Cellar Reviews (2020)

2010 DFH World Wide Stout

Pours inky black with tan colored head that then fades. Bold aroma of molasses, dark chocolate, a touch of licorice, plum, and smoke. Similar flavors, not overly sweet or boozy. thick smooth mouthfeel, lower carbonation.

 

2016 Central Waters Cassian Sunset

Took some time off from drinking but back on the wagon with all this time at home.
Head dissipated quickly after pouring, look is pitch black.
On the nose I'm getting a good amount of vanilla, some barrel, as well as notes of dark chocolate, roast, and maybe some nuttiness. Seems like the coffee and cinnamon on the nose has faded.
Taste hits with rich layers of chocolate, roast, vanilla, and a bit of coffee as it lingers. Some barrel is incorporated in there but isn't upfront or over-powering. There's some spice to it but wouldn't have guessed cinnamon if I hadn't known.
Mouthfeel follows what I remember from Central Waters, not super thick but very smooth and drinkable.
Overall very enjoyable, one of my favorite offerings from Central Waters and still holding up well after a few years.
Cheers!

 

Apparently it's National Beer Day, and since I'm quarantined, I've been vowing to drink down the beer cellar, so today it's a 2005 Brooklyn Monster Ale (a barleywine).

A: Poured into a Stone Old Guardian glass. Body is murky brown - looks like an apple cider. No real head other than a wisp of thin khaki on top.

S: Overripe apples and apple skins, apple cider, apple cider vinegar, and a touch of dried fruits (figs come to mind).

T: Follows the nose, with apple cider, ripe apples, caramel malt, a hint of nuttiness and a touch of faded toffee. Surprisingly, no noticeable alcohol up front, though I get a waft of ethyl alcohol at the back of the palate.

M: Definitely flat - any carbonation this beer once had is long gone.

O: Not bad. This is a barleywine, so it's a strong, heavy beer to begin with. I wouldn't say that age has made it better, but it's not undrinkable.

 

2009 Bells Expedition

Poured at cellar temp. It jets black, tan colored head that fades to nothing. Aroma is mostly unsweetened cocoa, a touch of charred wood and marshmallow. Similar taste, with a touch of savory notes as it warms. Thick, full bodied, lower carbonation. Overall this drinks better than the 2010 bottle I recently drank which had more soy sauce flavor.

 

Yesterday's cellar pour was 2017 Founders CBS, posted in the daily beer drinking thread. My 2017 review can be found here.






This pour still remains in my Top 25 posted, though a few more may be ahead once I clear my rating backlog. How did three years, the final 1-2 in the refrigerator, impact this great pour?

The coffee and chocolate has faded, the maple held up well. The bourbon appears more prevalent and smoother than the fresh pour. I let this warm over an hour while drinking, taste and texture remained consistent throughout.

The original pour was a draft pour, and there are differences at times between draft and bottled/can. Since this beer held up well over the past 2 1/2 years, I wouldn't chalk up the differences to delivery but rather aging.

Bottom line, I am glad this one held up well over time, the lack of coffee or chocolate was offset by the nice smoothing of the bourbon and the increased creamier / richer body. Have a few more CBS in reserve, will be pulling these out on a measured pace, grateful I can expect continued great pours down the line.

Cheers!

 

A few days ago I reviewed a 2016 BA expedition (see below) and was pretty letdown compared to the 2018 I know well. Tonight I opened the 2017 (see above) that I traded for in this little 3 year vertical and dear God it is great. Thick, frothy, chewy, robust and bitter but not overwhelming with cocoa or char.

I fell in love with 2018 BA expedition and would rate it a solid 9.5 out of 10. Sadly the 2016 I had earlier this week was at best a 6.5/10. I had zero expectations of this 2017 being better than 2018 but its without question the best BA expedition I've had.

There seems to be a wide discrepancy on this beer from year to year. At this point I'm writing off 2016 as an off year and I dont think age was its problem. I can also comfortably state that this beer has no problem with age. 2017 at 3 years is beyond world class and falters nowhere. And my many pours of 2018 at 1-2 years still stand as world class.

Cliff notes - 2017>2018>2016. Can't say if it's age or batch variation.

 

2011 Stone Old Guardian

Pours a dark amber color, hazy, with thick cream colored head. Amazing head retention for a beer this old. Aroma has the prefect balance of deep complex caramel malt and bold earthy, dank hops. Still has the underlying bitterness to balance the sweetness. Sticky mouthfeel, medium bodied. Overall really good

 

Are you feeling like this is still improving to this point?

 

2019 Ommegang Three Philosophers Bourbon Barrel Aged

3.91/5 rDev -6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

16 ounce can into a DFH tulip. Bought summer 2019. 9.5%. Stored at 50 degrees.

Poured a dark mahogany red color under a fluffy light tan head which left abundant lacing as it dissipated. Smell was underwhelming with cherries being predominant before and after it warmed up with a hint of barrel. Taste was better as some of the trademark quad flavors emerged under the cherries and barrel but the taste was thinner than expected given what I recall of the base beer's flavor (granted my palate may have changed a lot). Mouthfeel was fine for this style.

This was slightly disappointing. Ommegang was my first favorite craft brewery and I bought this with high hopes that weren't realized. The Double Barrel Dubbel, bought at the same time, was more enjoyable. Maybe this is better fresh.

 

Probably not improving, just changing.

I also think DFH has improved the way they've brewed this beer. The older batches were a bit harsh and hot when fresh, but I had a couple of fresh bottles this winter that tasted pretty darn good fresh. Either that or my tastes and memory has changed over the last dozen or so years, which could be too

 

North Coast Old Rasputin 1/25/2018

@ManBearPat mentioned that two years is the sweet spot for this and I'm putting it to the test while still having two in the cellar fridge. Carbonation is still undiminished. The smell is rich chocolate malts. Taste still has a hop presence but things are very creamy under the slight bitterness with a very rich flavor. Mouthfeel is very full. I might let the other two rest and see what happens.

 

2015 SN Narwhal

Black with short-lived brown head and skimpy but present lacing

Aroma is mostly roast, black coffee, and light caramel but light in intensity overall

Flavor is a different story with blasts of medium caramel, prune, date, rum raisin, and light roast and coffee on the finish. No off-flavors like soy or oxidation. Balanced and very impressed.

Mouthfeel is very smooth and drinkable with low carbonation.

I was pleasantly surprised with this beer as previous cellared Narwhals have been good but nothing to write home about. 2015 is. Maybe it will get better but it is hard to argue with now.

 

Today I poured a 4 year old bottle of Lizard of Koz.



It took a few pours into this large snifter to finish the bottle. It took a 2 hour nap for me to recover (a one and done LARGE beer day today).



I will always remember my first pour of this, an event at The Fountainhead, a great craft beer and bourbon bar in Ravenswood a few years ago. Founders had a tap take over, and I really enjoyed the evening. I believe I bought this bottle shortly thereafter.

This beer (and Bourbon County Northwoods) seem to inspire a lot of hate/dislike. I understand, as I don't like many pastry or other sweet stouts. However, the two blueberry beers mention work well for me. I even had blueberries to accompany this pour.

My original rating can be found here / below.

4.06/5 rDev +3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

2/2/17 (Chicago). Draft 12 oz pour into snifter at Fountain Head. Black pour, thin tan lacing, minimal carbonation. Blueberry and cocoa aroma. Very sweet beer, chocolate, blueberry and vanilla. Syrupy texture, somewhat thick, no carbonation, easy drinking. Overall excellent beer.

__________________________________________________________________________

Today's pour was very sweet, but the cocoa was more subdued and I didn't get any vanilla at this point. The blueberry aroma was much more pronounced today, versus what I posted / rated the aroma.

The bottle was stored in the refrigerator. I'm not sure if it impacted the texture, but it was thinner than I recall the draft pour above, even after warming up.

The fresh version was more complex, age didn't improve this bottle, but I am very grateful for being able to drink this today, on a cold (but sunny) day in Chicago (saw my breath in the morning, wore shorts last week). Would I buy this bottle again? Yes. Would I age it? No.

Cheers!

 

Founder Backwoods Bastard (2014)
I neglected to take a picture of the date stamped on the neck, but my hand-scrawl is easier to see anyways.

This beer brought me back to the days when Founder was a top five brewery for me. Malt still dominant, if a bit faded, as was the sweetness that's reminiscent of molasses, while all the more subtle aspects of the beer have been fed to Father Time. The standout was the barrel - still a strong shot of bourbon & wood, giving it a raw tang. Great sipping beer.

The modern version of 'Bastard is a shade of its glory days. I'm pretty sure they just brew it next to bourbon barrels rather than putting any inside; this is a reminder of better days. Still really, really good.

 

Still cold in Chicago, so taking advantage of these days to continue clearing my cellar of imperial stouts. Today's selection is Lake Effect's Barrel Aged Imperial Stout, 12.5%, 22 oz. bottled in 2018, refrigerated at the brewery store and in my home.




I have had at least a sample of this at the brewery before, but no formal notes to compare to today's pour. Below is my review from today.

Appearance: Pitch black pour, tan bubbly creamy head dissipates quickly leaving fine thin lacing. 4.5

Aroma: Bourbon aroma very strong, smooth and pleasant. Nothing else captured. 3.75

Taste: Taste more complex, sweet fruity taste leads, roasted malt and creamy lactose follows backed by wood and oak. Smooth bourbon emerges as this warms, balanced and well excecuted. 4.75

Mouthfeel: Rich creamy full body, faint fizzy carbonation lingers throughout, very smooth and easy finish. High ABV is well masked. 4.75

Overall: Outstanding imperial age stout, another excellent offering by Lake Effect! 4.5

Over the several imperial stouts I have cleared from the cellar over the past month, my two favorites have been Lake Effect offerings, the first one Lake Effect Fernet Barrel Aged Imperial Milk Stout. 11% 2018 Bottled, brewed in collaboration with CH distillery. From my recollection, today's pour had a more complex taste, but less complex aroma.

Lake Effect Brewing is one of the most underrated brewery's in Chicago. I will definitely drink these fresh in the future to determine which ones I should return to purchase and cellar. They don't make large batches of their offerings, so I need to commit to turning around my initial taste soon. Thankfully, they also have quarterly gatherings to allow their customers to try several different samples, the only brewery around here who does this on a consistent basis.

Cheers!

 

Definitely one of my favorites in the cellar