September Cellar Reviews

Sipping on a 9/26/2012 batch of Goose Island Bourbon County Stout right now. Carbonation is good, nice smoke and snap when I pop the cap, though head formation and retention are both poor (which is to be expected). Savory fudge with whiskey, a hint of vanilla and maybe sarsaparilla as well. Molasses. Enough booze to tell you this isn't something to trifle with, and also enough to cut down on the sweetness.

Despite the alcohol heat and the intensity of the flavors, I am having trouble slowing myself down enough to savor it. This is good now, maybe a little awkward, but good. Has benefited a bit from age and could easily benefit from another year or so. I've got one more from this batch (though I may give it away to a friend) plus a few of the apparently epic 9/6/2012 batch. Will probably have one of those soon and then wait a year before trying either of the last two.

 

Ya fridge temp cellaring is really too cold in my opinion to allow the bugs to continue actively maturing the wild ales after initial fermentation. A little anecdote- I had 2010 Diss on tap in '12 at the Parkway, they had stored the keg in a walk in cooler since it's release, it was not sour, still sweet and tasted like cherry juice. A few days later I cracked one of my cellared bottles that I had since release (garage closet, avg winter temp 35* avg summer temp 75*) and the '10 Diss had much more funk, a helluva lot of sour, some nice mango and tropical fruit flavors going on. I had a case compiled of bottles picked up from different places and times throughout its release, so I tried another the next week, same thing flavor wise. I am a firm believer in not aging beer in a fridge if you want to fully experience the maturation process.

 

Do you believe this for other beers (imp./ba stouts, quads) as well as wild ales? or mainly wild ales so the bugs are able to keep working?

 

All beers.

 

Cheers, thanks.

 

Isn't Dissident pasteurized?

 

No.

http://beeradvocate.com/community/threads/dissident-filtered-not-pasteurized.6219/

 

Check-ins over the weekend:

Green label Gratitude... just bad. Overly oxidized. Not undrinkable, but no longer even particularly enjoyable. Not unexpected, still disappointing.

CBS... huge anise notes are predominant. Still very pleasant and enjoyable overall, a far cry from fresh.

 

Thanks for the link. I remember someone saying it was pasteurized in the forums years ago and never investigated it further. Good to hear.

 

Since there isn't an October one yet and it was only one day into the new month. '12 Founders Backwoods Bastard: good, but not great as when it was fresh or with just a few months on it.

 

I know this is a pretty extreme beer, but the other day I cracked a 2012 Bell's Special Double Cream Stout that I rediscovered in the back of my fridge.
Fantastic! Chocolate-roasty-wonderfulness.

 

I did not have the same experience, but that's the way it goes. I'll be drinking my other two bottles pretty quickly.

 

Those photos are fascinating. I'm trying to build a vertical now - I have 2 12s and 2 13s thus far, so it's great to see how it's coming along.

 

Agreed, this one was tough to chug.

Stone Collab Imperial Chocolate Mint Stout. About a year old. When this was fresh i wasnt wowed by it. They advertised it as a liquid Andes mint. One year later it finally lives up to its Andes comparison. Subtle chocolate flavor with a surprisingly strong mint flavor. Looking at the $3.29 price tag for 12oz of imperial stout id say that was one hell of a steal.

 

I bought a bottle of 2012 last year since I hadn't had this since 2008. Just opened it and Jesus Christ it is fucking awful. Two sips and the rest is going down the drain, i feel sorry for the sewer.

 

Exact opposite opinion but perhaps similar experience. I loved it fresh. Felt that it held up as an imperial stout with just a hint of mint in the background. After ~ 6-9 months (I forget, but I've had a baby recently, so forgive) I found it thinned out and the mint was much too forward.

My sample size was those two bottles, so it's possible that with everything else factored in it didn't change as much as I perceive it to have, but if they brewed it again I'd pick up another bottle and I'd leave it along if I saw it around.

 

Have you picked up a 2014 bottle yet? I'm considering grabbing a pair, having one now and cellaring the other for a year to compare.

 

Opened a 2008 Bigfoot the other day. It was delicious. Much more rich, bready, and sweet than the fresh version, but still has a big hop finish. Surprising that there was still such a big hop bite on the finish after 6 years. Really good right now if you're looking to crack one.