June 2017 Cellar Review

You Enjoy My Stout, BBA stout aged in Buffalo Trace barrels, bottled about 18 months ago by Cambridge Brewing Company in MA.




Pours like a beer-lion out of the bottle: huge head erupts from the bottom of the glass and lifts straight up. Bubbly, puffy and foamy before it sags and craters above the viscous black body. Gorgeous. The aroma is dark chocolate, oak, bourbon, figs, char, vanilla. The barrel characteristics shine. Although there's a fig-like fruitiness it's less pronounced than when fresh. Seems to be the oak and bourbon have filled the gap, which is right up my alley. Velvety smooth and marshmallow soft - the liquid allocates tastes of chocolate, roasted grains, char, oak, vanilla and toasted coconut. Nice alcohol warmth but a far cry from what the ~11% ABV is capable of. Outstanding brew.

 

I agree, this beer ages very well. Actually has become my favorite sour for how good it tastes after it ages.

 

Barrel Aged Troegenator - Feb 2016



This has definitely taken a turn for the worse. Thin, tart and grapey. Somewhat flat and oxidized. None of the rich, caramel, bourbon flavors that were once present. Tastes more like it was aged in wine barrels - very fruity and dry. I certainly wouldn't age any of these in the future.

 

2016 Central Waters Brewer's Reserve Bourbon Barrel Cherry Stout.
Was not a fan of this when I had it for the first time fresh last summer. The cherries dominated everything and made for a wincingly tart stout with no barrel presence. After a year things have gotten much better. It smells like straight up cherries with a hint of booze. The cherries are still the dominant flavor, but the tartness has subsided enough to let some chocolate notes shine through. Not sure if those elements come from the barrel or the base beer (I'd guess the latter), but it's worth noting there is zero bourbon presence now or when it was fresh. I definitely enjoyed it more as it warmed and opened up. I'll probably pick up another 4 pack when it comes out again this month and throw it straight into the basement until at least next year. Big improvement - cellar success!

2015 Deschutes Rye Barrel-aged Abyss
First time I had this was right after the "Best After" date on the bottle, but alas it was New Years and my recollection of drinking it doesn't go much further than "I loved it." Bottle is opened a little colder than it should be on 6/11/17 and the first thing I notice is a 'wet dog' flavor that seems to fade as it warms and opens up. The best parts of this beer are the contributions made by the rye barrel treatment - I'm getting a toasty pumpernickel cocoa thing that intermingles beautifully with the dry char that dominates the base beer. Things blend together well, but I feel like it's a bit past it's prime, my fuzzy memory of how good it was is betraying me, or it was mistreated (I took the bottle in trade). Either way if I had more of these, I'd definitely open them sooner than later. But not complaining - still a damn good drink and my favorite of the Abyss variants so far.

2015 Bell's Expedition Stout
I loved this beer fresh and as my two 2015 six packs get older, I'm loving it even more! The hops have faded from a bittering element into more of an earthy complement to the heavy malt bill. Dark fruits have taken the stage and each sip features a rotating cast of chocolate covered figs, prunes, and overripe black cherries. Reminds me of Surly Darkness except the 12 oz bottles are much friendlier to my work schedule and I don't have to hunt for it like a cut-throat mercenary. Probably my favorite RIS and I will definitely be keeping a rotating stock of this forever and ever.

 

Stoudts Fat Dog bottled December 2015, so about 18 months

Almost black in color, a little ruby color in the corners of the glass. Tan colored head. Aroma of milk chocolate and toasted marshmallow. Taste is moderately sweet, similar flavors. Fudgey. Thick mouthfeel, but slick and smooth.

 

Here you go. Long live number 6..........

 

2011 Brandy Old Stock

Appearance: Murky brown bodied beer with thick cap of of white head. Head drops down to no head at all.

Smell: Dark fruits, lots of oak barrel, caramel, figs, brown sugar, and honey.

Taste: Figs, brown sugar, caramel, lots of brandy (that grape note from brandy is huge right now), and lots of oak barrel.

Mouthfeel: Full bodied beer. Low yet adequate carbonation. Slight booze bite, but it is not out of line at all for this beer.

Overall: This beer is still rocking a little bit of heat. The Brandy barrel is so big right now. This might be the most brandy that I have ever tasted in any brandy barrel aged beer. Old Stock Ale is such a great beer for brandy barrel aging. Such a great beer right now and it will continue to be great for at least another 4 to 8 years with good cellar conditions. If you love a good barrel aged Old Ale look no further.

 

This is really in the thick of the competition for my personal "Best beer of all time". Jealous!

 

Brandy Old Stock is pretty fantastic. Easily my favorite of the barrel variants of Old Stock Ale. Pretty hard to beat that is for sure!

 

2016 Bretta IPA by New Belgium. Best-by dated 6/18/17 (I'd intended to drink it on that date, but I bet an extra week won't have made the difference). Bomber into a Teku at cellar temp.

Look: medium-dark yellow orange with a huge offwhite head, good lacing. 4.25/5.

Smell: lots of tropical fruit (lime, guava, mango) with some light barnyard in the background. 4/5.

Taste: quite bitter up front, with a bit of a spoiled grain vibe almost. There is still some citrus hop flavor, and also a bit of biscuit sweetness at the back. The dominant flavors are a kind of spiciness, almost like cumin or something, and a strong earthiness. If I ate a plant that tasted like this, I would assume it was going to kill me. Not entirely pleasant, but interesting. 4/5.

Feel: pretty light and easy to drink. Very slightly dry. 3.75/5.

Overall: this has certainly changed a bit from fresh (review here). I'd say the funkiness has come more to the fore, and the beer has generally gotten a bit less cohesive. Still, an interesting experiment. 4/5.

 

2014 FW Velvet Merkin. Bomber into a snifter at cellar temp.

Look: Coke-brown with an enormous light-brown head. 4.25/5

Smell: caramelized brown sugar, mild bourbon. Pretty staid. 4/5

Taste: a bit soda-y, but with nice bourbon notes, toasted marshmallow, brown sugar, pipe tobacco. 4.25/5

Feel: light and fluffy. The oatmeal keeps it from really being thin, but it's not motor oil. 4/5

Overall: I was pleasantly surprised by this beer. I think I had a bottle about a year and a half ago that I was worried was going off, but there's absolutely no sign of infection here. It hasn't gotten amazing with age or anything, but if there's oxidation, it's still pretty mild. Honestly, better than plenty of "world class" BA stouts in taste, and better overall than any "local brewery" BA stout I've had. The taste actually reminds me a bit of this year's Parabola, which is disappointing when I'm expecting Parabola, but pretty good for VM. 4.25/5

 

Aged Sierra Nevada Ovila Abbey with cherries for about 18 months. Delicious, tastes like blue chimay with cherries added. Never had this fresh but based on reviews seemed like it wasn't good fresh but aged 18 months and this was amazingly good.