Belgian Imperial Stouts

De Struise make a majority of the highest rated Belgian ISs out there. I don't detect much of the Belgian yeast character in their stouts that I do in others. I've had several of their stouts at various ages. They all seem to round out a little over time, but don't change drastically. They're phenomenal fresh too.

 

Weyerbacher Tiny is an incredible example of a Belgian stout, Boulevard's Dark Truth also uses Belgian yeast, as well as Allagash Black. I get just a little more dark fruit out of these beers than American stouts, and the Tiny becomes incredibly silky over time. It's easily one of the best examples of the style. Their anniversary beer Thirteen was the original version of the beer, but at a higher 13.6%, and it's what turned me on to Tiny and has kept me buying it ever since.

 

That Black Albert was one of the top Russian Imperial Stouts I've ever had (I'm giving the nod to Dark Apparition, only because I've had it a few more times). I have another bottle of Black Albert. Has anyone tried Black Albert with some age on it?

It was boozy, but not in a bad way. It's 13% and you have to expect that. However, I wonder if just a short mellow period would eliminate that? Maybe not. I hope not, but I'd like to save a bottle to share with some across-the-country buddies that'll be here this summer.

 

Came to say dark truth, just an incredible beer.

 

I absolutely agree, Tiny is one of my favorite beers to age and I love the new 12oz format. I have one lonely bottle of Thirteen left in the cellar that I need to get to soon.

 

If it is bottle-conditioned, as many Belgian yeast beers tend to be, it will age well. That yeast keeps eating and helps flavors evolve over time. I have a few Tinys in my cellar. Can't wait to see how they do.

 

Tiny is one of my top beers of all time. I have a case plus of that stuff going back a few years now. Opened one up last week, I think it dated to 2012. It was still tasty as heck, though I think oxidation may have been just barely starting to creep around the edges. When I sort out my cellar into the new shelving units, I'll make sure on that and start drinking down the oldest ones.
PS, another beer forum I am a member of recently posted a homebrew recipe for it... gonna have to put that into the list for something to do eventually.

 

How long have people aged Dark Truth? Boulevard has best by dates on the bottles, and I'm estimating Dark Truth is ~18 months after bottling. I have a couple cellared, and I'm intending to try one at a year and one around the Best By date, unless opinions suggests otherwise.

 

Dark Truth has a shelf life of 730 days.

In addition to a best by date, our bottles also have lot codes printed on them that indicate the date and time the beer was bottled as well as the bright tank from which the beer came.

https://www.boulevard.com/new-bottle-codes/

 

The best by date is 2 years, but it can go a little further. Longest I've aged is 2 1/2 and it was still great.

 

I found Thirteen on a store shelf in 2012, I bought them out. Sadly my last bottle got opened a few months ago, but it was still holding up well. I think it and Tiny could go a decade easily.

 

I might see if I can make it to a decade with that last bottle. Thanks for the status report.

 

Thanks for the info! I had just estimated based upon when I purchased them, which apparently was about 7-8 months after bottling.

 

In a rather ironic twist, I was attempting to squeeze one more bottle on the top shelf of my "cellar" (mini fridge). One of my Dark Truth bottles was out front on the shelf. Well, turns out there was absolutely no room to squeeze one more bottle. The Dark Truth fell off the shelf and hit the bottom of the fridge, cap down. A bit of fizz began to leak from the cap. Time to drink, but unfortunately prematurely. When I saw the date on that bottle, I decided that maybe it was not unfortunate.



Apparently this bottle was exactly one year old. Perfect time to drink it! I have one more that I will drink in a year. This one was quite good. I didn't take tasting notes last time around, but I believe a year has given this a bit more complexity.

 

Drinking an Allagash St. Klippenstein right now, Belgian stout aged in bourbon barrels for three months. Moderate barrel presence and pretty much ready to go, would not age this one.

Also, obligatory "Dark Truth is awesome" sentence.