The Vintage Bourbon County Review Thread

Discussion in 'Cellaring / Aging Beer' started by Beer_Economicus, Aug 29, 2020.

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  1. Beer_Economicus

    Beer_Economicus Pooh-Bah (2,698) Apr 8, 2017 Ohio
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Love the stream of consciousness. Thanks, Dave.
     
    #41 Beer_Economicus, Dec 2, 2021
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  2. wally_world

    wally_world Pundit (890) Nov 27, 2015 Illinois
    Trader

    Did an 11 year vertical last night. Was supposed to be last year, but yeah..

    [​IMG]

    Everyone was blown away by how good '13 and '14 still are!

    General consensus was:

    '14 > '13 > '19 > '18 > '17 > '12 > '20 > '21 > '16 > '15 > '11

    '15 wasn't infected, just bland. '16 was similar.
     
    #42 wally_world, Dec 19, 2021
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  3. Beer_Economicus

    Beer_Economicus Pooh-Bah (2,698) Apr 8, 2017 Ohio
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Thanks for the post. Always great feedback when people do verticals.

    In my experience (not so much personal, but reading reviews), people generally seem to usually agree that 13 and 14 are two of the best years. 14 is often described as having that 'bourbon soaked brownies' thing going on, which everyone loves. So, I'm not surprised both of those are at the top.

    15 I thought was great until a year or 2 ago. I feel like, for whatever reason (and in my experience) it hasn't been as good over the last year or two. I've only had 1 this year, and 2 in the last 2 (as far as I can recall), so limited data points, but...I remember being surprised at this since 15 was so good for so long.

    12 and 11 seem to be a little more polarizing. Some (@cavedave being one of them) seem to be of the opinion that 2012 was one of if not the best vintage, whereas others (clearly) seem to feel more of the opposite.

    Love all the feedback and data points.
     
    #43 Beer_Economicus, Dec 19, 2021
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  4. wally_world

    wally_world Pundit (890) Nov 27, 2015 Illinois
    Trader

    Totally agree about 15. It wasn't bad/infected, just seemed to fizzle and didn't have much barrel. 14 was exactly that: bourbon soaked brownies with really solid viscosity.

    12 was definitely a step up from 11 with more milk chocolate, didn't get much dark fruit/raisins like 11.
     
    #44 wally_world, Dec 19, 2021
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  5. Beer_Economicus

    Beer_Economicus Pooh-Bah (2,698) Apr 8, 2017 Ohio
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Giving this a pre-emptive bump. I have several vintage BCBS beers that I took notes on (and photos! don't worry) that I need to post to this thread.

    Since it might take me a couple weeks, giving the bump to help remind people that this thread exists.
     
    #45 Beer_Economicus, Mar 22, 2022
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  6. Fordcoyote15

    Fordcoyote15 Pooh-Bah (2,368) Nov 19, 2011 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    And then just leaving us hanging
     
    #46 Fordcoyote15, Apr 21, 2022
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  7. Beersnake

    Beersnake Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,884) Aug 17, 2013 California
    Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    2017 Bourbon County Barleywine, compliments of @Beer_Economicus!

    Poured at fridge temp. Pours a nice dark brown with quickly dissipating head. The nose is amazing - huge toffee notes. Bourbon, a bit of vanilla, raisins, and more toffee! Werther's all the way!

    The taste nicely in line with the nose, but with added boozyness. The toffee comes through, and persists on the aftertaste. It's still pretty hot in the middle - you can tell this is a 14.4% beer. Vanilla, cherries, raisins, a slight nutty note, and a nice bread/malts note. Exceptional. Glad I got to try one of these with 5 years (almost) on it!

    [​IMG]
     
    #47 Beersnake, Apr 22, 2022
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  8. Resistance88

    Resistance88 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,462) Apr 9, 2015 California
    Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Anyyyyy minute now.....
     
    #48 Resistance88, May 23, 2023
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