December Cellar Reviews

Opened a Winter 2010-2011 bottling of Black Chocolate Stout today.

Pours a really nice one finger head. Still carbonated fine. The booze tones are definitely toned down from fresh but there is still a surprising amount of alcohol present. Really nice milk chocolate throughout. Caramel and coconut notes, with a bit of oxidation, are also present. Overall, this is drinking pretty nicely. A lot of the harsher tones of the fresh beer are gone. Might save a couple more from this vintage for a few years down the line.

 

LeBleu 032

Was a bit more sour/grassy flavor compared to fresh. The blueberries have really faded. I usually say the more sour the better, but I much preferred this when it was fresher.

 

Sampled a few things over Christmas Eve/Day.

2010 Mother of All Storms. Great beer, sampled side-by-side with the latest release. By the slimmest of margins, I preferred the fresh bottle, as I really dig the more potent bourbon profile as a partner for the massive malt backbone of the beer. However, the 2010 is an incredible beer that shows no sign of decline. Some complementary vinous notes have emerged. Marvelously complex stuff.

2010 Blackbeerd. I really dig this beer fresh; the dry, sharp roastiness and touch of smoke make for a unique take on the style. Can't say I'm a fan of this vintage at this point, though. It's all tangy/vinous now. Not bad, necessarily, but I don't entirely dig it. Not sure what I'm gonna do with my last 2 bottles.

Stone/Nogne/Jolly Pumpkin Special Holiday Ale 2008. Wasn't a huge fan of this one fresh, as the odd assortment of adjuncts didn't seem to quite gel, but I cellared a couple to see what would happen, and I actually like it a lot better now. Coating warmth and baked apple/toffee sweetness with a surprisingly still-potent juniper presence.

 

Had a 2010 (bottle) and 2011(aged draft) Kentucky Breakfast Stout and I must say they were both amazing. First off I love this beer fresh but I'm not a huge coffee guy so I enjoy the aged versions better. Had the 2010 version first poured at correct temperature. The nose was full of bourbon, chocolate, tobacco and some faint coffee aroma was still hanging around. The taste was creamy with chocolate and smooth bourbon up front and tobacco and coffee in the middle with more leather and dark fruits at the end.
I had the 2011 KBS recently at a barrel aged tap takeover. The beer was awesome and had all of the notes of the fresh version(coffee, bourbon, wood, dark fruits, tobacco, alcohol burn, and a little chocolate) with less of a burn which was pleasing. It had just enough burn to let you know that it was big BA imperial stout without being off putting.
I loved the 2010 and I plan to hold on to my remaining 11's until they are at the 2 year mark. Good stuff all around.
Cheers

 

Had a vanilla bcs last night. Hot, boozy, faint vanilla, little complexity. Would not drink again.

 

Opened a 2011 Pumpkinator last night. I remember last year that beer being amazing... but not so now. I actually think the pumpkin came out more, but the spices just became totally unbalanced. Also, it seems like more bitter chocolate came through that just wasn't right. No way I'll age this again if I get my hands on it another time.

 

Drank a 1984 De Dolle Stille Nacht the other night (note the "QV 84" on the label -- by '85 they'd moved to date-notched labels for the Stille Nacht). Stored in a Belgian cellar since release, settled in my cellar for about eight months, in the fridge for a week or so. Cap came off with a small unexpected hiss -- pour was characteristic of a really old beer (homogenously hazy) but no chunks until the last half-ounce, which I poured into a separate glass. Still some carbonation present -- a few small bubbles appeared on the surface if I tipped the glass back and forth!

Beer is darker than modern Stille Nacht, details here: http://www.babblebelt.com/bbb_classic/readpost.html?id=1008938095

Smell was sweet sherry with a puckering tartness. Initially as it warmed I got a bit of wet cardboard mustiness, but that was totally obscured by the time it came up to drinking temperature. Mouthfeel was rich and syrupy, with an intense toffee/burnt sugar sweetness balanced by an incredible vinous flavor. Port-like. The barest hint of Rodenbach acetic qualities.

Took me about two hours to drink it. Very sad it's gone.

 

Opened a BCBS Rare the other night 3rd bottle I have had and first in about 4 months maybe a little longer. This time around the whiskey seemed to have separated itself from the beer and kinda stood alone where as the past bottles it was very much integrated and smooth. The complexity and layers of flavor are also not what they used to be. Not saying the beer still wasn't great because it was I'm just saying IMO the beer has peaked and is on its way down and not getting any better.

 

Having a 2010 KBS at the moment. Awesome stuff. Think fresh KBS, but with NO coffee, extra chocolate. Tons of bourbon still, ultra smooth. Just delicious stuff. I love fresh KBS, this is my first experience with aged KBS and all I can say is that aging it is worth it.

Now, if only I could manage to not drink all of my KBS when I buy it each spring...

 

Dude I totally feel the same way, I like aged kbs A LOT more then fresh!

 

Drank three krieks today:

2009 Drie Fonteinen - Best of the day, solid cherry flavor, excellent.

2007 Cantillon Lou Pepe - Nice cherry flavor but sharp. Friend said it was wine-like.

2008 Hanssens - Losing its color, funky smell, sourest of the bunch, good stuff but not for the faint of heart.

 

2011 Allagash Curieux -- Bottled April 2011. 750 ml bottle. Stored at 60-65F.
This beer is a shadow of its more fresh self. The other bottle I bought had tons of coconut and pineapple flavors. This aged version is very subdued and mellow with no coconut and all flavors dampened. This is a very distinctively flavored beer when relatively fresh -- age has not treated this guy very well. There is a steep drop-off of the barrel character and the malt character has not had much chance to catch up. This is by no means a bad beer -- it is still enjoyable -- but it has definitely lost its mojo.

 

Had a Bourbon County Vanilla over New Year's...it was my first time having it.

It was great, but I hardly got any vanilla whatsoever. It was like a slightly smoother, slightly sweeter version of regular BCBS. Very good stuff, just no "vanilla" boost over the normal version, if you ask me. It also seemed a tad bit thinner than standard BCBS.

I wonder how it tasted fresh, I can only imagine this with more of a vanilla presence. The bottle I had was AWESOME, I'd never turn it down. But, for the hassel of getting BCBVS, I don't see it being worth the chase at the moment (as opposed to the "ease" of getting similar vintage of normal BCBS).

Or, did I get a subpar bottle? Anyone else have one recently?