SN Bigfoot Cellaring

Opinions vary on this. Take a look at the December review thread. You'll see a set of reviews from 2010 or 2011 to 2015 as I recall.

That said, not everyone agrees with those reviews. I've definitely seen some reviews that praise those super old vintages.

 

09 isn’t that old if stored properly. I’ve had ‘90s Bigfoot’s that were decent, and others that should have been drinked sooner. It is a lighter bodied barleywine by my standards, and those tend to not be so much the long-haul agers like Thomas Hardy.

Drink them up, they are fine. I like to start with oldest first before my tongue gets numbed by alcohol and flavors start to bleed into each other.

 

In my experience Bigfoot has a peak at about 1.5 to 3 years, and then starts to slowly slide off, so yeah, you're a little bit off on that. I'm not sure I ever had a Bigfoot that was 8 years old but probably 6, and I don't remember anything being undrinkable or too oxidized. What I do recall is that Bigfoot, unlike a lot of other barleywines, tended to hold together pretty well. Other brands can vary widely from year to year when aged but Bigfoot seems to be pretty focused.

 

sometime in 2010-2012 I had a mix six pack of of big foot from the 90's and 200's. Earliest was from 1992. it definitely falls off, but if I remember correctly I liked the 1998 the best, which would have been around 12-14 years old at that point. They get kind of flat and eventually a bit oxidized, but they were all drinkable. Enjoy.

 

My experience with Bigfoot is that 7-8 years is too much. I pick this because it's the oldest Bigfoot I've had.

My best experience was 5 years of age (2009 vintage in 2014), so I'll not go beyond 5 years personally.

The hops in this beer are so unbelievably persistent.

Anyone with experience aging the bourbon barrel aged version of this beer? I have one from 15 I'm hoping the hops will fade more and the beer will drink more like an aged English barleywine.

 

I currently have 2004 - 2017 in my cellar. Each year I buy a 4 or 6 pack of it, and one bottle goes in the cellar and I forget about them till the next year when Bigfoot comes around again. Never really had a plan for them, but each year I add one more for some reason. At this point it would be too much to do a vertical of all of them at once. Maybe I'll hold out until I have an entire case (2027?)

 

I had a 2013 a couple weeks ago, which I though was phenomenal. The piny, resinous hop flavors had faded, but the bitterness remained, which combined with the malt character to create a bittersweet chocolate experience. That's the oldest I've had, but I've got a few more '13s that I'm hanging on to.

 

I recently opened a 2009 and it was quite enjoyable, but I personally feel that SN Bigfoot is best from fresh through 5 years and falls off slowly from there. In my experience a 2 year old bottle is delicious but different from a 4 year old bottle (which is also delicious). The differences brought on by aging are still positive until around 5 years and then the differences become more negative. As always, this is highly subjective as I suspect that the majority of craft beer drinkers would prefer it fresh over any age.

This is not a beer which seems to fall off a cliff at a certain age (especially considering how many people say it is still good for so long).

 

I try to keep the last 5 years worth. Longer than that gets too complicated. At 5 years old, most of my friends can tell a difference but they are all good.

 

Bigfoot is basically the only beer I cellar anymore.

When did SN switch from twist off to pry off? That should make a difference. I have 2006-present in the basement. Some at 6-8 years have been sensational while others have a bit too much cardboard. At 10 years they have been a disappointment, I need to drink up my older bottles. Think I'll pop one tonight.

I have 2 each put aside from 2013 and 2015, the years my boys were born. Those are pry offs so I hope they hold up long enough for me share with them in the distant future.

 

I just opened one of my two remaining 08's, been years since I had this vintage. This was a pry off and I'm pretty this was the first non-twist off year.

Mmmm this is why I age bigfoot. Smooth, decadent toffee and caramel with a light lingering bitterness. Hope yours are as good OP, cheers.

 

I only started cellaring in '14, so I have been really trying to hold off tasting the Bigfoot I have put away. Maybe I'll do a 5 year vertical this year. I've had it (& BA version) on tap multiple times and it's definitely, for me, too hoppy as a Barleywine when fresh.

 

This^^^
Perfectly sums up Bigfoot IMHO. I feel that they are too hoppy and one dimensional when young. 3-5 years the hops begin to fade and the beer becomes well balanced. After that the toffee become stronger, the hops all but disappear, and the "beef bouillon" flavor emerges. I'm a big fan of well-cellared Bigfoot at about six years old. YMMV

 

Drank a 2001 and 2008 side by side a few weeks ago. The 2001 was the real star. It was given to me by an acquaintance who said his father in law kept a case in his garage since purchase. When he passed away last year, this acquaintance started to give out bottles of it to various people, and I was lucky enough to get one. It was excellent, held up considerably better than I expected. Carb was there and a leathery woody flavor dominated- in the best way possible. The '08, by comparison, was a little oxidized and not nearly as flavorful(but still very good). Funny how things happen like that. In closing, age yo bigfoot.

 

Timely thread--I had bottles of 2014 and 2015 side-by-side last night.

The 2014 bottle drank superbly. The flavor profile started out with hugely floral, resinous hops that became decidedly citrusy into the mid-taste. It finished with a honey-caramel sweetness that balanced exceptionally well with the hops and coated the mouth, lingering on the tastes seemingly forever.

The 2015 bottle was good but disappointing in comparison. I noticed resinous, piney hop influence on the front end of the taste, but it wasn't nearly as robust as the 2014 bottle and lacked the floral bouquet. The '15 bottle presented the same level of honey-caramel sweetness as the '14, but the hops just weren't there to establish that pleasant balance.

Both bottles were purchased fresh and stored in the same conditions. The fact that the older bottle was much hoppier suggests there was some batch variation between the two vintages. In any event, last night's experiment led me to conclude that four years is a great time to drink Bigfoot, especially if you're antsy about letting it sit any longer. Cheers!