June Cellar Reviews

2008 Deschutes The Dissident.
My case is still going strong, this is a glorious beer. Nice carbonation, a slow over-foamer. Sweet tart nose, the plasticy phenols seem stronger than I recall from last time, winter IIRC. Taste not so much. Pleasant, smooth tartness, vinous, cherries, a touch soapy. Maybe some wax flavor. Nice depth. SMOOTH. Damn, what great beer. I missed the 2010 (or was it 2011) release, I wonder if it's as good? I will not make that mistake for the next round...

 

2008 Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron (bottled on 5/28/08)
Happy Father's Day! I suspect I picked this date (entered in my spreedsheet at least a year ago) to open this relatively special beer to honor the day. This is the last on my 2008 four pack of Palo Santo and I did enjoy this beer. My notebook indicates the last bottle of this I had in 2010 at the two year mark and boy was it really good then. This bottle however seems to have maybe passed its prime. It didn't have as much carbonation and the flavor was more astringent and sharp as it warmed. My notes from 2010 make this beer sound amazing while in 2012 it is a little bit of a mess. Still a good amount of roast and wood notes but I suspect oxidation has taken its toll.

 

Enjoyed a 2010 and 2012 Stone IRS side-by-side with a few BAs tonight. The 2010 won by a landslide. The 2012 was roasty and simple, while the 2010 was less-roasty with noticable chocolate notes, very light coffee, and a bit of licorice. I bought another 2010 from my local cellar-ing store and I'll definitely keep my 2012 for a while.

 

Just did a side by side with the 2010, 2011, and 2012 with a few friends and came to the same conclusion. I'd say there was more than a bit of licorice in the 2010, but that was one of the things I loved about it-really a phenomenal beer, and I'm glad I've got 5 more in the cellar. Also, we found that the 2011 was much closer to the 2012 than the 2010, so maybe 2 years is a good benchmark for when this beer really hits its stride?

I've got a couple of 2008s in the cellar that I recently received from a trade, and I'm eager to crack one now that I've had the others.

 

2008 Stille Nacht
I opened a bottle a couple months ago that showed signs of a dirt flavor. So, naturally, I had to open another to see if it was just bottle variation.

Opened without being a gusher.....what? I walked away, suspicious that it wasn't really SN and that my buddy had duped me. Upon returning a couple minutes later, there was foam coming from the bottle and a nice puddle of beer on the table. There we go, it is in fact a SN. Lots of grape/plum in the aroma. Hints of citrus and tartness are starting to come through. The flavors are very similar to the aroma, with the grape/plum being the most dominant of the fruit. The tartness is only just emerging. Any bread flavors are gone, any booze is gone. The finish is giving the flavor of a bite of a green apple.

The elements missing are a more assertive citrus and a more assertive tartness in both the flavor and aroma. It has developed quite well over the last 4 years. It could use a couple more before it likely finds those favorable citrus and tart flavors that seem subdued.

 

Just had this same experience last week. I have 6 more bottles of it too really disappointed on this one. I guess I'll have to let these go another year at least before I try it again.

 

Drinking a 2009 founders Nemesis

Still very hot and has developed a cheesy flavor but not in a bad way.

This beer does a bit of a roller coaster as far as flavor but very enjoyable.
In process of trading for another 4 pack - I think this will age forever ala JW Lees.

 

2007 La Folie

Pours the red side of amber, fluffy tan head that leaves minimal lacing. Smell is cherry and maple, yogurt, sweet bread. Taste is similar, but with a sharp stab of sour- the sour hits and doesnt linger though, very crisp and clean. Carbonation is medium, mouthfeel is medium as well. Overall I am finding I prefer la folie fresh vs aged, and after the Seattle Beer Week's Sour Symposium, where the New Belgium brewers and blenders came and spoke, I am of the mind that this is best when blended fresh rather than the "oude" it becomes in the cellar. I saved the bottle dregs though and will be using them in my own blending of homebrew sours.

 

2010 Angel's Share

As expected...poured with no head (tiny amount of bubbles) regardless of how aggressively I poured. The nose was amazing, as I always remembered. I am not a reviewer, so I cannot come up with the "figs, raisins, etc" that you better folks describe. All I know is it smelled divine, and the taste was right there too. The flavors were beautiful, but the lack of carbonation ruined it altogether. Made it drink like a beer past its prime, when it clearly was not. Such an incredible disappointment. Out of curiosity, has this issue been resolved in more recent vintages?!?!

 

Orval bottled on 3/25/2010

Aroma had a touch of brett earthiness but otherwise nothing too special. The beer did have a ton of carbonation. The flavor was bone dry with maybe a bite from the high carbonation. At this point I think I can comfortably say that Orval at the two year mark is not my thing.

 

De Dolle Boskeun 1984

There is a hiss when the bottle is opened. Brown pour with no head, only bubbles. This is the first time I've ever opened a bottle of De Dolle that has been still. Some bits of lacing begin to arrive on the surface once sifted. There is a slight must to the aroma until it breathes for a few minutes. The must falls off and there is some Caramel, candied fruits and woodiness. The aroma is a subdued, old version of a fresh Boskeun along with a touch of musty wood. Burst of caramel in the taste, from start to finish. Apples with a note of wood on the finish. The slightest amount of musty/oldness is to be found in the flavor, but it is deep in the background. The caramel notes are so dominant. There is some oxidation evident in the flavor (aside from the must). The middle begins to take on a candied fruit flavor, which may be best described as an oxidized caramel apple. Quite interesting. Overall, this is very good considering the circumstances. Although carbonation is minimal, the rest of the beer is surprisingly pleasant. The mustiness isn't rear what I've found with other beers of similar age and the caramel flavors are so incredible.

 

2009 Deschutes Mirror Mirror - damn fine barleywine with a hint of dry tartness at the end. Definitely was on its way to being infected, and was more pronounced the more it warmed up.

 

Rochefort 8 from around 2009 (cellared for exactly two years).
A nice two inch head recedes to leave light lacing and some bubbles. The taste is fairly soapy, phenolic and slightly alcoholic. I noticed that soapy taste in the fresh 8 but now it seems to be a little more pronounced. This beer has dried out a bit and is not as sweet. Maybe a another two years and the alcohol will be less evident.

 

Black Albert 2007
A gusher erupts when the crown cap is popped, once the gusher stops I am left with 3/4 of a bottle. A small tan head forms on a black brew but quickly recedes to a small ring of bubbles. The smell is very sherry like, cola, sweet like Belgian candi sugar and dark fruit. Just like the smell, the taste is sherry like and sweet, black cherry, plum, any flavours that the malt once exuded are now gone. The mouthfeel has thinned out and not as thick as it was fresh but still not bad. This bottle is infected to a certain degree but it's still drinkable. This bottle now resembles a Belgian quad rather then an imperial stout. No sign of any alcohol in the taste. I am interested in seeing where this beer goes from here, as I have a number of bottles left.

 

STILL JUNE, BABY!!!

Older Viscosity '10
OH EM JEE!!!!!!!! Nice pop when I finally worked out the cork. (This one was a toughie! But it was worth it when it actually spit in my eye when it came loose.) Poured such a nice smooth thick black with about a 1/4 in dark brown head that hung out for a bit. Aroma was sweet nectar of the gods (oak, toffee, malty goodness). I wanted my nose to put on a suit and go swimming in it. Nice thick full mouthfeel, with all the edge gone (my preference) and only smooth tasty stout. This was one of the best beers I have had in awhile. So glad I have a few more of these. Not sure it will improve much from here, but it was so wonderful.