Cellar Reviews (2019)

2018 Evil Twin / Lervig Big Ass Money Stout 3

Saw one of these in a local bottle shop last year and just snagged it instantly. Wasn't sure what I'd do with it other than see if some aging would knock the prodigious heat down. Canned on 2/22/2018 I thought why not tonight.

Still plenty of carbonation with a large brown head over an inky dark brown body. Smell is still boozy but not overpoweringly so backed with chocolate and dark fruit. Taste is still hot (you can still feel it going down) but not ridiculously so and the chocolates, dark fruits and brown sugar are blended very nicely. Mouthfeel is just perfect as the flavors linger.

Aging this has tamed the beast from the overly hot ass kicker that made me modulate my breathing while sipping to make sure I didn't go into a major coughing jag into something more reasonable. Or maybe I'm more conditioned to these bombs. Either way I wish it was a brutally cold night, or even a crisp autumn evening, but by then it might not be so good. Either way I wish I'd snagged more.

 

Cherish what's left.... I opened one of my last 4 pack of a batch brewed in 2010. It's looooong gone. Just a bit of caramel and the merest smidgen of sourness.

 

Hill Farmstead Everett || bottled Feb, 2016



Cellard properly since purchase at Hill Farmstead. Opened close to fridge temp. Poured a nice toffee head that left a nice even lacing. Nose is dominated by umami, secondary roastiness from the malts and coffee bitterness, bakers chocolate comes through as it warms. Taste follows the nose and so similar to fresh for almost a three and a half year old beer. The bitterness from the roasted malts is in the forefront followed by soy and chocolate. The beer finishes so clean leaving just a mild bitterness behind. The viscosity is good - coats the tounge but is not heavy. It is thinner than fresh. The carb is perfect for a porter. Overall, and like always, very impressed with how well Hill farmstead beers cellar. This beer is great fresh, and great now - prime example of a beer to hoard and drink every six months.

 

Cantillon Classic Geuze with about 8 1/2 years of bottle age.


In July of 2011 my wife and I were heading south to visit some friends and family. As we entered Delaware she asked me if I wanted to stop at the Claymont Total Wine. There I found some Cantillon. There were 6 bottles that were so new on the shelf that there was not even a price tag. But that didn’t deter me and I immediately bought 4 bottles, three to have and one to take to my brother-in-law and his wife. That decision also turned out to be a good one since I’ve never seen this beer on the shelves in the US since then. In October of 2011 I popped the cork on one of the bottles and did a review. The second bottle was shared with a beer buddy and the third has been sitting quietly in the basement since then. Tonight I opened that second bottle to try and figure how the beer may have changed.

At the time of my review the first bottle from this batch had just over 1 year of bottle age and according to the brewer it had a 10 year best by period (bb Sep 2020). So the beer I’m having right now is just over 8 1/2 years old since bottling.

Here is my initial review from Oct 2011.

“Poured into a Duvel glass. Bottled 17 September 2010.

Appearance: As poured the beer is a clear golden color with light carbonation and a 3/8” creamy white head that recedes slowly, leaving a bit of foam clinging to one side of the glass. Sipping produces a sheet of foam on the side that slides back down to the liquid leaving a few legs and scattered tiny speckles of lacing. The head persists as a 1/8” layer of foam for quite a long time.
Smell: Some of the aromas are detectable as the beer is opened. There is some definite citric zest and tart apple, but there is also some mustiness that almost dominates and has some leather-like character to it.
Taste: As with the sample I had at the brewery some months ago, the initial impression is one of tartness. Then the flavors of green apples and lemon zest show up as well. There is some of the mustiness almost hidden in the background that mingles with a touch of oak.
Mouthfeel: The mouth feel is medium bodied with a nice mix of smoothness and lightly prickly carbonation. The finish is medium long and begins with astringent dryness that slowly turns into just dryness in the back of the mouth and then just fades away.
Drinkability and Overall Impression: As with earlier examples of this style I’m finding Cantillon’s gueuze very drinkable. As each sip fades I’m ready to take another to see how well balanced and complex the mix of flavors is. My overall impression is that the reputation of this beer, the Brewery, and the head brewer is well deserved.”


Tonight’s impressions when comparing this last bottle to my review of the one year old bottle from the same batch:

Decanting into a Duvel glass avoids a lot of sediment and produces a clear golden colored liquid that quickly develops a chill haze. There’s a 1/4” white head that also recedes slowly and persists for a long time. Sipping creates a couple of thick arches and patches of lacing. Over time the patches become smaller and more numerous.

The aromas are again noticeable as the bottle is opened. Now, however, the leather-like musty character and a bit of oak are much more up front and the citrus and tartness are in the background.

The flavors seem different than described above. While the citric-apple tartness is still there, the leathery mustiness is much more forward and the two seem to share center stage making them hard to separate. There still seems to be a touch of oak.

The mouthfeel is much the same as described, medium bodied and lightly prickly. The finish is still very long as the flavors fade but this time the ending seems to have a much more pervasive tartness that tinges the long dry finish in the back of the palate.

My overall impression is that this beer is still a quite drinkable and enjoyable beer but time has introduced some changes in the aroma/flavor profile. They are still balanced but, not surprisingly with Brett yeast, there’s more leathery mustiness showing. The oak seems to be still much the same as described above, in the background but still showing a bit.

 

2014 brewed John Barleycorn from Mad River brewing co. Bottled late 2015 after the brewery ages for one year. The brewery has released several vintages of this in celebration of their 30th anniversary, this is the oldest bottled cellar vintage they have put out.

Pours a deep ruby red, almost looks like a red wine, very thin mocha head that dissipates swiftly. Really beautiful liquid.
Smell is sherry and sweet cherry with light spiced notes. The cherry aroma is surprisingly strong.
The taste has a boozy bite coming up front, along with port/sherry notes, old leather library, and a bit of cardboard. Compared to fresh this flavor has definitely lost a bit of vigor, thinned out a bit, and picked up some of that staling/cardboard bit. It is still a pleasant and complex brew but has certainly gotten more vinous and the booze is becoming more prominent.
The mouthfeel, like the flavor, is a bit thinner than fresh and has a bit of a carbonation bite. Actually like the mouthfeel better at this point, it's very drinkable with little to know build up on the tongue.

All in all I would say that it's unlikely this thing is getting any better with more time on it. It hasn't gone off it's cliff yet, so it is possible that for some people there is a sweet spot past 5 or so years but for me this isn't quite as good as fresh (which in this context has already been aged 1 year from the end of fermentation by the brewery). It's remarkable to me how much sherry/dessert wine character this beer has taken on. Including in the color which went from a rich toffee color to a straight up cherry red.

Can't wait to follow this thing forward in time trying the newer vintages and if I can get my act together I'd like to do a blind tasting of all 4 vintages that I have just to see what that tells me

 

Thanks for sharing this. I remember when Cantillon was relatively easy to find. I still kick myself for not trying more and stocking up when I had the chance. I have one, lone classic gueze left that was bottled in 2009. A gift from my sister brought back from Belgium. I haven't been able to bring myself to open it, but I probably should soon.

 

2015 John Barleycorn Barleywine. Moving forward a year.

A modest pour yields a deep orange/amber, slightly opaque liquid. Color like a big double IPA. Little to no head and it dissipates quickly.
Muted aroma of honey and toffee. A holiday spice and brandy whiff on the tail end.
The taste has a strong tart cherry and port thing upfront. This is overtaken by a somewhat harsh boozey bite and the more dominant spiced caramel and herbal hoppiness. This also drinks a bit like a big boozy double IPA.
The mouthfeel keeps the DIPA theme alive, it is a noticeably big beer but it is not a heavy beer. The body is light enough for drinking and cuts clean at the end.

Overall the differences between this and the 2014 are kind of stark. I heard, from an unreliable source and many years ago, that they brewed a different recipe every year (supposedly because their producing of this beer arose out of a homebrew competition?) but I always attributed the rumor to the fact that they used to have a different label made by a different local artist every year. They've gone to a standard label now but I'm more convinced than ever that the recipes might be different. The look of this one is markedly different than the 2014 and not that similar to the 2017, and the taste is different enough even though all that I have were cellared by the brewery.
I will have to investigate further. This vintage reminds me much more of Bigfoot, the 2014 had a much more vinous nature, and the 2017 makes me think of a more traditional euro style. So who knows.

 

Opened a 2017 and was looking at the bottles, the fresh is 9.2% the 2015 was labeled 10.2%. So it does seem like they are different recipes year to year. weird choice if you ask me but I will check in with the brewery next time i make it in.

 

2016 edition Barrel Aged Bigfoot.

Look: ruby red with orangeish hues towards the ends of the glass, forms a fingers worth of head that sticks around even an hour after being poured.

Smell: Lots of upfront bourbon, with oak, vanilla, and dried fruit notes accompanying. Hops are definitely there, though they've been tamed by both the barrel aging and passage of time.

Taste: Consistent with the nose, but the hops are much more earthy and noticeable on the tongue. Sweet caramel and a malty backbone support it.

Feel: Medium, more so than the majority of barrel aged barleywines I've had, with the aftertaste not sticking around too long.

Overall a great beer, I'm glad I could get ahold of another old bottle as I've only found this once before.

 

2016 John Barleycorn from Mad River brewing

Pours a rich and hazy amber with a hearty off white head that is unusually active while maintaining itself, leaving light lacing.
The smell is strongly of toffee and caramel,slightly boozy.
Taste is rich and robusto. Apple and plum notes with an herbal hop bite, caramel in the background. This is a very bright beer for the style
Mouthfeel is spot on, rich but not syrupy. Very smooth
Overall this is a really nice barleywine for my preferences. It has some of that hop bite of american barleywines but just enough to balance out the malt. It has some of the darker fruit/port flavors but is ultimately a light/bright drink. Also I am fully convinced they brew a different recipe every year, at some point I'll be back in the taproom AND remember to ask

 

Hanssens Oude Gueuze with about 7 1/2 years of age.

First purchased and reviewed in Nov 11, tonight’s bottle is from the same Lot and was purchased at the same time as the bottle I reviewed. While I’m not sure when this was bottled (it has a Lot number rather than a date) as near as I can guess it probably has a bb date sometime in 2020. So I estimate it should now be in the neighborhood of 7 1/2 to 8 years bottle age.


Here is my original review.

"Poured into a Duvel tulip glass. Bottle indicates it is from Lotnr G.
Appearance: As poured the beer is an almost clear golden peach color with a ½” egg shell white head that soon recedes to 1/8” but then holds there for a good while as it is fed by lots of active, visible carbonation rising through the liquid. Sipping leaves partial rings and small widely scattered speckles of lacing. There is a thin layer of foam that leaves patches and speckles of foam clinging to the sides of the glass throughout the beer.
Smell: The aroma reminds of apple cider vinegar with definite traces of musty barnyard smells mingling with a touch of oakiness. As the beer warms further there is some horse blanket as well.
Taste: The flavors here are much as expected from the nose and include tart lemon, some sour green apple, and some musty earthiness tinged with woodiness from the oak. The barnyard and horseblanket dance around in the background and occasionally emerge to let you know they are there.
Mouthfeel: The mouth feel is on the medium side of light bodied and gently prickly from the carbonation. The medium long finish begins in tart lemon and acidic sourness but then slides smoothly into a persistent woody dryness with occasional bits of tartness popping out here and there at various places on the palate.
Drinkability and Overall Impression: This is definitely a sipping beer, not because of the ABV, but because more that a sip at once makes one feel that the flavors may be overwhelming. This is a one glass a night beer because of the intensity of flavors. My overall impression is that this is definitely a world class beer with lots of complexity in the flavor and aroma and that rivals any of the best gueuze I’ve tried to date. I’ll definitely be having more of it."


Comparing this evening’s beer to my earlier review:

Decanted into a Duvel glass. Bottle from Lotnr G.

The color of the beer is still mostly clear golden Peach color but there is no head to speak of beyond a small large bubbled ring around the glass and several whisps of thin form on the surface. Sipping creates a couple of slender arches with widely scattered patches of foam, most of which gradually turn back to liquid. Long before the beer is half gone there’s virtualy no foam at all.

The aromas are still much as described with the apple cider tartness, except the light earthiness along with some light mustiness and horse blanket are both way in the background.

The flavors are still pretty much what is described but the apple cider tartness and lemon seem more forward than than they were in 2011. While the horse blanket, barnyard mustiness and touch of oak still show a little bit it is only after the initial tartness/sourness has begun to fade that it shows at all.

The mouthfeel is much the same but the light prickliness is mostly gone. The finish is all about the cidery, lemony tartness but as it moves towards the back of the palate the light musty, earthy and horse blanket notes emerge way in the background.

Overall my personal feeling is that this beer has lost or hidden some of its complexity with age. It seems to be much more about just the apple cider/lemony tartness and the Brett doesn't really seem to have increased its impact.

 

could probably grab a can or 2 see them on occasion, I did not enjoy this beer when I had it maybe I missed something

 

Or maybe you just don't like it. I see people raving about IPAs and think "great, they're all for you". I haven't heard about a problem with infection so I doubt that was the problem. You have enough other options that I'd hate to see you repeat a not enjoyable experience on my account.

 

I posted about a 1999 Sierra Nevada Celebration I found recently at my local bottle shop for $2.99 in another thread but figured I should post here as well.



The cap gave a slight hiss upon opening and hinted at more carbonation than I expected for a 20 year old beer. The beer produced a decent head that dissipated quickly and left a nice ring behind. The color is quite dark but even fresh Celebration is pretty dark IIRC. The aroma is sherry, hops and caramel with some cardboard present. The taste follows the nose for the most part and is quite pleasant. Barleywine light isn't a bad description. Amazingly, there's still a hop bite present on the finish after two decades.