Parabola 2011 vs 2016

Tried to reply to my old thread from 2011 but apparently my marriage has lasted longer than threads do here. Anyway, my wife and I have a set of 2011 Parabola to drink in 2016, 2021, 2036, and 2061 in honor of our various anniversaries. It's now 2016. A couple months ago we grabbed a pair of 2016 Parabola to have now and in 2021.

So, what you all care about: 2011 vs 2016 Parabola. In summary, the 2011 is better. Definitely chose the right beer to try to age for 50 yr after a bunch of back-and-forth vs various Belgians. The 2011 is very mellow now, but with a delicious barrel-aged flavor of chocolate, coffee, and hints of caramel and fruit. Nothing stands out too strongly and overall it's very smooth, though a little lacking on carbonation at this point. The 2016 Parabola is good but sweeter up front and more bitter at the end with much stronger flavors of coffee and dark-fruit.

 

Oh we'll just stick with the 2011 vintage (and the single extra 2016) if they drop it. The original plan never involved buying the current release to have for the various anniversaries. But it was pretty useful for this year to get an idea of how the 2011 was handling the age. Regarding something like Guinness, it would probably be safer in terms of current beer being available for the trials, but less likely the old beer would be in good shape. We picked Parabola partially for the high ABV.