November Cellar Reviews

Bottled Jan 2015
Apple Brandy Barrel Noir - Prairie Artisan Ales

I'm not a reviewing kind of guy... But I cracked open one of my bottles of this yesterday.
I remember this beer fresh as having a great apple brandy taste with a strong brandy taste.
The brandy is still there but the sweet green apple flavor is just popping out! Aging very well.

 

2014 Double Bastard Ale. Poured into a Duvel tulip at cellar temp. Reviewed fresh here.

Look: very strongly rubyish brown, with a small short-lived light tan head. 4.25/5

Smell: pure barleywine goodness. Almost would believe this was §ucaba or something similar. Dates, brown sugar, mild booze, orange rind, caramel. 4.5/5

Taste: vanilla, oak, brown sugar, hop bitterness. Hard to describe, short of saying it's like a sweeter, richer, less hoppy Double Bastard. 4.5/5

Feel: unabashedly thick. Really goddamn great. 4.75/5

Overall: if Stone had only ever made AB and its brethren (Oaked, Double, Lukcy, BA, etc), they'd still be one of the best breweries ever (branding spinoffs notwithstanding). This is just a solid, solid beer, and one I look forward to revisiting again in another year. 4.5/5

 

The Abyss 2009 - This is the year of the rumored infection. I've had lots of Abyss over the years, so I have a quality standard to compare to. I'll be honest, it's hard to tell if this is infected with brett or not. It's got all of the good things that Abyss normally has, it's strong, has deep dark licorice and bourbon notes, but it does have a very slight tart/chocolate covered cherry taste, maybe that's the unwanted brett peaking through. But to be honest with you, it's slight enough to be almost unnoticeable, and doesn't detract from the overall Abyss experience. I love The Abyss, one of my favorite beers, and this vintage did not disappoint. If you are holding onto any 2009 bottles out of fear of the possible infection, I say Go For It. If this is indeed infected (and yes, I've had other infected beers), it's not in a bad way.

 

Not the Stoic - Best after sometime in April or May of 2015

This one has developed a bit since it fresh but still looks like it can go a long way. The wine barrels come through more and along with the pomegranate molasses give of nice fruity and slightly tart notes. The richness from molasses and Belgian yeast and sugars is top notch in this brew as it was fresh. The rye whiskey barrels add some nice depth to the flavor, and some boozy qualities as well. Overall the balance is spot on and all the flavors have their time to shine.

This is drinking wonderfully now, but I don't see it going downhill anytime soon. I know I wish I had a few more bottles.

 

11.10.15 - Dogfish Head Olde School, dated 10.27.14

Wow. I like this beer fresh, in an interest of full disclosure. I was hesitant to only drink one last year and place three in the cellar. When fresh, there's a muted sense of the figs and dates because the alcohol is rather prevalent in the nose. Warmed up, this gets better, but the 15% is evident while drinking. It's a super sipper, best for splitting in two. However, with a year on it, straight from the cellar, no refrigeration, this beer f'n shines. Amazing fruit notes on the nose, a soft almost maple sweetness comes through in the finish. Smooth as can be, light carbonation. An A+. To be honest, I never want this without a year on it.

Here's my conundrum: I've got two left and this is drinking wonderfully at the moment. Do I chalk up this as a win and drink the rest this winter? Or do I keep experimenting and save one for next year, one for a year afterward? Anyone with any experience on this particular beer? @SamCalagione can you help?

 

Thanks for that review mrmatt. I've got a few with the same date and now I know what I'm throwing in the fridge for this weekend. As to your conundrum, it's compounded by the sad reality that we will not be getting any new batches this year to save for next!

 

My strategy was 6 oz. so who (who's measuring) in a stemmed wine glass. Enjoy & consider. Pour the next 6 oz., repeat. I hope you like it.

As for no new batch this year, all I can say is "ugh." I love that beer. I guess we're answering my question through this. However, I should note that I'll never again buy a four pack and have more than one fresh. I'll choose to sit on a few for at least a year.

 

I have drank both infected and noninfected bottles of 2009 several times. It is a pretty obvious difference. So basically, the low down from a guy local to Deschutes that I traded with says 2009 Abyss cellared at Deschutes are the bottles that were not infected. I got to try a bottle that he traded to me with a guarantee that if it was infected he would make it right and send something to make up for the infected bottle. In my opinion 2009 (that is not infected) is just as good as 2008 and 2010 vintages with extended aging. Both 2008 and 2010 are among the best two vintages of Abyss that I have tried thus far. After almost 6 year in the bottle; sour bugs would be very evident at this time. You would have no mistaking it, they would not be subtle. Based on what you are reporting for notes on the 2009 Abyss you got a good bottle that was not infected.

 

Vintage 2014 BCBS. bottle date 9/12/2014. We have 1 year and 2 months exactly for age on this bottle.

A- Black body thick cap of dark brown head that fades away quickly.

S- Heavy barrel notes of bourbon, oak barrel, moderate char. Fudge brownies, vanilla extract, and cola.

T- starts off sweet. Bourbon, vanilla, caramel, and flourless chocolate cake. Middle of the flavor profile has moderate to heavy charred notes, deep dry oak, hint of leather, and wood tannins. The finish blends everything together nicely and lingers on pleasantly long after each sip. Finish is has a light bitterness that matches the sweetness nicely.

M- full bodied beer with low carbonation level; really the carbonation is perfect right now. The beer is oily, dense, chewy, substantial, and very smooth. Not a hint of booze.

O- This one is already starting to hit the sweet spot. I normally would say 2 or 3 years, but it is already so close to BCBS perfection. Getting very close to perfect balance. I though that this 2014 vintage was way to sweet when fresh, but the sweetness has died down and the char and oak are really nice compliments to the sweetness of BCBS.

On a side note...Damn it Goose Island...Can you go back to selling BCBS in 4 packs? That would be great! Thanks

 

2011 Victory Dark Intrigue





So let's see what 4 years and 6 days does for us.

Beautiful looking beer, great foamy head that sticks around and deposits sticky lacing all about.

Nose is a cacophony of aroma with leather, currant, molasses and caramel with a little sweet candy sugar for good measure.

Taste is initially bitter but quickly presents that same dark fruit, currant taste until that sugary sweet pulls in, and with it is the slow moving heat. Little alcohol taste but nothing overwhelming.

Yep, age does this very well. Wish I had a few more!

 

2014 vs. 2015 Anchor Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
The 2014 has a lighter appearance with much more amber coming through. In the nose, the 2014 is much more a inter beer with heavy spices tickling the nose, while the 2015 has an almost muted earthy smell. Not much there. When it comes to taste, there's no contest. The 2014 has a complex set of flavors that develop, while the 2015 is just hard to drink. I'm getting peat and smoke and none of the reminiscent winter spices evident in the 2014. 2014 = 3.25 overall. 2015 = 2.25

 

2013 TenFIDY

I figured 2 years was a good time to open up the last can of the 4 pack. My notes have this beer being very roasted to charred malts with quite a punch of bitterness. The bitterness has fallen quite a bit, although I would not describe it as sweet, it comes of fairly dry and with a very subdued bitterness. The notes of roast and char are still there but are not longer the largest driving factor of the taste. The age in this one shows in three main ways: autolysis, oxidation and aged alcohol. The alcohol was never harsh on this one but certainly there; now it has aged, giving off notes of toffee and caramel. The autolysis is still a positive to neutral (depending on your opinion of aged beers) factor: it gives notes of slight rust to soy sauce. The oxidation adds notes of port, which accompany the dark fruits nicely.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/2681/34483/?ba=SportsandJorts Link to my review as last year I did a mini vertical. This year I got lazy as this is the only can currently in my cellar.

Overall, I'd say TenFIDY is probably one of the better aging stouts that I've had the chance of cellaring. It is good at all stages up to this point but I'd guess that in the one to one and a half year range is where my favorite is.

 

Raiding the cellar again! 2012 Bourbon County. bottled on date: 08/23/2012.

That makes this BCBS 3 years and near 3 months old.

Or you could say this beer is approximately 1173 days old.

A- black body that pours a thin cap that drops down to thin ring around the glass.

S- spicy bourbon, dark chocolate, brown sugar, dry oak, and a hint of lighter fluid.

T- Flourless chocolate cake and top shelf bourbon. Lots of caramel and vanilla sweetness with plenty of dry oak barrel tannins. Hint of dark fruit in the middle. Finish is lightly bitter. Leather and bakers cocoa mixing with a light spicy booze burn reminiscent of rum.

M- medium body with low carbonation. This beer has a big mouthfeel, but the booze seems to thin out the body. This vintage of BCBS has an almost moderately dry finish to it. Not overtly boozey, but you have not doubt that this beer is rocking all of the 15% that is advertised on the label.

O- Nice complexity in the aroma and flavor profile. The mouthfeel might be the downfall of this vintage. While the 15% ABV is fairly drinkable it does take away from the overall effect slightly (based on my BCBS preferences). Traditionally BCBS has a thick, chewy, and oily mouthfeel that 2008, 2009, 2010 seem to embody quite well. Vintage 2012 does not live up to previous years mentioned. This beer still has a long time before it mellows out. It seems to be pretty stable and a slow aging year of BCBS. Considering the flip side, I think 2012 vintage of BCBS will last a year or two past the recommended 5 years of aging per goose island and the recommendation on the label.

 

2012 Bruery Melange #3

Big raw oaky nose, almost musty. Some chocolate and dark fruit hiding underneath, with vanilla becoming apparent as it warms. Molasses with a hint of soy sauce, and marshmallow, especially as it warms, with a hint of an herbal quality on the finish. Full bodied with some warmth In the throat. I was a bit sceptical at first, but once it warmed up it really came together. Definitely has some legs on it. I had opened a 2011 recently that I didn't get around to reviewing, and while I enjoyed that one more right off the bat, this one caught up once it had time to breathe.

 

Three Year Flight of Ten Fidy (2012, 2014 and 2015)



2012 was on draft and from a growler. The others from cellared cans.

A: Same for all three. Jet black, caramel colored head. 2012 had most head, but could be due to being on draft and poured from a growler.

Aroma: 2012 - Roast, vanilla and caramel. 2014 - Less roast more fruit notes, mostly cherry and plum. 2015 - Even less roast and fruit. Smell of fresh hops.

F: 2012 - Tons of roast with caramel, vanilla and molasses with some chocolate shining through. A delectable dessert beer. Almost no hop finish. 2014 - Very deep rich flavors of fruit and berries like dried cherries and raspberries. A slight hop finish. 2015: Deep richness and caramel on the front with a hoppy bitter back end finishes that meshes well with the caramel and rich front.

M: All very similar with a decent amount of carbonation and thickness on style.

Overall: 2012 and 2014 are different, but equally great, just in different ways. 2015 is nice if you prefer hoppy stouts, but not my thing. Will let my cans sit for at least a year going forward.

 

2012 Parabola into a Barrelworks Teku at cellar temp. Bottle opens with the slightest of hisses.

Look: pours a bit thin, with no head. Dark ruby-tinged brown, but not the jet black that's in vogue for BA stouts these days. (4/5)

Smell: bourbon, dark fruits, molasses, vanilla, chocolate. (4.25/5)

Taste: something tangy up front, followed by overripe fruit (in a good way), gobs of chocolate, lingering chocolate-covered cherries, brown sugar, maple syrup, oak. Not in the least bit hot. As it warms, it gets even more dessert-y. (4.5/5)

Feel: solidly medium bodied, with plenty of carbonation for the style, and not especially dry. (4.25/5)

Overall: I feel like I've underrated this across the board, but I don't want to let my pro-FW bias sneak in. It's a really delicious and enjoyable beer. The people who claim FW doesn't age well have some 'splainin' to do. (4.5/5)

 

Having finished that bottle, I definitely rated low. Really phenomenal. Deserves a picture.

 

2014 old Fezziwig. I put it away on a whim; my parents gave me a few leftovers in February so I thought, why not?

Basically, imagine everything you like about old Fezzi, but just slightly better. Mouthfeel is sublime and taste is excellent. It's tastes roughly the same but with just a slight malty smoothness that suggests egg nog. I will definitely save a few every year.

 

Port Brewing Old Viscosity - bomber into random juice glass.

Bought this one sometime in 2011.

Oaked beers always seem to age with some harshness. But this one is pretty mild and has some nice roasty chocolate character without a lot of oxidation to accompany the slight spiciness. Vanilla and alcohol warmth on the finish. Just enough carbonation to sustain the flavor and a slightly tan head. Not bad for four years and better than I remember from a fresh bottle.

Happy thanksgiving advocates!