Cellar Reviews (2020)

Happy New Year all! My first post in a while. I greatly enjoyed lurking this forum in 2019. Last night I had a beer that I enjoyed so much I needed to share. With 2019 coming to a close I thought it was time to drink my last 2009 Bigfoot. I haven't had a Bigfoot Ale since 2016, which was coincidently a 2009 as well, and that was also the oldest Bigfoot I'd had at 7 years of age. I love Bigfoot, fresh or aged, and it was one of the beers that not only got me into cellar/aging but craft beer in general. The problem is I want to drink it right away. I'm glad that somehow I let this one slip off my radar and get to the 10 year mark.
For starters the pour produced a thick and creamy head. I did not pour aggressively and I expected the beer to be on the flat side. It looked like it was just bottled. The nose was a rich with figgy malt. The taste was out of this world. Flavors of doughy malt with some sweet raisins and fig. It reminded me of a sticky bun with raisins, although not as sweet. The balance of the flavor and its richness is what really struck me. There wasn't a trace of oxidation. I took my time with it allowing it to warm up and its full flavor profile to shine. The mouthfeel was thick and chewy. I didn't notice the carbonation although it was there (as exhibited by the head).

I loved this beer. It felt like this age was the exact right time to drink it as it seemed to be at its peak without any signs of drop off. I have three 2010's left and then I'm all out. Looking forward to enjoying what I have and restocking. Hopefully I can have some patience/willpower to hang onto a bottle or two for another 10 years or maybe more.

 

2013 - Stone Farking Wheaton. I believe this is the 1st vintage. Poured with little to no head. Carbonation still present to my surprise. Aroma of dark fruit. Taste includes notes of dark chocolate, cherries, barrel, dark fruit and some alcohol heat. Smooth feel with some viscosity. Overall, a decent beer. The heat from the 13% abv is still pretty evident. I thought it would have mellowed out by now.

 

The Bruery's Oude Tart with cherries from 2016 is an excellent beer to be sharing right now with my best friend. My full review is linked to below.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/40927/63724/?ba=neenerzig#review

Eric

 

Drank this one on New Year’s Eve and I was stunned at how great it was: 2009 JW Lees sherry barrel aged. Carbonation was low but there was just enough life left that it wasn’t totally still; there was a lot of floaty particle matter at the bottom of the glass but there was still a decent head from a vigorous pour and a nicely full and silky feel. Flavor was just nuts, really close to a Pedro ximenez sherry but more complex; there was a ton of dark fruit sweetness and interesting oxidized character, toasted bread and nuts and vinous notes. I was a little worried this would be well over the hill but it just nailed the sweet spot for me. There are some 2010 and 2012 bottles hanging around in the same store I will try to get back to before long. I had a calvados bottle of similar age that wasn’t quite as appealing but something about the sherry treatment is just perfect.

 

Another recent selection was a 2011 Affligem Noel I scored sitting on the dusty shelves of a smoke shop - the proprietor just gave it to me when I bought a bottle of bourbon county. It was only slightly worse for wear in that the carbonation might have been a little lower than desirable and the flavors just slightly muted but it was still a solid Belgian dark ale even after all those years of storage in completely poor environs. Obviously
These beers hold up really well over the long haul even if 8-9 years might be a little much. I don’t think the Affligem is a top of class beer at its best (solid b?) and I’m dubious of holding stuff like westy 12 or abt 12 for over a decade like some have suggested although of course I’d like to drink them and decide for myself. For science.

 

2018 Stone Brewing Fyodor

4.29/5 rDev -4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Brewed 1/25/2018. Had trouble removing the cork and had the resort to a corkscrew. Poured most of a 500 ml bottle into a DFH tulip. The body was as dark as Rasputin's soul with an ample tan head. Drinking in a 58 degree room everything got better as it reached room temperature. At first everything seemed thin with the char dominating but eventually the other flavors prevailed. Never specifically noticed the anise in smell or taste but lots of dark fruits and barrel were present. Mouthfeel was fine for a big stout.

Maybe I've been spoiled by BCBS and Jackie O's barrel aged stouts but this just didn't deliver what I was hoping it would. Maybe I'll try it again to see if this was just a subjective one time thing. It wasn't bad by any reasonable criteria but just wasn't the knock it out of the park experience I was hoping for.

 

You are not alone. Early in my beer adventures, before I ever had BCBS (which is currently my favorite BA stout), I tried two BA stouts from Stone; one was Fyodor. I knew immediately that it was “fine,” but not amazing, even without much comparison. It’s Alright, but not worth the price. Under no circumstances should it be more than $5 for a 12oz (not that it is sold in that format), considering the size of the brewery, and honestly, it should really be probably a tad cheaper, but at least at that price I might be willing to buy it once in awhile. At it’s current and past pricing, not a chance.

 

First trek to the cellar in the new year. Bell's 30th Anniversary Cherry Stout Reserve. Bottled 5/11/2018 in honor of the beer's (not the breweries) 30th anniversary.
Just shy of 20 months in the bottle, I only held this one for science as I found the year old version to have already fallen far from it's pleasant character fresh. This one may have pulled itself back together a bit or perhaps I'm just in a better mood today.
The pour yields an inky cherrywood colored liquid capped by a minimal head even with an aggressive pour.
Immediately the room is filled with the aroma of cherry cough syrup. Upon closer inspection the aroma is very boozy cherry cough syrup esque with notes of stale red wine and rain soaked charred wood. Not appealing frankly.
And the taste is only marginally better with tart black cherry juice dominating the flavor along with off brand cola. Reminds me of some sort of natural cherry based cough syrup in the taste as well.
Body is simultaneously thin and overly syrupy.
All in all I'm not finishing this beer and I'm glad to be rid of them. I suppose that a certain type of person might really enjoy this, someone who regularly drinks tart cherry juice, perhaps someone who is eating the right sort of creamy dessert? Not me though, I originally gave it a 3.84 fresh, now I would probably put it at about a 2.84. Would not recommend and if you are still holding onto any of these I'd be inclined to sit on it for another 6-12 months and see if anything changes

 

Found a dusty 4-pack of Founders Breakfast Stout dated 10/30/2015 and had to buy it.
Coffee, coffee, coffee! No carb, but smells and tastes like an iced coffee. The creamy BS mouth feel is gone. As it got warmer I got a little chocolate and liked it a lot better.
Would not recommend aging this long but it pretty decent and I will finish the 4-pack!

 

The no carbonation surprised me but I betcha it aged better than the same year's KBS.

 

I had a 2010 in 2011 and it was hot as hell. I said to myself at the time...this could use some cellaring. You just proved it. Prost!

 

Just a friendly PSA/Reminder to drink these. Almost 2 years old. I wasn't in a rush to finish off what I had left and I took for granted that it doesn't age graceful. It was good. No unsavory flavors. Bourbon barrel was strong but the chocolate, coffee, etc was a bit muted (of course). These flavors seem to have more pop when fresh. So get out there and do the right thing, and remember sharing's caring.

 

2012 North Coast Brewing Co. Old Stock Ale

Drinking the next to last of the 2012s as I like to begin the year with one of these, my first introduction into the joys of English old ales. Still plenty of carbonation as poured into a DFH tulip but the color has darkened into a reddish dark amber. Before I get into any tasting notes, like an idiot I brushed my teeth before enjoying this because my post dinner mouth tasted like hot garbage. Be that as it may, adding an artificial mint to my palate completely screwed everything. It's been an unusually warm January day here, as in the windows are open, so it did get to warm up more than usual at this time of the year.

Even after it warmed up the smell was very muted. There was some vanilla and dark fruit but not to the level I was expecting. The taste was initially more fusil than I was previously accustomed to but as it warmed up, and that fucking artificial mint subsided, a richer taste of vanilla, brown sugar and dark fruit took over. I hadn't planned on doing a vertical with subsequent years but maybe when I enjoy the last one I'll do it for comparison purposes. Because, even though these are capable of being aged far in excess of eight years according to the brewer, maybe the optimum spot has been exceeded.

 

2017(maybe 2016) Central Waters BBA Stout

Picked this up at a normally reliable bottle shop near my folks during the holidays, turns out it has changed ownership and they have given up inventory management. I was hardpressed to find many of the prominent localish brewers hoppy offerings under 8 months and I found this 4-pack that is either 2+ or 3+ years old (CW uses the label notch method to denote vintage and this one seems about 80% certain to be 2017 but it is not spot on on any of the bottles)

Pours a lovely mahogany brown with a decent cocoa colored head.
The nose is Prunes through the roof as soon as you pop the cap. This is the dominant aroma throughout, supported by a pleasantly bitter tobacco, a stale bourbon and cola note, and a pleasant fig and raisin heavy fruit cake note.

Taste hits with chocolate/mocha at first at cellar temp with a rising vanilla creme note and the same fig/raisin fruit cake growing in prominence as the beer warms.

The feel is smooth and somewhat light.

I haven't had this specific beer fresh that I can recall but I've had cassian and peruvian sunset fresh and this is much subdued in terms of flavor intensity. However it is also very well melded and coherent and I suspect that this is near the peak of it's quality, maybe just a bit past. Definitely would be buying a few more packs of this aged stuff (16$ a 4-pack!) if I lived over there

 

This is one of the beers that I am aging from his birth year until my grandson turns 21. Just picked up the 2017 for my granddaughter as it didn't seem fair that she'd miss out (assuming they hold up!).