Cellar Reviews (2022)

2009 vs. 2019 DFH World Wide Stout

The fresh(er) bottle opens with a pop, the older bottle opens with a faint hiss. 2009 pours with just a thin layer of bubbles that quickly fades. 2019 pours with a lovely head that sticks around as I drink the glass.

2009 aroma is a ton of dark chocolate, plum, fig, and a bit of smoke, and tobacco. similar extremely rich, deep flavors in the taste, starts sweet but a touch of umami and booze in the finish. viscous but smooth mouthfeel, just enough carbonation left. 2019 as it warms is smokier than the 2009, more leather, and a bit less of the fruit notes. quite pleasant, but different. taste is drier than the older beer, and the taste follows the aroma. less boozy, based on drinking a bunch of vintages of this beer, I think DFH has improved the production of this beer to eliminate the harshness of this beer when its fresh. similar body and mouthfeel as the older bottle.

Overall both are a pleasure to drink, but in this case I prefer the 12+ year old version. This is the only stout I have experience with that I would again age anywhere near this long. Chalk another one up in the column of the cellared beers!

 

Haven't seen Lees in St. Louis in years, unfortunately. And no where else I've been. It's a beer I'd really love to stock up on.

 

Cross posted from the Cellaruary thread

2015 Samilclaus Helles. For me of the 3 main Samichlaus varieties, Classic>Schwarzes>Helles, but they are all tasty.

Pours a clear dark copper in color (although I left behind the dregs in the bottle to drink separately). Just a few bubbles, not really any head. Aroma is sweet grainy malt, a little burnt sugar, a touch of sweet corn and stone fruit. For anyone that's been to Chile, it's a bit reminiscent of Mote con huesillo. Taste is similar, fairly sweet. Feel is sticky, fairly low carbonation. Age as mellowed any booziness, doesn't drink like 14% abv. Overall a nice sipper to finish of a Saturday night with.

 

Cross posted at Celluary Thread



Thomas Hardy's Ale Golden Edition 50th Anniversary Vintage 2018

I'd planned on aging this a lot longer but I'm not going to live forever so let's get it on. Smell is very thick with burnt sugar and malts. Taste was more hoppy and bitter than expected, maybe like the namesake (one of my favorite writers), which I'm sure further aging would have changed. Not getting as much leather and tobacco as JW Lee's Harvest Ale; not that there's anything wrong with that but I've kind of regarded them, perhaps erroneously, together. But this is an excellent barleywine

 

Cross posted from the Cellaruary thread, wanted to end the month with a bang

My wife and I and a couple friends visited Belgium in December 2018 - we spent time in Brugge, Ghent, and Brussels. Among the beers I brought home in an extra suitcase were 3 bottles of Westy 12. I drank a fresh bottle while in Belgium, then the previous bottles at 1.5 and 2.5 years. So now at 3+ years for the final bottle, a bit past their recommended "best by" date. The date of the month on the cap isn't totally clear, but I think it's probably 11.10.21 meaning it was bottled November 2018 which would make sense. I find St. Bernardus Abt 12 the best between 3 and 5 years old, so figured this one should be similar so didn't want to let it go too long.

Pours with a nice thick creamy khaki colored head, a few bits of sediment but I held back most of the dregs to swig from the bottle. Great head retention, keeps a full layer of head as a drink the glass, and leaves some lacing. Aroma is toasted crusty bread, some fig and black cherry, a little earthy hops, touch of black pepper and tea. Taste is similar, great balance of starting with just a touch of sweetness but finishes dry. Great depth to the flavors. Amazing mouthfeel - soft, creamy mouthfeel rides on top of lively carbonation hitting the tongue. Overall fantastic

 

Glad to return to this thread after a month hiatus participating in the Cellaruary thread, and a week off of heavy hitters to relax with lighter ABV beers.

Returning with the oldest bottle I have at this point, have been looking forward to cracking this open for a while and finally have the chance.

2015 Firestone Walker Velvet Merkin



OG Review: 16 oz Nitro draft pour of likely the 2018 or 2019 version 9/4/19 at The Garage. 4.0 / 3.75 / 3.75 / 4.0 / 4.0. Will compare OG verbiage with today's pour below.

Bottle Notes: 2015 Vintage No. 003 Velvet Merkin, OG 19 P, IBU 33, Yeast British Ale, Cases 3500 produced, Color Newgate's Knocker 80 sam?.22 ounces. Ale aged in Bourbon Barrels Oatmeal Stout. Year is smuged, but date looks to be 8/7/15 @ 22:41. Refrigerated since purchase.

Appearance: Pours bronze out of bottle, settles as dark brown/black base, nice creamy tan head, which lasted for a shorter period of time vs. the fresh draft pour. Nice creamy ring above the base. 4.0 vs. 4.0

Aroma: I let this warm for 10 minutes, but I'm having trouble beyond a faint roast malt, which is lighter than the fresh draft, though no big surprise. 3.25 vs.3.75

Taste: Somewhat bland at this point, age has gotten the best of this one. Roast malt, chocolate fudge, faint whiskey. 3.5 vs. 3.75

Mouthfeel: Thinner as expected as this is not a nitro pour and is aged 6 1/2 + years. Carbonation very faint, sporadic lacing, balanced, whiskey faint and roast malt balancing out the sweetness. Alcohol presence felt, despite not being tasted, drinks heavier than the 8.5% ABV. This is the best component of this bottle vs. the other three aforementioned ratings. 3.75.vs. 4.0

Overall: This would likely have been better in the 0-3 year range. Wouldn't necessarily age these in the future, it was hiding in the far corner of my refrigerator until now. Cellar treatment vs. refrigeration may have helped as well. Overall it is an enjoyable beer, but was more enjoyable fresh and on nitro draft. 3.5 vs. 4.0.

The current plan is to return with three more 2017-2019 Firestone Walker bottles, Friday here and the weekend in the NBW/NBS thread. Until then, hope your cellar is treating you well! In the interim, I'll pop in tomorrow with a one year anniversary of a Founders bottle I'm hoping time has improved on.

 

Back with the second of three planned cellar pours this week, sandwiched in between two Firestone Walker selections. This is one of the few in my cellar I aged intentionally (versus buying too much beer in 2019-2020), to help mellow it out. Did it work?

Founders Nemesis



OG review link. Comparison follows.

Bottle Note: Bottled exactly 1 year ago, 3/9/21. Refrigerated since purchase.

Appearance: Base is a little lighter, bronze to black.

Aroma: More booze and malt, less complexity.

Taste: Much improved for my tastes, the heavy bitter pine taste (which I typically like when reasonable, WCIPAs are my favorite style) has mellowed over the years. This beer is much more drinkable and enjoyable at this stage, as evidenced by the 8 oz already gone at this stage of a relatively brief review.

Mouthfeel: Less carbonation and sweetness, nice balance, easy drinking for an 11.2 % ABV. Too easy, especially if you are required to operate mechanical machinery afterward (thankfully I walk).

Overall: This is a beer which really benefited by a year of age. I wouldn't have repurchased this beer based on my initial review, but would gladly buy again, drinking at this stage or beyond. While a beer should be drinkable at purchase, perhaps it's just my taste, but this is a much better beer at 1 year than relatively fresh. 4.25 (vs. 3.5 fresh).

I have two more from this batch, with plan opening 1 1/2 and 2 years in for comparison.

See you Friday!

 

Lots for sale here and they ship.

https://holidaywinecellar.com/search.php?page=1&section=product&search_query=Barleywine

 

They don't have any more recent than 2017, which is the last vintage I got here. They're usually two years old by the time they appear on shelves. 2019 would be probably be the most recent vintage available in the US, if all is the same as used to be.

 

That's actually more recent that what was on the shelves here.

 

Heading to 8 F tomorrow morning after hitting 71 F last Saturday, so pulled out an appropriate beer to kick off the first of three Firestone Walker cellar beers for this weekend. I'll post the weekend reviews in the New Beer Weekend/New Beer Sunday thread.

Firestone Walker Helldorado (2017)



Bottle Notes: Blonde Barley Wine Ale. 12.8 % ABV.

12 oz bottled 6/16/17 @ 14:15. 2017 Vintage No. 03. OG 24.3p Plato, FG 1.87 p, IBU 24 units, Yeast - House British Ale, Cases 7,000 produced. Collar 11.0 SRM (Golden Blonde).

Always keep refrigerated, store at 40 F, Serve at 55 F. Purchased at room temperature at store, cellared (underground dark unheated basement) after purchase until refrigerating on 11/17/21.

Appearance: Dark orange pour, heavy carbonation at opening, significant floaters looking at the base 10 minutes after opening. Creamy white head leaves a creamy layer over the base and sporadic lacing. 3.75

Aroma: Sweet red wine / grapes the predominate aroma. As this warms further, I get raisins and dates, malt, honey and slight cardboard oxidation. 3.5

Taste: This barley wine deviates from many I've had previous. Has a strong malt presence, sweet wine follows, held together by an attempt from hops of bitterness that is mostly rejected. Honey reminiscent of my FiftyFifty Eclipse bottles is prevalent and enjoyable. Raisins, dates follow. Sweeter than my typical preference, though the varying flavors and blend works well and I'm enjoying at a measured pace. 4.25

Mouthfeel: Persistent light fizzy carbonation throughout, sweet overall, some bitterness and oxidation at this stage, drinks lighter at first, but becomes potent after eclipsing the first 4 ounces. Medium to full body, creamy, honey adds depth, fuller than a typical barley wine. Slight sweet aftertaste. 4.0

Overall: This is an enjoyable barley wine, would like a fresher version to determine what role age played in this review. The honey aspect is unique, at least to me. More malty than expected, bitterness emerges more as I work my way through. Overall, glad I opened and would purchase and drink a fresher version down the road to compare and contrast. 4.0

Hope you have a great weekend, and I'll see you next week!

 

2019 Founders Backwoods Bastard



I think I cellared this too long; not that it tastes bad per se, it's just better when it's fresher. Still beats not having any wee heavy at my disposal. That's why we experiment. Live and learn. Still one in my cellar fridge to be consumed promptly.

 

Good to know. I’ve set one aside for about 6mo. It has just moved up, in the lineup, and will likely vanish Friday night.

 

Back to the cellar for what will definitely be a beer split into two sessions. I will not attempt to conquer this fierce BA imperial stout and doom myself to an afternoon of sleep.

Surly Darkness



Bottle Notes: 25.4 oz, no ABV listed on the bottle, 12% per the BA Database. Bottled 9/25/18, not sure when purchased. Cellared upon purchase until 2/13/22, refrigerated until opening today.

My OG rating for this beer is offline, so I will compare the cellared beer vs. my OG take on a draft version.

Appearance: Consistent with draft, dark base, minimal creamy tan which quickly vanishes to leave ring around base and thin cover above the center. Tan head was gone / not there for my draft pour. Thin tan creamy lacing throughout. 4.25 (unchanged).

Aroma: Mild chocolate aroma noted in my OG rating, consistent here. Not much going on aroma wise, even after it warms up (15-20 minutes after opening) 3.5 (3.75 my OG score).

Taste/Mouthfeel: Getting more complexity than my OG notes (Chocolate, sweet taste, thin texture, alcohol feels strong, nice balance) though I'm chalking that up to just brief notes in a bar setting. Chocolate fudge, sweet, getting raisins as well. Would call this sweet, not balanced, but acceptedly so. Body remains thin for such a strong stout, alcohol is fierce from the start with this one, more powerful than most BA Imperial stouts from this non-BA stout. I'd appreciate more roast malt and hops bitterness vs. this version, but not penalizing via score for this. Don't believe cellaring adversely impacted this beer, nor improved it. 4.25 Taste (unchanged), 3.75 Mouthfeel (4.0 OG).

Overall: This was one of my first strong non-BA stouts. I thought and think it is a good to very good beer, but at this stage of my craft journey, it's just too sweet for me and I would choose other more balanced stouts in the future. I also wouldn't intentionally cellar it, it was cellared on my end based on too many beers on hand to get to. 4.0 (unchanged).

I am on hold now from purchasing Surly based on the events with their OG brewer (Todd) and what happened to the taproom employees pre-COVID. If I were in the market for Surly beers, I'd request they try to hop this more and get a more bitter version out there, similar to the OG non-BA imperial stouts such as Old Rasputin, which I prefer and purchase above beers such as this. Perhaps I'm in the minority, as I believe this is still a highly sought after beer.

That's it for me today trying to work through my remaining Imperial stout bombers this Spring

Cheers!

Obligatory Musical Accompaniment

 

Easily the best years of Surly Darkness are those that they hop the holy sh*t out of. The original bottle version from 2007 was highly hopped & absolutely mangificent; the 2008 was a sweet, sugary, cloying mess, & there has never been much consistency as Surly has messed with the recipe (though I've had a lot less of it the last 3-4 years). Your instinct is dead on.