March 2016 Cellar Reviews

This tasting was 5 years in the making. Entire Fantome Sante lineup going back 19 years.


When you think 19 year old saison, some people would cringe but Fantome is my jam and I really enjoy old beer. The first 4-5 bottles were not nearly as oxidized as you would imagine for beer of this age. All unique with varying levels of rich maltiness to cider-like tartness.
Numbers 6-9 must have been years Dany was really experimenting with different hops and spices because each of these were progressively bitter in comparison to the rest of the lineup.
Numbers 10, 11 and 11 rose had varying amounts of coriander and oregano and overall much more bright and tart character.
12-18 are all very much unique in their own regard. If you want to read more indepth about each bottling, ill be uploading reviews throughout the week.

We got into a bunch of other one-off Fantomes but ill save that for an additional post when I get time.

 

2013 World Wide Stout from Dogfish. I have two of these left and decided to crack one this weekend. It is getting released again in December and I will be restocking. This beer is so very complex. It almost tasted like it is bourbon-barrel aged, even though it's not. Sweet layers of vanilla, roasted malts and a great aroma. It's definitely a sipper and expensive but it's worth every nickel.

 

2014 BBPt5

I had read a review from another member that this bottle was doing wonders right now so I had to check it out. Poured beautifully, nice and deep dark brown with a fluffy khaki head. Smell and taste were perfectly aligned with subtle bourbon, big vanilla and fudgey chocolate all melded very nicely. Glad I followed another BA's advice on this one as it really blew me away.

 

We opened up a couple of bottles of Tom Hardy's last night for a friend's birthday, 1986 and 1999. This was my first experience with a Tom Hardy. I started with the 1999. Lots of oxidation but it all taste good, leathery, some tobacco, strong sweet tea flavor, light sherry, and a good dose of dark fruits. Nice thick body and a touch of acidity. Drinking that one really got my hopes up for the 1986 but unfortunately it didn't not hold up so well. Some of the similar leather and tea qualities but a good about of cardboard and light soy sauce has taken over. Also the body had thinned out quite a bit. Great experience and I would still go for old bottles but its always a gamble on how they were stored and how they held up.

 

DFH Palo Santo Marron bottled on 09/18/12
Big tannin/woody aroma on pour with some musty dark malt and some caramel cola type of aroma
Flavor also with hefty tannin character, some fudge and fig, strong licorice in the aftertaste, alcohol well-hidden
Super smooth feel with medium body, low carbonation, and a touch of alcohol heat in the finish
More tannin than I remember but still solid.

 

Stone Russian Imperial Stout, bottled on 03/08/2014
I want to start by saying that when fresh, this beer is not in my wheelhouse. Not terrible, but just not for me. I put this bottle away for my wife who loves it. Ive gotta say, with 2 years on it, this is an entirely different beast and I love it! Served at cellar temp, it continues to get better as it warms. Layers and layers of sweet, smokey, appropriately bitter chocolate, followed by a great brûlée characteristic with a mild alcohol heat. Conclusion...going out to find a few more bottles and refill the cellar. I would love to try a 5 year vertical with this one!

 

Had to celebrate after a great day of work....

2014 3F Framboos - Really disappointing, especially for what I paid for it. Almost completely flat, uninviting aroma of bandaids and plastic berries, bile like acid on the backend. Was very let down.

2013 Deschutes Abyss - Made up for the Framboos, aged amazingly, layers of flavor, bakers chocolate, cherries, coffee, dark fruit, slight barrel character, almost nonexistent booze, dangerously drinkable. Would definitely cellar again.

2015 Cantillon Lambic Bio- Only a year old but drinking great. Lemon, funk, hay, wheat, crisp and refreshing acidity.

 

11/04/2013 Ten Fidy.
Looks thick like motor oil; half finger of mocha head when poured. Aroma has tons of chocolate (mostly milk chocolate), cocoa, syrup, coffee, and a little spiciness, almost like peppers, in the background. Taste is big roast and malt, this is followed by chocolate and a nice punch of coffee. Finish brings on a medium bitterness and some alcohol warmth. Feel is very thick and creamy. Overall, I think I prefer this is a little younger (maybe with just a year). The hops have definitely faded and give room for the malts to dominate, but there I was surprised some of the notes on the nose weren't coming through on the taste.

 

I had a 2014 scotty karate the other night that was severely oxidized. Quite the let down as I didn't expect it being only 2 years. I have a second one I kept I'll be interested to see if it oxidized as much or it was a bottle flaw.

 

5 years old, still as amazing as the day I rescued the case from a distributor who said "this shit will never sell."
Roasty charred grain, slight espresso bitterness, soft oak - caramel, vanilla, bourbon. Rich and boozy with no indication of oxidation.

When I read about people talking negatively about this beer, I cant help but wonder what their storage conditions must be like to have their experience sound as polar as mine.

 

Stone w00t Stout 2.0 (2014)
Heard that this wasnt holding up, so I figured I should crack one. The rumor was NOT true. This is tasting wonderful right now! Nose is dark cherry, chocolate and faint pecan. Taste has depth...same chocolate and dark cherry flavors as the nose, with tons of bourbon barrel and tobacco, with the rye coming through adding a spiciness on the tongue. The tobacco really sticks around in the aftertaste. Seemingly thicker mouthfeel compared to when it was fresh (if I remember correctly).
I have 1 more bottle. I think Im going to let it rest another 1-2 yrs and pop it for a special occasion.

 

This is good news. I went a little crazy this year and bought several bottles of this year's version. I have about 7 left and have them in my cellar. The first 2 years of this were pretty scare in my parts so when I saw it at several stores this year for around $8-9 it was hard to pass up. Cheers!

 

Stone IRS bottled 3/18/14 (2 years ago to the day). Served in a Teku at cellar temp. The flavor on this is milder than I remember it fresh, with big roast, and also cherry, vanilla, maple; certainly not overly bitter, but not too sweet either. I think I'm getting a bit of oxidation (more sherry than wet cardboard), which makes this remind me of Clown Shoes' Gargoyle Love Song. Gets fudgier as it warms.

 

Smuttynose Barleywine
Bottled 2013

It's been ~6 months since I've had one. It's getting quite good. Very nice head that lasts a while. Amber, somewhat cloudy. No hop aroma detectable, a bit of booze. Malt sweetness is immediate. Hops have really dissipated, but a slight hop bitterness remains. Lots of caramel, raisin, and dried cherries, a bit of leather. Finishes with a warming boozy, slightly leathery aftertaste. I have four more, and I'm debating whether to crack one every six months like I have been or have one a year.

 

Slowly working my way through some the last of my older bigfoot bottles. This 2001 is in an awkward phase. Its old enough that the hop bite has faded and the maltiness is coming out more but it had a mild tin character to it and a slight dusty oxidized aftertaste that really didnt play well together. Comical though how this 2001 bottle tasted "older" than the mid 90's bottles that I also opened not that long ago.


DFH Raison d'extra 07 vs 14 bottling.
Talk about but some heavyweight beers with minimal character. The old bottle was lifeless...just tasted like neutral malt sweetness and alcohol. The new version tasted like cider. I dont need to drink either of these ever again.


I heard from a couple sources now that the original barrel room collection voodoo black magicks just arnt holding up that well anymore so I took it upon myself to check in on the BT and Pappy versions.

The blue wax BT was never a favorite of mine, however this experience was eye opening. Crazy amount of toasted cocnut in this both flavor and aroma. Thick dark chocolate flavor with more residual sweetness than I recall ever tasting in black magick before. Delicious afterburn of bourbon and roast.

Pappy was as immaculate as I remember it being. It lacked the rich toasted coconut character found it the BT but instead had an incredible cinnamon-like spiciness. Rich fudge/chocolate flavors and less sweet/more warming alcohol than the BT.

The only conclusion I can draw here is that storage conditions the past 3 years play a big factor in people's experiences or maybe there is some bottle variation. For being 3 years old, I did not detect any noticeable oxidation or degredation of any kinds.

 

Thanks for the report. I love the Smutty IS with age on it but have never tried the barleywine, I might have to do that!

 

I bought 5 bottles of IS last year. I've never had it aged, but to me it's so hoppy fresh that it begs to be aged.

 

Was rooting through my beer closet last night and came across a 2013 Ten FIDY. Gonna crack that one open soon!