almost any beer I've had. To the point - hot and sweet.

 

Also, not as short supply as prior vintages. Blech.

 

2012 fresh is ufuckinmazing. End of story. It's all good, but this yr. is just......better.

 

It's your bottle, I've had 20+ bottles of the 2012 and 100+ of previous vintages and it is right in line with previous years. Fresh, it is better than fresh '09 and '10 and slightly behind '08 and '11.

 

I have noticed that many of my 9/17 bottles are coffee forward, while the 9/20 bottles that I have opened (n~4 for each bottle date) are typical = delicious.

 

this couldnt be more right.

 

While I realize that an InBev joke would be both easy and incredibly effective here, I'll refrain...

BCBS is great.

 

Great this year, if anything it's more drinkable and less harsh when fresh than previous vintages I've had.

 

Here's a slightly more nuanced take on it:
the 2012 vintage is very good, I think better than 2011 fresh (which is about as well as I can remember), but it is of course at a higher ABV, which makes some difference. It's got a great flavor profile, similar body to years past, but suffers a bit in the booziness department. That said, I still really very much enjoy this year's

 

I loved it. Just as much as 2010 and 2011

 

I'm actually drinking one right now, my fifth. All have been from the 11/07/12 bottling, and all have been spectacularly delicious. Rich, creamy, sweet, bourbony, and incredibly smooth for 15%. No complaints whatsoever.

 

I've drank about half a case of BCBS '12 and think it's a bit hot right now (still awesome though).

I personally thought 2011 was better fresh just because it was more nuanced and complex without being a complete bourbon bomb.

 

My Favorite recurring thread:

"Does (name of beer) taste different this year?"

 

I bought my first ever bottle of BCBS the other day. Do I need to cellar this? And if so, for how long?

 

First ever? You need to have it fresh before thinking about cellaring it.

 

I've cellared a vertical of BCBS from 2006. Personally I think 2008 and 2009 are drinking best right now, and I really, really need to drink the rest of the 2006 and 2007 soon since they're falling off at the moment.

2012 will definitely benefit from some age. I'd say drink one or two bottles and cellar the rest for at least a year. 2011 was funny though, I actually think it tasted better fresh than it does today (weird, I know).