November Cellar Reviews

The brett had dried it out so far that was actually difficult to drink. The smell was amazing- sherry, port, fresh sliced apples, wood, caramel, toffee. The taste was sherry and cardboard. It didn't hold up well at all.

 

2012 Heavy Seas Greater Pumpkin
Had one from last fall I didn't get around to drinking, so decided to crack it last week. I didn't have this years version, but had a couple last year, and remember thinking that the bourbon character masked the pumpkin pie spice character a bit. This time around it seems the bourbon character had really faded, and the pumpkin spice really shined through, perhaps a bit too much. It would have been nice a bit more balance between the two. Maybe the sweet spot for this brew is around 6 months? Of course that means drinking a pumpkin beer in May, but hey, whatever. Still an enjoyable brew while grilling on the deck on a breezy November evening.

 

2.5 year old Ommegang Abbey Ale - we gave it the same score as 1.5 year old version. Plenty of head, sweeter smell, less grapey metallic finish. It's good stuff and worth aging, but I doubt it should go much past 3 years.

 

2008 WWS is drinking amazing right now. Had it on International Stout Day. 5 years has done wonders for this big boy. It has mellowed out very nicely. Fresh it was a must split but aged I took down the 12oz to myself... ha-ha.

 

2007 Gonzo Imperial Porter
Lots of phenols here, plasticy smelll. Taste is still pretty heavy caramel (form a fuzzy memory of not having had this in 5+ years), nice acridness cuts it on the bitter finish. Oxidation softens the mouthfeel greatly, and while the taste is smooth and a little old, it's still very robust. First sip tasted too oxidized. After adjusting, I'm really liking this. Have another, will age for fun, not really sure this one has it for the long haul, we'll see...

 

2008 Central Waters Satin Solstice

I've aged these before and they change remarkably little with time and this one is the same. A little bourbon in the aroma now and taking on a bit of soy sauce. Still a thin dark head that continues to lace quite a bit.
Flavor still holds a rich malt bite. Hints of bourbon (this is not the barrel aged one) and a growing soy sauce, which really isn't too much, but in time might be.
Body is thinning a bit, but is still smooth enough with the dying carbonation.
This is still pretty good. It was never a great beer, but a solid drinker and it remains so now.

 

I cracked a 2008 Schlafly Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout this past weekend. Originally I had this vintage in December 2010 and thought it was very good. Last time I had a bottle was September 2012 and thought it had gotten even better.

Overall I thought it was still a very good BA stout, but I think it has slightly peaked. It still has a lot of chocolate and roasted notes, but less caramel and I think the sweet bourbon has faded a little bit. From my experience this beer is very good fresh, and then ages into a fantastic beer in the 2-4 year range, but I wouldn't age it longer than that.

I've got some 2010's of this and the BA barleywine and plan on opening them in the next 3-12 months.

 

1.5 year old North Coast Otsuchi Old Ale 2012 - this one is aging well. Smoother, the aged grapey smell is coming out. I think this one has another 1.5 years to go at least, but it's very good now.

 

2007 Abyss
Whoa, rich, deep, intense. Softened, but so much vibrancy. Long way to go! 4.5+

 

1 year old Backwoods Bastard - we preferred it fresh, although it's still very good.

 

Just opened a 2010 Hibernation cellared at 50 degrees F since I bought it 3 years ago. This is one of the very few beers that I think age does favors for, especially when aged over a year. I have never had a bottle this old (I once tried a kegged version that was 4 years old and it was fantastic). Instead of the sweet, treacle/dark fruit flavors I expected (and found enhanced at 1 and 2 years) I taste a slightly harsh tannic-bitter tea quality that wasn't there a year ago. Almost lemony. I didn't expect this at all. It is very interesting but not as tasty as it was at 1 and 2 years of age (or when it was fresh). There is still plenty of life left though, with ample carbonation and a thick mouthfeel. All this being said it is still quite good but no longer an improvement on the fresh version. In 2 more years I will do a 5 year vertical and perhaps this will make it through this odd bitter stage and become something better. I will never forget how awesome that 4 year old kegged version tasted (much better than the fresh one tried side by side, which is saying a lot as this beer is quite tasty fresh).

 

2011 BCBS- Drinking FANTASTIC

2012 TenFidy- Better fresh...

 

2005 Deschutes Mirror Mirror.


Held up extremely well but definitely primed. A moderate does of candy and some residual yet faded floral hops, no bitterness, smooth as can be. The ABV is distant. This is a just a smoothed out, sweet unINFECTED with very trace oxidation.

PS...FW13 is primed, FW 14 is getting there 15 is MONEY and not as sweet as initial release and 16 is still going strong.

2002 Bigfoots and 2003 Rudyards Rare are moving along nicely....

 

Had a tasting held FOBAB weekend; finally posting my quick notes from the tasting-

BCBS Rare still drinking so amazingly! Fudgy and barrel notes are so awesome right now! So smooth!

King Henry is drinking just a flawlessly as BCBS Rare! It still has the wow factor if it has been properly cellared like this bottle was!

Bramble BCBS still drinking fantastic! I swear this beer gets better everytime I drink it...

CBS while it was way better than I expected it to be, it is starting to have some black licorice notes which I am not a huge fan of. Very sweet at this point. No roastiness or coffee flavors anymore.

2010 Upland Kiwi. This sour is holding up great. Still pretty sour and still tasting alot of kiwi.

 

1 year old Bolt Cutter - I liked it better as it warmed up, but it's still a bit of a mess. Liked it a little better fresh; think it has a few years to go before peaking.

Hmm, we just started aging a bunch of Ten Fidy. I hope this is not the general consensus...

 

BCBS bottled on 8/23/2012. So we are looking at a year and 3 months of age on this bottle.

Not much has changed with the flavor profile of this beer when it was fresh. I wasnt enjoying this much right out of the fridge, but when it warmed up to room temperature...Oh my! Tastes like bourbony, vanilla, marshmellows, oak, char, tobacco! Mouthfeel is thick and oily. The beer is crazy smooth even at room temperature not even a hint of booziness. I really like this 2012 vintage right now, it reminds me alot of 2009 with 2 years on it. 2009 BCBS has been my favorite vintage of BCBS for a long time. I dont see more time aging this beer making it any better.

 

Side by side 2009 and 2011 Double Bastard.

2011 was still the big burly beer I remember, though mellowed out significantly.
2009 by comparison became a toffee and caramel treasure, rich and decadent, probably the closest I've had since my one dim memory of a Flying Mouflon as the peak of barley wine goodness.

Wish I could get my hands on more Double Bastard to set aside for some years.

 

Thanksgiving week = drink down my cellar a bit with the help of friends and family. Tonight:

1. 2012 Bourbon County Stout. More specifically, the 9-06-2012 batch. Markedly less hot than the one from 9-20 that I had recently, though it still has apparent whiskey flavors. A bit of vanilla, certainly more than fresh (or at least less obstructed by the whiskey burn). Hershey's and marshmellows with an extremely generous dose if molasses. In fact, I would say the dominant flavor us molasses. Almost every time I have a cellared -bal stout I get more amazed that some people don't think they age well.

2. 2011 and 2013 North Coast Old Stock. We had these side by side after finishing the Bourbon County, which probably wasn't a good idea. But we could still taste a surprising amount here. I thought notable flavors included caramel-dipped fruit and possibly toffee. 2011 was better but I thought the 2013 was surprisingly smooth for being less than a year old.

Last night: September 2011 and April 2012 Bells Third Coast Old Ale side by side. I was neither impressed nor disappointed. 2011 was a bit less abrasively hoppy but I still think both were too hoppy. The primary malt flavor comes mostly from oxidation but even that was subtle compared to the hops. I think I'll stop buying this while I whittle down my remaining Third Coast's . Hopefully at some point I will find a sweet spot.

 

Did a lot of drinking over Thanksgiving with family...

Fullers vintage 08-11...08 was the best...the flavors finally started coming together...sweet, balanced, and complex.

Did some Big Worse as well. 10 was a soy bomb. 11 red wine had nice barrel on the nose but it was an afterthought in the taste. 11 bourbon was delicious...drinking very well.

11 Black Ops still boozy though not as much as fresh and the champagne carbonation kills the mouthfeel.

SN 30th black barleywine is holding up alright.

12 Big John was big, thick, and boozy.

 

2012 Sucaba is drinking perfectly right now! At room temp its not boozey at all. All the barrel notes are blending nicely with the rest of the beer. Really impressive right now!!!