August 2015 Cellar Reviews

If you have another bottle from the same batch I would say hold onto it until the expiration, then give it as an offering to our robot overlords and ask them how it tastes.

 

2010 Bruery Coton, regular

This was one of the bottles that the Bruery aged themselves and sold to their members recently. Never had it fresh.

Tons of pleasant oxidation, though still over-oxidized - sherry, light oak, pale vanilla and graham cracker. More of the base old ale is pronounced after it opens up, some brown sugar and caramel. Very smooth, not nearly as sticky, sweet and boozy as the recent releases, though it may have been fresh, interested to hear how people liked it out the gate.

Have a papier, 100% BA coton, cuir, and 100% cuir yet to get through. Will post those when I crack 'em

 

2013 HF Genealogy of Morals - Pours jet black with nice tan/coffee head that thins to a slight layer that holds. Initial flavors give a slight bit of roast and some sweetness that gets at the cherry and dark fruit. Still a very little bit alcohol as the beer passes over the tongue. Flavors that linger include some cherry, vanilla with only slight hints of the bourbon. Over all very balanced with some good

Might hold another year with my last few bottles, but seems to have hit a high point.

 

2014 Stone Xocoveza bottled 8/29, aged for 11 months. Poured this beer into small tulips. I thougt the beer was OK when I had a sample fresh on draft, so I bought one bottle. At just shy of a year, this beer is a chocolate bomb! The sweetness is there and all the pepper burn is gone. I got the cinnamon, nutmeg, and chocolate in a very balanced way. My only regret is not buying more of these to cellar. 4.5 out of 5.

 

2012 Bell's Third Coast Ale




looks fairly straight up when compared to the fresh version, save for slightly less head. Big fat plum is what I get at first whiff, followed by caramel and candy cherries. Taste follows along the same line at first but then all the sudden the plum turns to dates, and is pretty quick to unveil bitter astringency. Most notable about this beer is an uncanny creaminess in the mouth feel.

 

2014 Short's Aphasia. This one has developed very nicely over the past 8 months. Minor notes of sherry, strong notes of dark fruits. It has also developed a strong creaminess and a fair amount of leathery qualities. This is tasting good now but I plan to polish off most of my stash over the winter, cause I can see it going downhill before too long. The carbonation has already begun to weaken.

 

I've got one more that I haven't brought myself to open yet - your description has me itchy to break it out though!

 

Just posted a review for Trillium Lineage Rye bottled on May 26 2014. Time has done this well. This year's release is in the pipe - I highly recommend cellaring.

 

For the lazy among us. Also, @AirBob has a great avatar.

 

2014 Churchill's Finest Hour

Only 1.5 years old, but never had it fresh thought this may be a good point for it.

Wildly bourbon forwards, almost too much raw bourbon flavor, and this is coming from someone who drams frequently on high octane juice. Sounds crazy, but it had a Willett whiskey flavor specifically, whether or not its aged in any Willett barrels I do not know. Very aggressive, if I had another would probably sit on it until the 3 year mark at least. A very good beer, one of the better imperial stouts, but definitely not worth the ridiculous price tag of 100+ or a 6 hour wait in line.

Anybody have any experience with how they age?

 

I'm terrible at explaining what I taste or smell but I opened my third and final bolt cutter last night. I have spaced them apart by about a year each. Two years seemed to be the sweet spot for me. There bottle last night was, in my opinion, terrible. I had to drain pour my first beer that I had previously loved. RIP bolt cutter, you had a good run.

 

2011 Shmaltz Barrel-Aged Human Blockhead: Batch #1 bomber, bottled 6/01/2011. A darker bock, this pours a dark brown that is a bit murky but with improving clarity as it warms. Head is moderate, with a finger's worth that replenishes itself for a minute or two, then gradually dissipates, leaving lightly iridescent bubbles around the rim. Smells of caramel and vanilla malt, with significant heat from the 10% abv. Barrel character, honey, and wheat from the Buffalo Trace come in on the tongue, but the flavor also has undertones of papery oxidation and rubbing alcohol. Mouthfeel is pleasant but unremarkable, with a nice, full body that is undercut by some harshness from the alcohol.

Overall, this is past its prime compared to bottles that had less age on them when consumed. I remember it being smoother and more well-integrated when newer (most recently had this about a year and a half ago). I've seen no indication that Shmaltz is making this again (perhaps you can think of Bock Bock as the spiritual successor to BA Human Blockhead). As such, I'd say to go ahead and drink this if you're holding on to it.

 

Tonight I cracked an Allagash Nancy bottle date is July 10th 2014. So this beer is a year and a month old. Was officially reviewed on November of 2014 and had several tastes of Nancy throughout 2015.

A-Orange bodied beer with slight copper red hue. White head that is a full 2 fingers tall after aggressively pouring into a HF wine stem. Head slowly drops to a thin ring and eventually drops to no head at all.

S-Cherry jolly rancher and moderate allagash house funk. Seems as though the funk is getting stronger and the cherry has only slightly faded.

T-moderate sourness(4.5/10) and moderate funk. I would say they almost equally balance things out. A mild cherry jolly rancher flavor, but still very adequate cherry profile. Not much has changed over time; slightly less cherry flavor with slightly more funk and slightly more sourness.

M-medium body sour with low carbonation that becomes pretty effervescent as it rolls over the tongue. The dry finish has increased as well; it is a little stronger than semi dry. Mouthfeel has definitely improved with time.

O- Nancy is really holding its own. Really great right now and has time for improvement in the future. There is still some time left for this bottle. It hasnt hit its peak, but it has got to be getting close.

 

That's really strange. Just last night I was looking at recent ratings on Untappd and basically all had good reviews and positive thoughts on how it's aged.

 

Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA - Sept. 2009. Aging like a dream. Only booze there is a pleasant hit in the finish. Taste is like a big oaky barleywine, but finishes like a mead or steel barrel white wine. Wonderful when enjoyed over an hour.

 

canned Sept 2014 - Ten Fidy (got 3 more to age further)

A- pitch black with a brown inch thick head - slowly subsided to 1/8" after about 30 seconds of rest
S - huge chocolate and roasted malt in the nose - no booze
T - same as the smell - a bit of oak presence in the finish, almost like it had sat in an oak barrel for a while - didn't get this with the fresh can
M - smooth as silk. rich and thick
O - this first year has done nothing but improve my favorite canned imperial stout. Reminded me of a oak aged RIS with cocoa nibs. May not be able to age the remaining three for fear of them not tasting this good. Dream would be oak BA Ten Fidy with Coffee and Cocoa nibs.