Aging Old Foghorn ??

Discussion in 'Cellaring / Aging Beer' started by Jm5471, Apr 19, 2020.

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  1. Jm5471

    Jm5471 Initiate (0) Feb 19, 2017 New York

    I was wondering if anyone has aged or had aged Anchor Brewing Old Foghorn ? I picked up a 6 pack today which was 5 years old. Dusty back of shelf in random beverage place. Haven’t cracked any yet but was wondering here if anyone has had aged versions before.
     
    #1 Jm5471, Apr 19, 2020
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  2. CaptFrothy

    CaptFrothy Pundit (753) Dec 9, 2006 Maryland
    Trader

    I bought a sixer last year, this was one of my formative beers in the 80's before the quality explosion, this was one of the few good big beers available.

    Major disappointment this time, guess the bar has moved up considerably for me. So I put it in the basement. One year later, a few months back I pulled one out.

    Holy Cannoli, perhaps the biggest one year cellaring improvement I've ever tasted, it was terrific. So I say yes to aging this.
     
    #2 CaptFrothy, Apr 19, 2020
    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 19, 2020
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  3. sulldaddy

    sulldaddy Grand Pooh-Bah (5,716) Apr 6, 2003 Connecticut
    Mod Team BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    I bet they are okay. It was one of the best barleywines widely avaialable years ago. Boughybit regularly.
    As with most aging at 5 years any hop character is probay gone at thos point, but there may be some good deeper malt flavors. I haveny had any in years, but I would like to hear what you think of your find. With multiple bottles you could even sample on every 6 months and take note of changes in the "batch".
     
    #3 sulldaddy, Apr 19, 2020
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  4. dlcarst

    dlcarst Zealot (733) Aug 21, 2015 Missouri
    Trader

    I recently had a 3 year old bottle. It's a lot like Bigfoot. Lots of hop presence still at 3 years, great complexity. I'm sure 5 years will be great if it has been stored properly.
     
    #4 dlcarst, May 1, 2020
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  5. Jm5471

    Jm5471 Initiate (0) Feb 19, 2017 New York

    Had my first bottle the other day and it was fantastic. I’m going to take the suggestions and try every 6 months to see how the flavor changes
     
    #5 Jm5471, May 12, 2020
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  6. Beersnake

    Beersnake Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,884) Aug 17, 2013 California
    Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    I cracked open a couple that were about 5 years old, and they were amazing. I haven't seen any around here (SoCal) for a few years, but I wish I did! It's a great one for the cellar.
     
    #6 Beersnake, May 23, 2020
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  7. FrankenBier

    FrankenBier Zealot (645) Feb 4, 2003 California

    I have a bunch of '96 Foghorn (nip bottles) that still are enjoyable. Not the best picture, I'd had a few that day :slight_smile:

    [​IMG]
     
    #7 FrankenBier, Mar 23, 2021
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  8. Jm5471

    Jm5471 Initiate (0) Feb 19, 2017 New York

    I must day I’m jealous, that’s probably great that this point. My oldest vintage at this point is a 2001, not a foghorn, so I can’t base anything on this but again very jealous of your selections
     
    #8 Jm5471, Apr 9, 2021
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  9. jesskidden

    jesskidden Grand Pooh-Bah (3,145) Aug 10, 2005 New Jersey
    Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Coincidentally, I just had one of those myself the other day, when @zid brought up the topic and so I went searching through the cellar for a bottle - resulting in me posting one of my few WBAYDN posts.
    [​IMG]

    Still have 8 or so left of that vintage - I guess I bought a case at some point? There's some sort production dating stamped on the inside flap, but it doesn't jive with the then-Anchor date coding (upper left in pic above).
    [​IMG]
     
    #9 jesskidden, Apr 10, 2021
    Last edited: Apr 10, 2021
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  10. John_M

    John_M Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,849) Oct 25, 2003 Washington
    Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Was there still any carbonation in the 96 OF?

    Just curious... There was an article in the Celebrator Brewspaper some years ago, discussing OF. The writer had been gifted a case of OF by Fritz Maytag, and he mentioned that he opened a bottle every year on the date Fritz gave him the case (as I recall... This was rather a few years back). Anyway, he discussed the evolvement of the beer over time (he had nothing but positive things to say), noting that the last OF he opened was completely still, but still eminently enjoyable. I still remember the strong sense of envy that article elicited.

    A case of OF was 24 bottles at the time of the article (this was easily 30 years or more ago). Is that still the case now?
     
    #10 John_M, Apr 10, 2021
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  11. jesskidden

    jesskidden Grand Pooh-Bah (3,145) Aug 10, 2005 New Jersey
    Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Well, Anchor went from 7 oz. bottles (4 X 6 pk) 24 to a case (as can be seen in that photo above) to 12 oz. bottles - 4 X 6 pk case, sometime in the early 2000s or so.

    Since their date code then only listed the last digit of the year when I finally put together my cellar spreadsheet I realized I had a number of OF's that started with a 6. "Oh, damn - are these 96's or 06's..." But it wasn't that difficult to tell the difference since the latter were 12 oz bottles.
     
    #11 jesskidden, Apr 10, 2021
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  12. FrankenBier

    FrankenBier Zealot (645) Feb 4, 2003 California

    No, it was flat, but still very enjoyable. I almost hesitate to mention this, but the week before I had tweeted about an old beer I drank and a friend said "next time, turn your phone on and record it, so we can enjoy vicariously."

    So I did -- the Foghorn is about 9 minutes in.
     
    #12 FrankenBier, Apr 10, 2021
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  13. FrankenBier

    FrankenBier Zealot (645) Feb 4, 2003 California

    That box looks just like mine :slight_smile:
     
    #13 FrankenBier, Apr 10, 2021
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