Cellar Reviews (2021)

A couple of sadly discontinued classic barleywines:

2011 Lagunitas Olde Gnarlywine

A lot of rich malty goodness left in this one. Still pretty boozy at cellar temp, good combination of dark caramel and rum soaked fruit. Moderately sweet, good carbonation level.


2012 Stone Old Guardian

Clear dark amber in color, cream colored head that fades. Amazing that the aroma is still hop driven at this age - minty, woody, earthy hops on top of moderate caramel malt. Similar flavor, still strong underlying hop bitterness, although not really surprising if you drank this beer fresh, it definitely was a leader in the "IBU wars" era, quite harsh bitterness. Sticky mouthfeel, medium bodied.
Overall pretty good, but I tbink the 2011 bottle I drank last year was better.

 

Cross posted from the weekend Barleywine tasting thread:

10 and 15 year old bottles of JW Lees Harvest Ale from the cellar, drank side by side. 2006 and 2011 editions, both the 275 ml bottles.

The 2011 pours a clear chestnut brown color, with amber highlights. The 2006 is much much darker, almost black, with ruby and garnet flashes sneaking through when held up to the light. There was chunky sediment in the bottom of the bottle that I held back from the glass, but swigged from the bottle for good health! no head on either beer. The 2011 aroma and taste has a lot of deep toffee, caramel, fig flavors, but just a touch of sweetness. The 2006, with further aging the flavors have intensified to strong raisin, port wine, elderberry, plum. a touch of savory umami but in a good way. Also leather, tobacco. So much depth in the aroma and taste. Both beers are medium bodied, with very light carbonation. A little syrupy. Neither is boozy or hot.

Overall I prefer the 2006 due to the complexity of the flavor. The 2011 surprised me a bit, it's a less sweet than previous vintages I've drank at the 10 year point.

 

Stone Vertical Epic 12/12/12. Held up great! Full review here.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/147/87746/?ba=neenerzig#review

Eric

 

Tonight it’s a pretty special beer for me. It is far from my rarest, or “most valuable” beer in my cellar, but it is one that holds a special place in my heart as it was one of ( actually I believe THE first) beer that I obtained solely for the purposes of cellaring. I have been holding onto it for a while, planned to drink it around the 10 year mark, but was waiting for the right occasion.

Well now seems like the right time, a bittersweet moment, well mostly bitter. A few weeks ago my dog of 11+ years very rapidly and completely unexpectedly became very sick and died a few days later. She was the best dog anyone could ever ask for: loved everyone, was incredibly low maintenance, and never wanted anything except to lay by you and be petted or a throw of her ball in her later years. I went through so many changes in my life in the years I had her: 4 moves, single to (almost) married, education to professional work life, the list could go on and on; she was the one constant, man’s best friend indeed. So I am drinking this 2010 Marshal Zhukov imperial stout, a beer that’s been with me almost as long as her, in her honor to celebrate the good times.

Opens with just a slight popping sound. I think the term “pours like motor oil” is probably overused, myself included. That being said this literally looks like motor oil on the pour, only darker. It’s thick and viscous and the darkest black you can imagine. Completely opaque. Looking into this beer is like looking into the vast void of space (or so I would guess). Not really a head to speak of, just some slight fizzy bubbles. Aroma is HUGE, just massive. I can without exaggeration smell it to the degree that I pick up many components when it’s sitting on my coffee table and I’m leaning back on my couch. Smells of deciduous forrest, raw oak barrels, roasted malt, surprising amount of vanilla, charred marshmallow. Aged leather, rolling tobacco. Extra ripe dark fruits. Interesting I get almost no cocoa or espresso, which are typically quite prominent especially the latter. There is just so much going on here, even some subtle port and sherry notes. Taste is quite different than the nose. Huge roastiness up front then the next characters I get are big dark cocoa and tons of slightly stale unground coffee beans. Cant believe those didn’t come out in the nose as they are arguably the two most prominent flavors in the taste. Dark fruits are also prominent including dates and ripe black cherries. A bit of chocolate fudge, a dry herbaceousness, sappy tree bark. It’s bold and aggressively, shocked that it hasn’t mellowed out more, although it has certainly developed tons of complexity. No signs of oxidation, which is a relief. Although it looks viscous on the pour, carbonation is appropriate, albeit low. It is quite thick and a bit chewy. I don’t really notice the alcohol characters at all. Still, it’s such a big beer that I really don’t need to drink the whole 750mL, however I will as I have no one here to share it with and Im not letting this go to waste. Overall, this is just a wonderfully complex beer that has aged terrifically. I actually had two of these 2010s but one was a casualty of war (see what I did there) during a move several years ago so this is my last 2010 (I suspect there’s not many of these floating around as 2010 was only the second bottled year; I spent years looking for 2009 via a trade and never came across one), if I still had the other I would probably take it out another 5 years just to see. Perhaps I’ll do that with my 2011 bottle. Regardless, an exceptional beer drinking experience.

4.5/5/4.75/4.25/4.75
(recent review of 2015:4.75/4.5/4.75/4.75/4.5
(recent review of 2019:4.5/4.75/4.5/4.75/4.5)

Original Zhukov label is so badass.










We don’t cry because it’s over, we smile because it happened. Cheers BAs!

 

2015 Cantillon Vig. So incredibly good. It might have lost some of the white grape fruitiness, but the added funk and slow oxidation have made it so complex. I love aged lambic.

 

This might be one of the best reasons I’ve ever heard to open a special bottle. Cheers to your pup!

 

I don't know but crying when I lose a family member just comes naturally. My condolences.

 

Revisited a bottle fr this same batch tonight, paired with burgers and fries. It was a great complement to the rich, fatty food. Its thin body and relative bitterness played well. I won't bbe getting anymore of them but it was a great use of my last bottle

 

Pulled out a five year old coffee stout out of the cellar today, refrigerated for most of the duration.

2016 Bourbon County Brand Coffee Stout



Poured half into a GI snifter, capped the rest with a wine bottle stopper. This beer was bottled September 21, 2016, Goose Island notes this "Develops in the Bottle Up To 5 Years". ABV 12.5%, Jared Jankowski was the Brewmaster at the time. This was the last real/pure coffee release, hope they can return it soon as it has historically been my favorite variant beyond the barrel only versions.

Pitch black with no head. Green pepper the primary aroma, even after this warms to proper temperature. Unfortunately the green pepper leads the taste as well, though roast coffee emerges as this warms. Very creamy, both in taste and texture, smooth. ABV hits you from the onset.

Coffee stouts are a bad candidate for cellaring, this wasn't necessarily intentional, just continued to buy more beer than I could drink which is why I will continue to work through the cellar and fresh beer stash for the next few months.

Bottom line, drink these fresh, or brace yourself for the pepper.

 

I can’t believe 2016 was the last time they bottled “regular” BCBCS. That doesn’t even make sense.

 

Deepest condolences for your dog. As you can surmise from my avatar I've been down that road multiple times. If it gives you any solace, she'd have been miserable if she'd outlived you and probably a lost soul.

 

Always trust Jack Palance, sadly I am not him.

2010-2017 Bourbon County Brand Coffee Stout
2018 Bourbon County Brand Coffee Barleywine
2019 Bourbon County Café de Olla Stout
2020 Bourbon County Special #4 Stout

PS - Sorry for the passing of your dog, just got to your post now. Thanks for sharing your story, review and pictures!

 

My contribution to this thread for this month, from our last Stout Appreciation Night (SAN) which we do once a month usually.
This one blew us (there were 3 of us) away, not because of the taste but because of the consistency across the four years. I mean I had very slight differences noted the first sampling series but that was it. One of the others never noticed any difference between them and his taste buds work fine.
All that to say that for us at least, cellaring this is pointless for less than 5 years (assumption, I can’t state for certain) so we will likely be drinking them fresher in the future.
Cheers!

 

Had this last night. A thing of beauty as always.

 

Absolutely thrilled to pop this one, a week late for the BW thread unfortunately.



2011 BIGFOOT.

A: Pours absolutely crystal-clear amber; no floaties at all, which surprised me. Soapy head has large and creamy small bubbles and retains shockingly well. Excellent carbonation visible. 4.5

S: Aromas of malty caramel strike first, earthy hopping, citrus rind and pine still apparent; doesn't smell boozy at all. Blind, I would still call this a fresh-ish American-style strong ale. Mild toffee as well. 4.25

T: Warm, inviting malt presence blends into resiny hops beautifully. I still get notes of grapefruit, pine, and orange liqueur. The hops don't dig into your tongue like a fresh double IPA, but they still cling to all aspects of the palate and do their part to overshadow any notes of ghostly cardboard from the aging. Warming finish with very present dryness and more impressions of resin and caramel malts. 4.5

MF: Smooth, drying finish; warm, full-bodied; carbonation seems appropriate for the style, this isn't dead in the glass by any means at this age. 4.25

O: My impression is that the hops are still present in such a way to combat the oxidizing characteristics of a 10-year-old barelywine. I still get some paper-y notes at times but the present resiny citrus character holds this one together. I am super impressed. 4.5

FYI this was mostly fridge-cellared until the last year or so. This one has held up beautifully; I enjoyed it more than other long-term cellared barrel-aged variants of BW that I've tried, even that CW BBB I popped a week ago for the event. Phenomenal.

 

sounds great! How bright are the flavors to you? i recently did a vertical back to 2013 and felt like the crisp brightness of the flavors faded by 3 years out and started to get muddy. My oldest was somewhat of a wash. Granted ive been keeping them around (honestly higher) cellar temp, not in the fridge. Also im surprised how clear it it, even my 2020 i just opened wasnt that clear

 

I wouldn't call it 'bright', but I would say it was rich and still fairly full, if that makes sense? Like, surprisingly full-flavored.

 

Enjoying this delight from 2015.
Rum Barrel Aged Poor Soldier Porter

Porter - American | 8% ABV

C.H. Evans Brewing Company
Albany, New York

4.08/5 rDev +6.3% | Average: 3.84
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Poured from the 2015 vintage 500 ml bottle #577 into the test glass.
A - Charcoal colored backdrop, conceals all within. Carbonation is excellent, fueling a lovely mocha cap.
S - Molasses, cola, vanilla, char, roast malts all up front. A wave of fig, black pepper, and wif of smoke are the next phase. Lovely aromatics.
T - That molasses is up front, with lovely dark fruit expressions, the vanilla and char keep in tune.
M - Feel is deceptive, lite on the palate, with excellent tension between the sweet vanilla, molasses, dark malts and bitter hops. For me the offering is more hefty that it feels. A nice trick by the brewer. Finish is dry and has elements of Bakers Chocolate.
O - A very good Porter, with a very good barrel treatment. The real treat for me is the complex molasses vs. vanilla dance. The texture feels lite but really a solid body.

 

Partaking in the depths of my cellar with a beer more forgotten than aged six years on purpose. This is a Rye purchased I believe in 2016, from a store that not only closed for a few years in a rent dispute with a family member, but successfully reopened a mile down Milwaukee for a few years before closing shop as well. The brewery, well they closed later in 2016 as well.

Definitely not appropriate in the New Beer Thread series, since nobody can ever buy this again. Posting here mostly for science and aging impact on this particular style (Porter / Rye). Has been refrigerated this entire time.

Arcade Brewery Rye Resolution



Bottle Notes: 22 oz bottle, Batch 37, 6.2% ABV. Promising deep, rich malts with a decisive rye bite. Marked down from $9.49 to $7.49. Bottled in either 2015 or 2016, no date listed.

Appearance: Black pour with hints of brown, tan full bubbly head leaves generous lacing and a nice cover on top of the pour. About half of the bottle poured, the rest sealed for later. 4.0

Aroma: Smells great, nice roast malt aroma backed well by the rye. Light sweetness, like a frosty malt detected. 3.5

Taste: Rye and hops take the taste lead, malt backs but is subdued. Light oxidation has settled in, some sweetness from the malt upon further drinking, overall not bad but would love to have tried fresh for comparison. 3.75

Mouthfeel: Thin body with slight creaminess, carbonation light but present throughout. Alternates between bitter and sweet, light dryness, easy drinking, light malt aftertaste. 3.25

Overall: This turned out to be a good rye porter, I believe it would have been better fresh but no rating to compare to. Learned a lesson that it's better to drink most beers fresh, but refrigeration likely kept this as good as possible during the last five plus years. Purchased early in my craft beer exploration, I (hopefully) know better, which is why I continue to clear the cellar aggressively while on a moratorium of beer purchases. 3.5