July Cellar Reviews

I don't do reviews, so I'm not going to be using the fancy descriptors on this one, but I cracked an 08 Abyss last night and thought it was pretty amazing. Slightly oxidized taste initially, but that seemed to fade fairly quickly. So very tasty!

 

How much longer do you think it can last? I've got a bottle and don't want it to waste it. Thanks!

 

I'm not sure if I'm qualified to really answer this. I never had it fresh, and just acquired the bottle about 4 months ago, so I don't really have a good point of reference in regards to how it's changed. I do know that it was pretty damn amazing, and if I had more bottles I'd probably consider drinking them sooner than later. Maybe someone else will chime in with their opinions.

 

I appreciate it. I know what you're saying. I was hoping to find find '11 and '12 so that I could do an '08-'12 verticle.

 

someone in the June review thread did an 08-12 vertical, you might want to check out his review.

http://beeradvocate.com/community/threads/june-cellar-reviews.97598/

 

Funny...I was in the middle of reading the thread and saw your response.

Thanks!

 

I have a 3 year vert of the Abyss ( 10' -12' ) Message me if you are interested in doing a trade

 

Goose Island Fleur 2011. 22oz bottle with a bottling date of April 8, 2011. Served in a Bell's tulip.

Look: more or less the same as a fresh bottle, with the exception of the carbonation. This is more carbonated than fresh. Goose's brett strain always seems to do this around two years.....I had a bottle of 2011 Sofie a few months ago, as well as a 2010 late last year, and both of them were gushers ("squirters" in the Juliet lexicon). This wasn't that carbonated, but noticeably more so than fresh.

Smell: not much has changed since it's one-year birthday, meaning not much has changed sinced it's sixth-month birthday. An infinitesimal more brett and a slightly fewer fruity-tea flavors.

Taste: I inserted a "" into my handwritten notes here. Tastes more different from last year than it smells, but still obviously Fleur. That vaguely fruity/berry-esque tea flavor is still there, but has become less fruity and a bit more herbal/flowery. The word "strawberry" used to be a favorite go-to description for this beer in my mind, but less so now. The wild yeast has become more tangy, and the additional carbonation adds to the effect. It may have become more tart, but if so only barely. There seems to now be a mild note of oxidation but that might just be expectation. Brighter.

Texture: crisper and lighter than it used to be. Borderline Sofie-levels of effervescence. The only real downside in my opinion, though a mild one. This beer was already fairly dry, the additional dryness plus the newly found carbonation leaves it feeling airy....the flavors no longer linger on the tongue as long as they should.


Verdict? Still awesome, but I would not try aging this for the five years listed on the label if you only have one bottle left. Drink now or by next April. It might be good beyond that, but it probably won't be Fleur.

 

2010 BCBS, 54 degrees into a Hunahpu's taster.

Dark pour, nice dark-tan head forms and retains better than I remember. Tons of fudge in the nose. Reminds me of the 2009 last year. Slight heat comes through. Boozy fudge dominates the flavors. Some notes of dark fruits are distant in the back half, leading me to believe they'll start taking over more of the profile in the near future.

Drinks well. I'm having trouble slowing it down, as this annoyingly is my last bottle. Could age longer, but I think personal preference on dark fruits verses chocolate barrel dominance should dictate that decision for a person.

 

Black Butte 23 (2011)

Clear black, with tan edges on the body, minimal head that is khaki. Smell is tootsie roll, vanilla, Hershey powder, slight toffee. Taste is medium rich milk chocolate, slight licorice, coffee, and some faint rootbeer. Mouthfeel isn't as full as I would hope, carbonation is medium with fine prickly bubbles. Pretty good tasting, kind of like a lesser Bourbon County Brand Stout of similar age. Too bad this was my last one....

 

Was there any pepper left on that Black Butte?

 

Nope, just the flavors I described.

 

I cracked a bb xxiii not that long ago and still detected some of the pepper, but it was very subtle. I've had xxi through xxv in the last month and can say that xxiii is by far my favourite.

 

I made a cherry chocolate pie using Stone Cherry Chocolate Stout this weekend and thought the beer was drinking great now. Way better than fresh. Just let it open up in the glass for about 5 minutes before consuming and your patience will be rewarded.

Also, I opened a Sam Adams Chocolate Bock that someone left at my house in December. It drank pretty well, too.

Deschutes Dissident '08 was very mellow compared to fresh. I could still appreciate the complexity but it was a very subtle beer by this point.

 

Did the same thing on Friday. Finished my last bottle way to quickly. Possibly my favorite BCBS to date.

 

2009 Alaskan Baltic Porter

Still has good carbonation and foam. The smell is big time brown sugar, hints of vanilla and cherries. The taste matches smell with the vanilla slightly more noticeable than the cherries, or is it. They seem to switch roles with each sip. What's left from adding oak chips shows up mainly in the finish and yeah, the heat or, warmth at least, is there. Very damn nice.

 

2010 mother of all storms

Really nice. A little bourbon has fallen off, but less heat in this finish than fresh. I'm enjoying this beer!

 

Drinking a 2011 Mother of All Storms. So good. lots of malty sweetness and bourbon.
Needs a couple more years to round out but no complaints here.