Cellar Reviews (2019)

Avery Brewing Co (Annual Barrel Series)

Rumpkin - Batch No. 5 - Bottled 9/9/2015

Ale brewed with pumpkin and spices aged in rum barrels.

18% ABV







Sound: Slight hiss. Definitely diminished, but present. Also, if you put your ear to the glass, a constant pop rock like fizzing sound.

Look: Decanted as slow as humanely possible. A lot of sediment in the glass. I left a couple fingers in the bottle for now. The color of this beer is stunning. Barely translucent, Ruby-brown/crimson with deep amber hues. Bits of sediment release tons of bubbles. Zero head whatsoever. Gorgeous.

Smell: Defined by pumpkin spice including nutmeg and some cinnamon. Heavy amount of spiced rum and some cola. Over ripe banana. Banana bread. The sweet alcohol aroma also reminds me of bourbon and rye. There is a warming sensation but it does not smell “hot.”

Taste: Dense, rum-soaked fruit cake. It’s interesting for me to explain. This beer is less sweet than I remember. But the alcohol is more prominent. So, I like the reduced sweetness, but it seems more fusel. This is not a bad thing for an 18% beer though and I think it’s quite drinkable. A lot of rum wood and a hint of bitterness.

Feel: Nice feel. Low carbonation but not syrupy or heavy. Light on the palate considering the ABV.

Overall: Zero off flavors. Nice carbonation. A really enjoyable beer. Has it improved? Well, seems smoother to me, despite my comment about the fusel alcohol, the reduced sweet booze flavor contributes a lot here. If this beer was much sweeter it would feel bigger and boozier to me. But this is purely subjective. It’s also less sweet, which some may not enjoy. In summary, I’m happy that I opened this beer at four years. It’s aged well, and I opened it before it started to fall apart. I’d drink these down now if I had more, which I do not.

Cheers, cellar dwellers!

 

Wasn’t planning on an official “cellar review” but was so impressed by this bottle I felt obligated to.



That’s a 2016. Fair warning, I’m a Founder’s homer and probably will remain one even with the selling to Mahou.

This bottle has been in my fridge for at least a year. I dug deep on this bottle, trying to drink down the stash.
Still pours a deep and dark black with a generous half inch of khaki head.
Chocolate, dark and burnt coffee nose. I’m surprised any bit of coffee is still present to be honest. Totally different than fresh but still enjoyable.
Old coffee first, hints of coconut and marshmallow, Hershey’s, just a touch of heat. Vanilla and bourbon plus oak too.
Medium body, still chewy.
Overall, don’t expect a fresh KBS. Things have changed; not for the better or worse. It’s a different drinking experience and that’s what makes cellaring beer enjoyable. Cheers!

 

I did not cellar this beer myself, but rather I received it in a trade. Still, I thought I’d share the review for the benefit of anyone concerned with the aging of this beer. Enjoyed this one earlier today.

Big Sky Brewing

Ivan the Terrible Imperial Stout (2017)

Note: I’ve never had the beer fresh.



Look: Black and opaque with a light brown, densely packed head. No visible carbonation. A curtain of lacing is left behind as the two finger head from the initial pour disappears. As I drink the beer down there is no lacing left.

Smell: Milk chocolate sweetness and cocoa powder. Earthy and roasty malt aroma. Soft bourbon aroma with some vanilla. Faint meat. As the beer warms up a hint of alcohol shows up, but pleasantly.

Taste: Up front notes of dark chocolate, milk chocolate and slightly sweetened black coffee. Mid palate the beer turns dry with toasted bread and some pithy citrus bitterness. Delicious.

Feel: Low carbonation and dry. Smooth and soft feel. Very light on the palate.

Overall: For 9.5% this beer is insanely drinkable. It’s a really excellent stout. No flavor additions, but chock full of flavor. It was cellared well and is drinking great with no off flavors or issues.

 

One of my favourite no frills Imperial Stouts out there and it does age gracefully. Prost!

 

Last night I cracked open what was nearly a 3 year aged Founders Dirty Bastard that was canned on 9/24/16 and what a delight it was.

I poured the can into a goblet at room temperature and half the glass was foam, but in a good way as it showed there was plenty of carbonation after 3 years.

L: Chocolaty prune oil look with a cream foamy head that soon dissipated.

A: figs, prunes, dates, caramel, chocolate, malt

T: Super figgy and super date flavored with hints of chocolate and toffee.

Mouthfeel: super creamy and thinner than fresh.

O: this beer tasted more like a quad than a scotch ale and was probably the best Dirty Bastard I ever had. The licorice flavor I usually get in this beer had vanished and the fig flavor shined more than ever. This was truly an amazing experience and will be cracking another 3 year vintage real soon. I'll save the last can to see how it tastes at 5 years however I think the 3 year age of this beer is it's peak. I highly suggest aging a Dirty Bastard for 3 years to see how delightful this beer really is.

 

Weyerbacher Twelve
Traded for this beer in 2008, along with several other bottles of one of my favorite barleywines of all time. It's been resting quietly since.

The oldest beer I've self-cellared, at twelve year old this one is finally showing its age.The rye is gone, but the Belgian-esque quality & candied sweetness remain. Honey has shown up & was not noted originally. The mouthfeel has changed markedly & is much, much thinner.

Overall this is not a shining star in the barleywine firmament that it was ten years ago, or even five years ago, but it's still a good, simple, solid beer. An interesting experiment.

 

2018 narwhal from sierra nevada. Just about 1 year old today.

Still pours a deep dark black with a bit thinner of a cocoa colored head than when fresh.
Smells strongly of cacao and molasses. not getting the complexity in the nose I did with it fresh.
Taste is strongly bitter with dark chocolate notes and slightly burnt coffee. also less complex than i remember fresh
Mouthfeel has also thinned considerably
Overall I'm pretty surprised as I expected this one to age a bit better. I have a few more in the cellar and fresh is on the shelves so I'll probably check another one in a few weeks and decide if I should drink most of them or if there is something to hold out for

 

Just had one of these guys the other day... appreciate your descriptive review as I don’t do the best with words and beer lol

I really enjoyed it and would add that the roast I recall from when it’s fresh had subdued (in a good way). I’d also encourage you to hold off on drinking your remaining- iirc this one seems to take a little dive early in the aging process then gets better at the better part of 2 years.

 

ya I actually got interupted midway through and it sat and got nice and warm and that improved the feel and complexity of the flavor came through much better. I think I need to turn my cellar fridge a little warmer

 

Doesn't surprise me one bit. Prost!