To age or not to age RIS edition

Discussion in 'Cellaring / Aging Beer' started by KzooBeerBrian, Apr 15, 2012.

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  1. KzooBeerBrian

    KzooBeerBrian Initiate (0) Oct 15, 2011 Michigan

    Hello fello BAs

    Which widely distributed and easy to obtain RIS do you find better fresh, or with age on them and why? I know this topic has risen on multiple occasions for specific brews but lets broaden the spectrum to those beers that always make it to the shelf and never in short supply (during their release months that is)
     
    #1 KzooBeerBrian, Apr 15, 2012
  2. libbey

    libbey Initiate (0) May 18, 2008 British Indian Ocean Territory

    Stone RIS is still one of my all time favorite, affordable and reasonably priced beers that have stood up to the test of time in my cellar.
     
    #2 libbey, Apr 15, 2012
  3. Thickfreakness

    Thickfreakness Initiate (0) Oct 2, 2010 New York

    I love Stone RIS with some age on it. It's pretty good fresh but I like how it mellows/evens out after two years. The licorice notes fade and blend with the cocoa and roasted malts.
    Brooklyn BCS is awesome fresh and even better aged. Great hoppy punch fresh, but the citrus fades some and blends seemlessly with a year, or even better two or three on it. Had a growler of aged BCS recently and it was incredible!!!
    Samuel Adams Imperial Series Stout is another that really changes with some age. It's a nice RIS fresh, but the chocolate, coffee, hops and dark fruit really open up after a year in the cellar.
    Oskar Blues Ten Fidy is another one that I really like fresh, but was AWESOME from a year old keg! So smooth, creamy, sticky and chewy! This is something I should try to get a sixtel of and put away for a few years. I had a year old can of TF and wasn't really impressed. I tasted a load of metallic can even after rinsing the can off before pouring it into my glass. It's made me weary of buying anymore aged can beers.
     
    #3 Thickfreakness, Apr 15, 2012
  4. KzooBeerBrian

    KzooBeerBrian Initiate (0) Oct 15, 2011 Michigan

    It seems quite widely agreed upon that BCS is good fresh and great with a year on it so next chance I get I'll have to snag some just to put away, I wasn't a huge fan of it fresh, little too much of that bitter unsweetened chocolate for my palate.

    I have been adding tons of RIS to my cellar to start comparing fresh to aged on many of my favorite stouts as of now its at:
    - Bells expedition
    - Founders breakfast (not aging a full year)
    - Founders KBS
    - Founders RIS
    - Avery The Czar "bottled 2007" per what the label reads
    - Arcadia RIS
    - EPIC big bad baptist
    - STONE RIS
    - Victory Storm King (incredibly hoppy fresh so I may sit on a few to "check in on")
    - Old Rasputin XIV
    - New Holland night tripper
    - New Holland Dragonsmilk (I know this one doesn't really count)
     
    #4 KzooBeerBrian, Apr 15, 2012
  5. libbey

    libbey Initiate (0) May 18, 2008 British Indian Ocean Territory

    Expedition can do some pretty special things if you have the patience to stay away from them for a couple of years:slight_smile:
     
    #5 libbey, Apr 15, 2012
  6. UCLABrewN84

    UCLABrewN84 Initiate (0) Mar 18, 2010 California

    I was able to try a growler fill of 2005 Stone IRS directly from their "cellar" and it was one of the best beers I have ever had. That one ages very well from vintage bottles I have tried as well.
     
    #6 UCLABrewN84, Apr 15, 2012
    CheapBeerBuzz and libbey like this.
  7. Crawfordesquire

    Crawfordesquire Initiate (0) Dec 20, 2011 North Carolina

    do you find the licorice notes to be strong when fresh?I hate, hate, hate licorice/anise flavors, so I probably won't open the soon to be released RIS for a while.
     
    #7 Crawfordesquire, Apr 15, 2012
  8. r0nyn

    r0nyn Pundit (983) Aug 1, 2009 New York

    I would definitely try to get another bottle of this to have it fresh. It's got a lot of coffee and chocolate and is pretty well-balanced with respect to the barrel-aging. You might lose a lot of that coffee if you age it. Then again you may not like coffee, but I feel that was probably the best part of the beer.
     
    #8 r0nyn, Apr 15, 2012
  9. Thickfreakness

    Thickfreakness Initiate (0) Oct 2, 2010 New York

    The few 2011 Stone RIS' I had all had really dominate licorice flavors IMHO. Really delicious tho and for $5.99, one of the best bargins in the beer world.
     
    #9 Thickfreakness, Apr 15, 2012
  10. Devi0us

    Devi0us Savant (1,136) May 3, 2011 California
    Trader

    I'd have to agree, for the price of Stone...You cant beat it. I've also had a bottle of Abyss and Parabola with a year on them recently and thy were pretty fuckin awesome...

    Cheers!
     
    #10 Devi0us, Apr 16, 2012
  11. davey101

    davey101 Pooh-Bah (2,360) Apr 14, 2009 Connecticut
    Pooh-Bah

    High price but I can buy it from most stores, DFH WWS. Damn that stuff transforms after a few years.
     
    #11 davey101, Apr 16, 2012
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