Cellar Reviews (2022)

This is awesome. How did you acquire it? I have a (I think the year is) 1987 jw lees to try at some point. I hope my experience is as enjoyable as yours.

 

Big time beer today. Obtained 1-2 years ago. Blend #5, season 17/18 (bottled 11/04/18).

A: Pours crystal clear, dark golden yellow, almost amber, small fizzy white head that dissipates quickly. 4.25

S: Aroma is tart lactic acidity, a big minerality, some plastic like funk notes, only the faintest barnyard characters. Mild sherry notes give it a subtle fruitiness. A bit of spice on the finish like white pepper. 4.75

T: Taste is immediately wildly complex. There’s a sweetness up front followed by a sour tart punch, then lingering oaky vanilla on the finish that lasts forever. It’s not as aggressively tart as some lambics/gueuzes, likely subdued by the cask asking. Other characters I get are red grapes, tart citrus, moderate spice. Just fantastic, so much going on, and the finish is divine. 5

M/D: Mouthfeel is medium bodied. Carbonation lower than most in the style but insanely drinkable. 4.5

O: A gem of a beer. Well worth the hype. 4.75



Cheers BA’s!

 

Hoping my 1993 Courage RIS has held up as well!

 

That my friends, is badass.

 

PS ISO a Thomas Hardy 1985 to have on my 40th birthday. Still have a few years, but if anyone comes across one…

 

Good to read. I was given a bottle of Blend #85, season 17/18 (bottled 11/Oct/18), that’s been sitting quietly. I’m planning to open it with the friends who presented it in the first place. On the one hand, it would be fun to surprise them in 2038. On the other hand, they will be surprised to learn the bottle made it this long.

 

Haha right. I’m someone who can display pretty good restraint, so maybe with a regular 3F Gueze or an Armand and Gaston I could push it would til ‘38 but no way in hell I coulda done it with this Zenne. Sitting on it for even a year was tough!

 

2021 BCBS
bottled: 07July21

Appearance is jet black but essentially zero head which is weird for BCB offerings. Almost appears still. Aroma is chocolate, dark fruit, roastiness, a bit of cardboard, moderate bourbon notes mostly charred oaky vanilla. Taste is roasty, oaky bourbon, big dark fruit, long lingering cocoa and black coffee on the finish. Mouthfeel is full bodied, in contrary to the appearance the carbonation is fine. ABV well restrained as always. Typically i think regular BCBS peaks between the 1-2 year period, this vintage seems to be trending that way as well. Happy Sunday Funday BAs!

4/4.25/4.75/4.5/4.5

 

Last weeks, forgot to post:

BCB Special #4
Bottled: 10Sept20
Reviewed: 11Sept22

Pours jet black with nearly 2 fingers width of khaki colored head with decent retention. Aroma is huge coffee, doesn’t smell likes it’s faded at all. Big cinnamon. Base beer characters with a big roastiness. Prominent barrel notes persist. Smells amazing. Taste is sweet maple syrup up front, roasted malt in the middle, and a long lingering combo of coffee and oaky bourbon vanilla on the finish. Pretty prominent black coffee bitterness. Really impressive how prominent these adjunct flavors still are. Mouthfeel is fully bodied, ABV impressively retrained, dangerous drinkability. Overall an exceptional beer, that I think has even mentioned to be a bit better than it was fresh.

4.5/4.5/4.5/4.75/4.75
(Original/fresh review: 4.25/4.25/4.75/4.25/4.5)

 

This just showed up at a local shop. No fanfare. 7 years old. I've never in 10 years known this store to carry this beer.




I was careful with the pour so very little head. A pencil thin ring is all that sticks. Aroma is caramel, brown sugar, dark fruit and a port like note. The taste is semisweet burnt sugar, caramel, very light background notes of dark fruit, wood and oxidation. The earthy, piney hops are way in the background as well with a moderate bitterness. The mouthfeel is medium plus bodied with low carbonation and a semi dry finish. Overall, very good. Pleasantly surprised for a mystery bottle purchased at room temp from a store that I'm in regularly where I've never seen this beer...

 

1997 j.w. lees harveat ale

I'm a huge fan of 2002-2015s ive had. Excited for this. Slight hiss when opened head didnt initially build much but with a swirl it got densely frothy. Lacing is syrup like.

Smell is pretty classic jw lees with perhaps a bit less aroma overall.

Taste and feel is stellar. All the classic tobacco and fig I know the beer to be. The feel is absolutely thicker, chewier, denser, heavier than any other iteration I've had. It almost taste nitrod.

I really dont have a lot to say about this beer. It seems it can almost last forever. This is definitely the best ive tasted it out of any year.

 

Lagunitas GOAT beer. 2016 high westified.

Seriously. This beer is the best thing they've ever put out and thats not even factoring in that it was less than a $2 beer.

At 6 years old I get absolutely nothing off or of fault with this beer. Pours stellar. Smells killer. Drinks with the killer zest and dryness it always has. Super woody. Never once tasted the supposed coffee in it. Feels more dry than my last revisit. I believe I detect a slightly more chalky note perhaps oxidation. Its additive to the experience and feels intentional and adds to the dryness of it.

Overall I have ALWAYS loved this beer so it's very hard to make the assertion that its drinking better than ever. What I can assert is that it still drinking very incredible.

 

Today’s NFL Sunday Funday Cellar Beer is BCB Kentucky Fog. Bottled Aug 2020, so just over two years. Fresh, this was a bergamot and black tea bomb, particularly on the aroma. Let’s see what two years have done to this beer.

Pour is opaque midnight black with a one fingers width of khaki colored head that dissipates very quickly; no lacing. In the aroma bergamot and black tea remain the prominent charters although they hve faded compared to what my notes reflect when fresh, there’s some roastiness, a pretty big charred marshmallow and oakiness. Taste is very complex, just a ton going on. Great balance of sweet, roastiness, some bitterness and booziness. As noted in the aroma the bernagot and black tea are there and prominent, taste is more balanced though, and there’s notes of chocolate, roasted malt, smooth coffee, moderate bourbon notes. Mouthfeel is full bodied yet not thick and ABV works nicely to balance some of the sweetness. Drinkability is still good albeit somewhat limited by the adjuncts which make this beer particularly bold. Overall, a great beer. There’s just so
much going in which is impressively and it overall works although is admittedly not my favorite conglomeration of flavors. In terms of how it’s aged, compared to notes the bergamot and tea flavors have faded somewhat (although are still very prominent), and the sweetness has built. Have a couple more that I will try over time as I suspect this will continue to develop noticeable.


4/4/4.5/4/4.5
(Original/fresh review: 4.25/4/4.5/4/4.5)

 

Fall is in the air! Not really, I live in Fl and it’s still in the 90s. Regardless, it’s Samichlaus time.

Pours crystal clear, a beautiful caramel color, one fingers width of slightly off white colored head that dissipates quickly with no lacing. Aroma is huge caramel, tons of breast yeast, very mild spice. Balancing booziness, great aroma that is reminiscent of an extra sweet quad. Taste is uber sweet, massive caramel, maple syrup, some fruity phenols, red apple, subtle bitterness, some doughy yeast, a bit of balancing booziness. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, low carbonation, quite drinkable considering the ABV. Overall, I just love this beer. Miraculously I didn’t discover it until 2020 but I bought a ton of it both for immediate consumption and also for aging. At about 20 months it has developed although not a ton, I would say the biggest difference compared to fresh is the sweetness may be even more pronounced (and it’s always super sweet even fresh). Looking forward to sipping these over the next decade or so.

4.25/4.5/4.5/4.25/4.75
(Original/fresh review: 4/4.25/4.75/4.25/4.75)

 

BREADY yeast, not breast yeast.


The latter would be a rather unpleasant off flavor.

 

Howdy Cellar Dwellers. Back after a long hiatus (one cellar beer since late May), but it's 44 F here, which helps explain the urge to begin inching back toward the cellar for the colder months.

My last beer here was the Supermassive version, this is the annual standard version released just short of two years ago.

Revolution Brewing Cafe Deth



Can Notes: 12 oz canned 10/14/20 @ 11:11:17 AM, 14.8% ABV. Reirrigated since purchase.

Had a few sips 10 minutes after opening, but still too cold to get much flavor, so I waited another 20 minutes and away we go.

Appearance as expected, as is the aroma, a strong an pleasant dark roast coffee, getting stronger bourbon notes as this warms. Was mostly sweet coffee with the few sips 10 minutes in, but getting the expected complexity now that it is 30 plus minutes in. Bourbon and light oak increases with each few minutes elapsed, the coffee recedes to the background but still present enough to appreciated. Feels thinner with negligible mouthfeel, feels consistent with the high ABV, but not overpowering.

Overall I am really enjoying this beer. As with most beers, would likely have been better fresh, but I don't feel there was any significant drop-off from the 2020 fresh batch. Big difference waiting for a proper temperature, would recommend a half hour out of the refrigerator. I refrigerate all of my Revolution (or other can releases). Enjoyed the beautiful (but warmer than normal) Summer, but now slowly accepting the fact Fall has arrived. Glad I have these beers to help me cope with the Chicago Hawk and approaching freezing temperatures.

Musical accompaniment, like the beer born and raised in Chicago, Lou Rawls who covers Chicago winters and "The Hawk" before segueing into Tobacco Road.

Lou Rawls - Tobacco Road - Live at the Monterey Pop Festival 1967

 

Really digging that glass!

 

Get most of my glasses including this one free with brewery events. They have release parties in Chicago and Indiana bars (perhaps other states as well) and they give out free glasses when you buy a draft pours. I use this glass the most, and also love the thin Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout glass as well for my BA stouts.

Cheers!