August Cellar Reviews

ya the '10 is blue labeled and '09 is white, on the topic, i opened a 1 yr old devil dancer and its making into an amazing barley wine in comparison to the onion garlic burning bomb it was fresh.

 

sierra nevada 30th anniversary jack and ken's black barleywine. fresh review here:

appearance: big offwhite head, decent lacing. slightly translucent black.

smell: caramel and toffee, some slightly raisiny oxidation. smells like the maltiest notes of malty american barleywines like old ruffian and hog heaven.

taste: the fruity hops have been replaced by a real abundance of toffee and caramel. roasted malt still really prominent for a barleywine, and hop bitterness is pure american barleywine (not a sweetness bomb like english barleywines). roasted flavors seem less pronounced in light of all the thick toffee and caramel though, with some nice richness-cutting alcohol still around to keep things in check.

mouthfeel: creamy, full side of medium bodied. good carbonation. mouth coating.

overall: this is a cellarable beer at its prime. i don't see it getting any better, and i think it's improved enormously over the past year and a half. the fruity hops were unique and nice, but the beer has settled into a really regal, style-defining american barleywine, like well aged bigfoot but roastier.

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suggestion: if you've got jack and ken's bottles left, drink them. if you know hole-in-the-wall stores holding onto bottles of this beer and you like good barleywines, buy them up and enjoy.

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edit: p.s. thanks to the BA who raved about this beer in a recent LNBA, because that's why i finally caved and opened this bottle. i agree with him that now is the time.

 

Had a '95 Boon's Kriek Tuesday night. It was mostly tart, cherry syrup, but not in a bad way. Not really funky our sour, just cherry. Unfortunately I haven't had it fresh, so I don't know if it is funky our sour fresh...based on this bottle I don't know how it would be since usually fruit drops out and those flavors grow.

 

I am probably in the monority here, but I like the 09 way better than the 08 BCBS.

 

Opened a 2010 Olde Bluehair recently:

750ml into a tulip. 2010 bottle (#503/3000).

A: Pours a murky burnt caramel color with a big tan head.
S: Toffee, buttered bread, caramel, light apple, cinnamon, old hop resin, a bit of barrel heat.
T: Syrupy caramel, strong lingering hop notes of apple cider and brown sugar, slightly smoky charred wood and sweet bourbon. A bit of tannic vanilla and dark fruits, brief wave of old bitterness in the finish.
M: Creamy carbonation, medium-bodied.
O: Good, but I definitely prefer barrel-aging in less hoppy barleywines. The old hop character, while interesting in its own right, sort of covered up some of the barrel character.

 

2011 Melange 3 has developed a wonderful slight coconut flavor while still being tastier then BT IMO.

 

Drank the black barleywine fresh and it was a tasty beer. Probably my favorite Seirra nevada beer I have drank. Wish i could find another bottle somewhere.

 

2009 Black Xantus.

Pretty damn tasty(Arbitrator would agree). Keepin' it real. This beer has really held up well. As a matter of fact it has not missed a beat. After having the original 09 bottle and draft I would say the appearance is money! The nose is very smooth, milk chocolate smooth with a nice blend of vanilla and espresso. The taste has really rounded out. There is still a big roastiness up front and its super creamy, the vanilla shines a bit more than I recall. It is a bit silkier, smoother but the booze is still very evident. Mouthfeel is still big bodied, no thinning here, well carbed and really tasty. The palate is a happy summa ma bitch. I will continue to buy more and more of these. I just wonder out the later versions will be since FW sold the line. Only time will tell.

 

I have 1 btl begging to be consumed, maybe I should pull the trigger amongst company.

 

We finished one as part of our Gang Bang BIF 2 and we all thought it was a bit funky. I have had a bunch of vintage Bluehairs btl and draft and I always find them funky.

 

Opened quite a few notable beers this month.

Found a case of De Gouden Boom's Tripel Blond from before the brewery merged/changed to Brouwerij Palm. The 'Best by date was July 16, 2002- but time treated this beer phenomenally. It was crystal clear, still carbonated with aromatic notes of dried plum & roasty nuts. It was sweet but not over baring and there was no trace of alcohol. Such a good find! Here's a pic



So, after this, I had to go back an get it's counter part- the Dubbel Bruin from De Gouden Boom (Pre Brouwerij Palm) It was aromatically perfect, but the flavors fell a little short of how awesome the Blond was (I thought this was surprising) It was also clear and still carbonated. Another picture:



Equally exciting, there was a case of Aventinus Eisbock from 2007. I've had many aged Dopplebocks from Aventinus but this was the first Eisbock... It was beautiful!



And last but certainly not least, a 2010 Samichlaus.

 

Decided to crack open a Dogfish Head Miles Davis Bitches Brew tonight, 750ml bottle with a 2010 bottling date, sat in my cellar since March 2011.

Poured into a chalice, a black brew forms with a nice thick tan head.
Smell is of sweet molasses, dark chocolate, slight alcohol and dark fruits.
Taste is chocolately and sweet, a good amount of roastiness, there is a bit of heat that I thought would have dissipated over time. The mouthfeel is nice and thick.

What surpised me most about this one is when I first had it I felt the mouthfeel was thin and it was too sweet. Almost a year and half later the mouthfeel is seems to be thicker and the sweetness is subdued.

 

Just cracked a Nemesis '09 and it is definitely past it's prime. It is a very good wheat wine with some great sweet bourbon heat, but I liked it better 9mths ago when I tried it last. Solid brew, but I will finish the rest I have very soon.

 

A few friends and I did a blind 07-11 BCBS vertical a few months ago. 09 was the favorite, with 11 second, 08 third, 10 and 07 were tied for last for different reasons.
Chris

 

Hmm interesting. What kind of funky?

 

Like a little lightly soured note. I thought it would be an old barrel and bugs. I thought it was actually pretty nice though.

 

That's cool! My bottle was mostly old cidery hops and some bourbon and nice barrel notes. I enjoyed it.

 

I had a 2007 BCBS shortly after departing Chicago and although I really like fresh BCBS quite a bit, this is still drinking very well IMO. A little less carbonation that I would have liked but other than that no complaints. I will likely drink my last 2007 as soon as the fall weather starts (or maybe to drown my sorrows after the Alabama/Umich game).

 

Had this recently and found it to be mildly oxidized, in addition to losing most of the carbonation.

 

Had a 2010 Alesmith Decadence right after a 2008 Old Stock two nights ago. The Old Stock was good, but I felt like a little oxidation was creeping in, mostly sherry notes, but still there. The dark fruits were prominent than when fresh, and the malty, toffee notes were just in the background, which was a negative for me.

The Decadence had a somewhat similar taste profile, but a completely different mouthfeel and aftertaste which made its "drinkability" much higher. The mouthfeel was almost fluffy; smooth and light, but not thin. The Old Stock had a bit of bitterness at the end, whereas the Decadence stayed sweet and sort of tapered away. Clearly I can't foresee what the 2010 Decadence will do in the future, but I felt that the alcohol was barely noticeable and the flavors were fairly balanced. This and the fact that the mouthfeel was so great makes me think that it will not get particularly better, but who knows?

To finish my barleywine post, I am now sipping on the 2009 Brewdog Devine Rebel. The nose smelled quite sherry-like and I was afraid for a moment that I had waited too long, but welcoming notes of rum raisins, rather similar to that of a well-aged JW Lees, greeted my taste buds with the first sip. There is just a hint of sherry at the beginning. The aftertaste becomes somewhat bitter and metallic, which is unfortunate.

I've had some other aged barleywines recently, and it seems like a lot of them end up tasting rather similar. I will certainly continue to age certain beers and see what happens, but I may move through my stash of MoAS more quickly than originally anticipated, in order to enjoy the nuances of it before they fade away.