Cellar Reviews (2019)

Stupid Stout Batch 3 (2013).

Time has done this thing wonders. The mouth feel is better than it ever was, the bourbon has toned down nicely. Tons of dark chocolate and bourbon soaked cherries. Yum.

 

Your post inspired me to check in on the remaining bottle from 2010





As you can see it still has life. Fragrance erupted like the head with huge caramel and a little demon tobacco. Taste has massive fig, raisin and tobacco which does fairly well balancing out the heat, which 9 years did nothing to quiet. I get just a little biscuit and slight cardboardy evidence of oxidation in the aftertaste but otherwise this held up like a beast.

 

Somehow, many years ago now, a bomber of Stone Sublimely Self Righteous was pushed to the back of my cellar hiding among the Stone Russian Imperial Stouts I still have aging. Came across if tonight when I was looking some stuff over. Not sure exactly what year this bottle is from, as there's no dates listed anywhere on it. Pured in my tulip glass, it is a very dark brown, almost black color with a dark tan head that's a good inch thick when first poured. Excellent lacing inside my glass. Big roasted malt aroma and eve still a decent piney, earthy hop aroma as well. Big roasted, caramel and a big of chocolate sweet malt taste along with still a decent piney and earthy hop bitterness. Good balance of flavors. Being that this bottle has to be at least 6 or 7 years old at this point I'd estimate, I'm amazed, but being that this is Stone not really surprised, just how well the hop flavors held up here. Stone is still the king of hoppy beers/IPAs as far as I am concerned. Has a crisp, slightly sticky and chewy, medium to full bodied mouthfeel/ This aged very well, esepcially for a stule of beer that is not suppossed to be aged for years and years.

Eric

 

Ok, sorry to return so quickly (I’m not really this big of an attention hog) but I feel like I need to make an effort to reduce the average age of my cellar before oxidation renders it all disappointing. Also sensitive to the fact that I am going to the Stone well again, but dangit, in 2009 until about 2013 ish they offered the most ubiquitous cellarable beer collection in my area.

2011 classic release Old Guardian



Still a little sharpness in the nose but it’s a sweet candy like spicy thing, quite literally like those spice gumdrops. Behind that is solid date with a hint of cherry. Taste starts out with a blast of out of whack bitterness that introduces the heat up front, which is dulling the deeper character that this has when its say, 5 or 6 years fresher. I try my best to cut through the pungent alcohol taste, as difficult as it is in order to identify the actual taste but all I can really taste is a bit of fig and remnants of caramel. Aftertaste is very reminiscent of a moderately cheap bourbon, as in the same rough, unrefined alcohol taste.

So ya, we seemed to have exited the sweet spot of this beer, so don’t hang on to it for 8 years.

 

My only issue with this post is your thinking there’s such thing as too much content for this thread!

 

Trader Joe's Vintage Ale 2011
Doing a little sweep of the cellar to see what can be cleaned out and came across this. Actually, found a case of 750ml and bombers that need some attention. This bad boy goes first
Certainly has oxidized some. It's taken on a light fruit quality (as opposed to darker fruits, not less fruit). A bit airy. Nice tan dense head shows carbonation to still be strong.
Darker fruit in taste with some raisin and plum. Quite dry. Shot of warmth hits the gut.
Still a standard version of style. Straight ahead but not particularly complex or overly interesting. But for the price a way to engage in this style.

 

2018 Prairie Artisan Ales Birthday Bomb

I went to my beer fridge looking for something deliberately aged and pulled this out of a four pack container (note to self: get rid of those damn containers). This must have been something I was given by my dog walking beer drinking relocated friends because I've had Birthday Bomb before and don't like it as much as the regular Bomb! and there's NFW I'd deliberately age one of these because these are balanced enough as is when fresh. Plus as many have mentioned previously, Prairie doesn't give these suckers away. So I thought WTF and decided to not compound my error by letting it sit further.

I think this was bottled on April 25, 2018; the fourth digit looks like a zero but that can't be right. Anyway as expected, aging hasn't done this any favors. It still looks fine but everything but the peppers, which are still amazingly spicy, has faded in the smell and taste. It's still a positive experience but the flavors just don't pop out as much as when fresh. My mistake.

 

Stave it For Later Barrel Series: Pretty Willie's Imperial Stout from Against the Grain

When I picked this up I thought I remembered it being a 2017 bottling but looking at the bottle now I don't see any dating. In any case I purchased this in December 2018 so it's been cellared for a minimum of 3 months.

Look is deepest black with a thin mocha head
Smell is bourbon barrel and fig/raisin
Taste is a wonderful chocolate/vanilla with some bourbony dark fruit through the later end
Mouthfeel is amazing for a barelled stout, hasn't been thinned badly, doesn't build up too bad
Overall this is a win, these guys are soooo gimicky at times that I'm always a little skeptical but at this point I'm pretty much 100% on board with any of their stout offerings. And whether this is 3 or 15 months out of the barrel this bad boy is good as ever and I could certainly imagine it aging a bit more without harm. Although I do feel like it's pretty balanced now, no alcohol/barrel heat left, just a touch of roasty malt character, dark fruit making a good showing. So if you're holding on to a few I wouldn't think that years more are needed.

 

Interesting post, surprised theres so much alcohol.
+1 for proper glassware!

 

2001 and 2002 vintages are still drinking great. The 2002 I had last year was on par with some of the best BW's I've ever had and by far the best non-BA BW I've had.

 

I'm in the same camp, prefer KBS fresh. At one year i felt that KBS lost what made it so great, distinct and bold profiles of every ingredient in perfect balance

 

2018 Southern Tier Oat Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Oatmeal Stout

4.13/5 rDev -0.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

I didn't really intend to sit on this April 2018 500 ml bottle this long, but I picked it up on a whim last year, stuck it in the cellar fridge and other things got in the way until now.

Poured a brownish black in a DFH tulip with a dark tan head that stuck around. Smell is of boozy caramel with a strong bourbon barrel presence as other undefinable aromas linger in the background. Taste started off a bit more bitter than expected but as it warms it becomes more balanced as other flavors rise up with an unexpected spiciness settling in. Nicely complex. Mouthfeel is fine but a little thin for as big of a stout; maybe that's the oat presence with which I'm not experienced.

I enjoyed this a great deal. Too bad this was a one off release.

 

2016 Ommegang Three Philosophers

Poured into a snifter, a clear ruby, amber color, a thick head diminishes into minimal amounts lasting the entire time. Aromas of candied cherries. Sweet cherry flavor gives way to mild bitterness - more carbonation than a standard beer. Not cloying; well balanced. It’s been a long time since I last drank this beer and this bottle doesn’t disappoint at nearly three years old.

 

A couple years ago I popped 2 bottles of 3 year old KBS. They had been aged next to each other the whole time. I accidentally poured one of them more aggressively than the other. It made a dramatic difference. I much preferred the one with more carb.

It looks like your pic is from just after opening and there is a fair amount of head on the beer. I wonder if you simply got too aggressive with the pour.

 

Yeah, I think the regular Darkness holds up well. From my relatively short experience of cellaring BA stouts it's best not to sit to long. I haven't found any that really improve past a year.

 

Aging BA stouts is a waste, outside of very few exceptions

 

2012 Scaldis Noel

Aggressively poured into a snifter with little to no head and low carbonation. Odd smells of old malt and dark fruit. Some cherry flavor but mostly sweet malt and mild cardboard. I remember this being good but I let this bottle sit too long.

 

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/73/124254/?ba=neenerzig#review

I aged this for awhile in hopes if would improve greatly. It only improved somewhat. My review has notes both for when I drank it fresh over 4 years ago and again now.

Eric