April 2017 Cellar Reviews

2014 Dogfish Head 120 Minute

Forgot to take pics. I don't remember this beer being so sweet when it's fresh. This sweet flavor on the front end gave way for flavors like toffee, butterscotch, and caramel. Delicious.

The alcohol was subdued, but definitely still there. Early on as the beer was fridge temp I got a note I don't know how to describe, but wasn't appealing. It disappeared quickly as the beer warmed.

Overall, this aged beautifully. Have one 2014 left, I'll probably wait for 2018 or 2019.

 

'14 Parabola. Cellar temp into snifter. Consumed 4/10/17.

Look: deep rich brown with a smattering of light brown foam. 4.25/5

Smell: cherry, strawberry, fudge, cream, light-roast coffee. 4.5/5

Taste: coffee, raisin, dark chocolate. The raisin, almost vinous character is very pronounced. 4.25/5

Feel: thick, chewy, and viscous for days. 5/5

Overall: damn good beer. Not as sweet as, say, BCBS, but a bit more raisin and less coconut/oak than more recent vintages of Parabola. A joy to drink. 4.5/5

 

'15 Parabola. Cellar temp into snifter.

Look: medium-dark brown with some ruby, light brown ring of foam. 4.25/5

Smell: bright, almost lime-like; grape, mild anise, whisky/fusel. 4/5

Taste: cherry, dark-chocolate-covered orange, oak, bitter coffee, fusel alcohol. 4.25/5

Feel: medium-to-thick. Much less viscous than the '14. A bit fuzzier as well. 4/5

Overall: all around lacks the special character of the '14. Still enjoyable, but not best-in-class like some other vintages. 4.25/5

 

Yes DFH 120 is one of those "I didn't know it could do that" ageable beers. I've got about a dozen of varying years I'm holding onto, I've got a '13 I want to see at 10 years with age, I suspect it ages very, very well.

 

Cascade Blueberry 2015 Project

first from Cascade I have had. expecting it to gush and prepared accordingly. smells like lactic acid and funky. tastes sour and, wooooah, funkay. very, very brief sweetness on the tongue after first few sips and adjusting to the tartness. man, the barn is really taking center stage in this one. no blueberry left; the horses found the secret stash. i did expect it to be dryer and oak-ier though. it doesn't say it is fermented with brett on the bottle but i can't imagine it not being so. i don't think i can understate how quickly those funk notes take over. it lingers fairly long in the finish, finally giving way to fresh, light, warm yeast rolls and light sourness. do you like brett? this is right up your alley.

 

Cascade Figaro 2014 Project

second from Cascade in as many days. fruit is pretty much non-present again, but after having the blueberry you can tell there are some slight nuances in the overall flavor profile, after accounting for the chardonnay barrel and lemon peel. the aroma is great, the blonde ale comes through very well, . taste is sour; apple skin, lemon peel and zest sans pith. a blonde ale base that's been soured. not vinous or wine-y, maybe it would be more so with a fresher bottle. drier than the blueberry, and the barn is merely glanced at while passing on the right, instead of stopping for a tour.

they are/were both very good; these are high quality sours. I can't help admitting, however, they are slightly overpriced. I procured them (along with a pumpkin smash and noyaux) for $20/bottle after a fire sale was posted on facebook by a bottle shop. if I paid full price, i'd be thinking 'I could have gotten a sour from the Bruery' as I have enjoyed Frederick H, or the Frucht series. or Rodenbach Grand Cru; hell the same bottle shop has a couple of vintage series for $18 or $19. i like The Meddler (had it with close to a year on it). am i comparing apples to oranges? eh. I think I am pointing out 'sours I have enjoyed' to price point. that said, I think I may go back for at least another Figaro.

 

I had a 6 years old bottle a few years back and it was amazing. It sure can go even further.

 

Had a Guinness Extra Stout from 1995. The nose was great with tones of aged stout but also a slight scent of a damp cellar. The taste was good with roasted malts coming up front with chocolate and coffee. The latter being a bit too bitter which might be an off taste due to the long aging. Also wet cardboard and other off flavors were present, but not too much to prevent from enjoying it. Interesting to see how a 4,2% stout still had something left after all these years.

 

Red Brick Imperial Stout 2015 -- 50% ale, 50% ale aged in bourbon barrels
Poured from a 12 oz brown bottle into a clear glass tulip. Bottled on date is smudged but presumably released in 2015.

Black with chestnut brown edges.Nutty, caramel, and oak barrel aroma with only a hint of sweet bourbon, and a lot of mid-and-darker caramel malts with rum raisin come through with a little char. in the finish. Flavor reminds me of a more roasty rounded off Bells Exp Stout but without the licorice component with plenty of sweeter mid-caramel maltiness with a fair dose of char in the finish. Rum raisin and date come through more with warming. Little to no bourbon character but a little oaky tannin sneaks in at the finish. Finishes moderately bitter due to aggressive hopping, tannins from the oak, and char. Supremely smooth and silky with medium body. An excellent imperial stout that would be a popular fall/winter seasonal if Red Brick brings it out of retirement.

 

Wow were you holding onto it, or did you buy it? 22 year old Guinness- cool!

 

A friend bought it back in 1995 and kept it since then. Originally not for beer aging as such but rather as a souvenir/memory from Dublin

 

Trying to make room, no rhyme or reason why this one came out today.
2011 drank at cellar temp.
Somewhat aggressive pour lead to a big fluffy head, great lacing on the glass. Aromas of cola and some root beer. Molasses and some spice I can't place. Taste is cola like, prune juice and some tart cherry starting to develop. Some chestnut and blackstrap molasses. Still loads of pleasant tastes. I haven't bought Our Special Ale in a few years but I think I'll revisit it in 2017.

 

2008 Storm King
Really quite good. Has thinned out with age and the head was largely non-existent. The flavor was really fruity with dried dark fruits. A strong stream of bitterness that didn't overpower and a smooth rich maltiness. Minimal oxidation with some hints of sherry type flavors. This was really quite good.

 

FW Champs de Fraises. The aroma on this is a metaphysically impossible amount of strawberry goodness. The taste is equal parts strawberry and bracing tartness, with hints of a chewy funkiness and light cracker in the background.

 

Chimay Ale Grande Réserve 2012
A careful pour at cellar temp yields a finger of off white head. The head remains for a good 8 minutes, fed by constant streams of bubbles throughout the glass. The deep ruby color is highlighted by light red when held up to the light.
Dark fruits, particularly cherry, dominate the smell. There is also a sour smell, reminiscent of an oud bruin. This smell is less noticeable as the beer warms.
Dark fruits also dominate the taste. The sourness in the smell is not present. A sweetness in the middle of the tongue is followed quickly by a bitterness on the swallow. There is no sign of the 9% abv.
Overall, this is beer is excellent! The five years of storage has done no harm...

Cheers!

 

2012 Founders Devil Dancer
Bottled on 08/18/12
Garnet hue with 1/2 finger of beige foamy head that falls away quickly.
Aroma is toffee straight up with a little rum raisin around the edge. Hoppiness is long gone and supplanted by some low-lying floral qualities.
Flavor is very enjoyable but barleywine all the way with toffee/and dark malt fruitiness and finished with a wave of moderate nondescript bitterness. No loss of maltiness here at all.
Mouthfeel is decadent with low carbonation and hefty body.
An exceptional barleywine-style ale at this point. Still less hoppy than the 2012 SN Bigfoot for a few weeks ago though. Enjoy away!

 

2012 Founders Old Curmudgeon
Best guess as no bottled on date appreciable
Murky amber with short cap/rim of beige head. Oaky tannin at first with toffee, prune/raisin, light sherry note. A little bit of alcohol berry aroma and burnt caramel retronasal. Flavor is a little muted in the malt dept with still redeeming toffee, prune, rum raisin, and darker caramel malts with light tannin/oak character that is enhancing and not distracting and a little drying in the finish. Probably a bit over the hill and makes me want to go after my younger ones sooner rather than later. Still a superb beer but has lost a step.

 

FW Imperial Walker's Reserve (fresh review here). Bomber into a snifter at cellar temp.

Look: very dark brown (SRM 35), with essentially no head. 4/5

Smell: honestly hard for me to place. Anise, hickory smoke, faint spirits, vanilla bean, coffee. 4.25/5

Taste: dark cherry, coffee, char/smoke, molasses, maple syrup, vanilla, mild fusel alcohol. 4.5/5

Feel: medium, bordering on light, but I'd say appropriate for a porter. 4.25/5

Overall: the smoke has mellowed nicely relative to my memories of it fresh. Lots of good, chewy flavors, and no particularly weak elements. I'll be revisiting this one in about another year to see how it continues to progress with age. 4.25/5

 

How old/what year was it?