Cellar Reviews (2024)

2015 Bigfoot

A - Translucent amber. Wouldn't call it hazy by any means, but there's a good deal of very fine sediment kicking around. Minimal visible carbonation and the head reduced to a cap and collar within 30 seconds after pouring hard.

S - Noticable oxidation (which is something I typically enjoy). I'm getting some dark fruit and candied orange. Smells like it's going to be sweet. I'm a bit out of practice reviewing, but I'm picking up some faint holiday spice notes which may just be the booze peaking through.

T - Taste doesn't follow the nose. I'm getting a lot of earthy notes oddly enough. Old leather. Definitely some pine and citrus rind. Pretty damn bitter on the backend and the booze is showing too. A bit of toffee and raisin behind everything.

The bitterness is dialed back as my palate adjusts and the beer warms. Getting a some candied orange and dark fruit mid palate with oxidation notes underlying.

M - Low carb, full bodied, sticky.

Interesting, but nowhere near enjoyable (to my palate) as this beer with less time in the cellar. I'm glad I held onto it this long though. Still have one more in the cellar that I'll plan to open in a year.

 

Can’t remember what year XXI translates to but I know it’s at least three years old and I suspect more.
This is so good when fresh, that rye bite just adds an ideal edge to the malt profile. Sadly the rye is faded away. Still very good, just not as good.
Cheers!

 

2013 Alaskan Smoked Porter
Appearance: Dark brown, good head.
Smell: Ripe olives then ashes, mild smoke.
Taste: Light powdered chocolate with smoke in the background. Reminds me of a wee heavy more than a porter now.
Overall: A local store has a bunch of these and other cellared beers so I picked up a bunch. Still a good beer, of course quite different than when fresh. Still brings some smoke to the party.

 

I've been limiting my cellar and cellaruary reviews to this thread as always if I have a contemporary review to compare to the one I'm enjoying in the present. Glad this qualifies!

Central Waters Brewers Reserve Bourbon Barrel Stout (2018)



Bottle Notes: Purchased via Binny's sale 2/16/19. Bottled in 2018, cellared until a few weeks ago, refrigerated until today.. No ABV on this one like yesterday (WTF Wisconsin?), 10.8% ABV per BA listing. Malt beverage aged in used oak bourbon barrels. Brewed in Amherst, Wisconsin.

The Brewery's most highly sought after beer, this imperial stout is aged to perfection in oak bourbon barrels. Look for this tasty treat to contain hints of bourbon and vanilla, with roasted overtones that is sure to please any connoisseur's palate. Serve this beer at cellar temperature, from a snifter glass and enjoy this expression of our passion for brewing.

Link to OG Review.

Comparison Today Cellared for over 5 years to relatively fresh linked review:

Appearance: Head a light white/tan color, and relatively flat compared to my fresh experience. Lacing minimal and slides right back down. Base darker brown, not quite dark black. Fresh 4.75 Cellared 3.5

Aroma: Let this warm for 20 minutes. Bourbon nice after proper warmup. The roasted malt faded into oblivion after 5 years. Still enjoying what I have. Fresh 4.5 Cellared 3.75

Taste: Pretty much a flat bourbon over long passed ice. Faint malt base more like hot choc0late mix still in the packet. OK bourbon. Fresh 4.5 Cellared 3.5

Mouthfeel: More thin than creamy at this stage, looked thin pouring the bottle. faint carbonation, drinks pretty strong as near bourbon and water. Tastes like bourbon and hot chocolate mix at this stage. Fresh 4.25 Cellared 2.75

Overall: I screwed this up. Was a great beer fresh, probably was nice 2-4 years ago. Sad I wasted the remaining two bottles in my cellar. The price to pay. Fresh 4.5 Cellared 2.75

Hoping I get a better pull tomorrow.

 

Cross posted in Cellaruary and the Imperial Stout thread. My last “old” bottle of this. Darned good stuff.

 

Back with another three year comparison of a Revolution Deep Woods offering. As was the case Friday, my 2019 review was a fresh draft at the brewery, whereas my subsequent cellar reviews were of the same batch though canned.

Today I feature 2019 Revolution Cuvee de Grace. I will document how it has held up with another 22 months of refrigeration, and rank the three different attempts based on prior notes and my experience today. Sordid details following....

Revolution Cuvee De Grace (2019)



Can Notes: This is one of the few Deep Woods can releases I did not refrigerate after purchase. I cellared in a proper dark basement after purchased, and pulled from the cellar to the refrigerator on 5/17/21 where it has remained until now. Canned 12/30/19 at 7:51:30 PM, 14.6% ABV.

2019 Cuvee Blend:



OG 2022 Cellar Review Link 2019 fresh draft vs. 2022 can of same 2019 batch

Appearance: Gold 2024 & 2022; Silver 2019
This pour is consistent with the 2022 cellar review picture, though the head is a bit more generous. Looks really good.

Aroma Gold 2024 & 2022; Silver 2019
Warned for over 30 minutes, nice blend of bourbon and raisins and plums. Really nice blend with Straight Jacket the closest match among the seven contenders, which makes sense as it's the highest component at 36% of the cuvee.

Taste Mouthfeel and Overall Gold 2024, 2022 & 2019
Taste mirrors aroma. This is very bourbon forward, with a smooth but powerful bourbon dominance. Body seems thicker than the 2022 review notes, though just like draft vs. can, this could just be a matter of perception and accuracy. My notes indicate minor differences over the three versions, and while this may seem like a copout, I'm awarding gold across all three periods of the 2019 batch.

This held up very well, a testament to the quality of Revolution's Deep Woods Program over the years. While I prefer to refrigerate all cans based on the can lining and the fact a bottled beer may improve (or decline) cellar, but a can really can't improve much based on design, but can still drop off.

Cheers!

 

Cross post with the Cellaruary thread.
Still very good, only the hazelnut has faded.
Cheers!

 

Is this thread intended primarily (only?) for cellared beers that are/were commercially available?

 

Picked this one up for the SAN but we lost some members so I had to drink this myself.
Lucky me!

 

Pelican Pub & Brewery - Mother of All Storms (2013)



The last time I had one of these (from a case purchased direct from the brewery in 2013) was in April 2021. My notes from 2021 indicated oxidation characteristics initially which subsided to the far periphery after the beer reached about room temperature. At which point, the beer presented characteristics more resembling its well earned greatness. Well, the script has not changed in almost three years. Dark fruit, toffee, molasses, caramel lead the way. Nice bit of stickiness. Delicious stuff, in short.

 

How are you defining, “commercially available?” Distributed (widely), brewery only? Are you asking if home brew is acceptable?

Personally I think aged home brew would be a stretch. However I also doubt there would be many aged home brew postings, so I am ambivalent about them being posted here.

 

Yep, homebrew. Thanks for the feedback.

 

Tbh I don't see what the issue with a cellar review of homebrew is. Seems like it would be interesting to hear about and it's not like too many people would post it

 

2020 - still very good. Not the same beer but excellent all the same.
More words in the Cellaruary thread- if you’re interested.
Cheers!

 

Happy Sunday Funday Beer Advocates! Cross posting with the what beer are you drinking while grilling thread. Actually smoking not grilling, first time doing a pork loin. Paired currently with a 2019 Cantillon Rose de Gambrinus. Fruit characters fade with time but still a delight, and a treat as always.

Crystal clear, light ruby, approaching some amber hues, fizzy pink tinged head dissipates quickly. Aroma is robust raspberry, mostly sweet jam like but also some tart berry notes. Lots of soft vanilla and hugely floral. Taste is very tart, puckering but not to the degree of any other Cantillons. Raspberry is def present but not super prominent, faded no doubt from the time. It’s balanced and complex. Long lingering oak and vanilla. Delicious. Mouthfeel is lighter side of medium bodied with a big carbonation and very easy drinkability. Absolutely wonderful beer, both fresh and with 5 years on it.

4.25/4.75/4.5/4.75/4.75

 

M
The slow vertical continues.
I drank this after dessert and it didn’t have nearly the depth of the 2020, but that might be due to what I ate right before. Still quite good though!

 

Going to start here because I keep forgetting to post here.

Best by date was 2/4/2024 - just missed it.
Still drinking mighty fine.
Cheers all!

 

Another from Goose Island, 2019 Mon Chéri - drinking better than it has a right to. I have always avoided cherry stouts as I was afraid of cough syrup like flavor, but this was excellent.

 

2016 Bells Black Note

The appearance and name match - it's black. A tiny hiss on opening but no head with an aggressive pour. Great cocoa on the nose with hints of vanilla and caramel. The taste follows with a light char for good measure. Very cocoa forward but not sweet. This falls short on mouthfeel. It's a bit thin. But at eight years old, this is still very enjoyable.