How is Dissident Holding Up

I know I keep looking at mine thinking "not yet". I probably had one 6 months ago and while it was good I am also hoping a little time can improve upon it. Although I don't want to wait too long and have a total mess on my hands.

 

I opened a properly cellered 2010 Dissident a few months back and was very sad to find it seemed to have lost much of its original luster. "Fresh" it was one of the tastiest beers I had ever sipped up to that point, and I fully expected it to get better with an additional year in the bottle. I have a few more and I am still hoping they will improve but I am afraid that they will only continue downhill. Hopefully my experience won't be yours...

 

I would like to add that this is a sour beer, as such a lot can happen to it as the bugs slowly chug along over the years. All I'm calling for is people not be too quick to deride something that may taste great in a few more years. No one can predict the future, now matter how much a beer expert they think they are. That being said, around Octoberish I had a growler from a refrigerated keg, lots of cherry and slight lactic sour, medium mouthfeel on it. Shortly thereafter I had a cellared bottle that was significantly more lactic and thin, less cherry, some dark chocolate, and some medicinal phenols. So, who knows where this beer will be in another few years. I also had an 08 a few weeks back, it had more cherry and less lacto than I remember from the year or so I had the year before. It was thinner, yet had gained more complexity. Just my experience that hopefully helps.

 

Absolutely. Well said. I certainly hope that this beer will change significantly over the years and that those changes will add complexity and open up new layers of flavor. I like to age wild ales for this reason, because they often change in ways that can't be as easily predicted as more straightforward styles.

 

Pretty sure the Dissident is filtered so I wouldn't expect much from "bugs"...I cellared the original batch for a couple years and saw no improvement.

 

I've still got some of the original batch, and the last few I've had seem to be better and better, smoother and more depth. It's been about 6 months. I missed the '10s so no comment there, unfortunately...

 

I've got 1 bottle of the 2010 so thanks for the reports. I think I'll give it a little longer before I crack it open.

 

I opened one ('10 vintage) about 2 months ago and found it to be phenomenal. That being said I never had it fresh to compare but it was amazing at that age.

 

Done to my last bottle, I think i will hold on to it for awhile longer. Thanks for the updates.

 

I would like to add that The Dissident is pasteurized before being bottled, so there are no bugs present to chug along.

 

Is it? News to me. Regardless, I feel that the beer has changed and will continue to do so for some time.

 

I thought that Deschutes started pasteurizing their beer after the 2010 vintage as a result of the 2009 Abyss and Mirror Mirror infections that came to light in 2010. Maybe you know better than I do about exactly when they started pasteurizing, but wasn't this a recent change?

 

I was under the impression that was the case, but arguing on the Internet- let alone arguing on the Internet about beer- is like competing in the special Olympics in my view.

 

My understanding is that only the barrel aged portion of any of their beers is pasteurized. I believe The Dissident has some non barrel aged beer blended in. So while there may not be souring bugs, there still should be some yeast present.