Which vintage beer to treat myself with?

[BamaPhil]

So a bunch of friends and I are headed to The Porter in Atlanta tomorrow night for my birthday. They've got a pretty impressive beer list (400+) including quite a few in the cellar. I've never had a beer that's over a year old so I don't even know where to begin, I'm counting on the more seasoned palates of you folks.

Check out the list: http://www.theporterbeerbar.com/drink/beer/

Which vintage brew should I not pass up? I should mention I've never had a lambic at all...


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[Calder]

If you want to have a Lambic/Gueuze/Flanders, I'd recommend having it as one of your first beers. they are wonderful and refreshing. But if you have it after several IPAs, I think you could be put off. Yes, try one, they are great .... and really not too hard to make (just need patience). Having one after a hoppy IPA will not do it justice.

If you only drink a few beers, you could delve into a few old Barleywines, but you might be better off sticking to beers that are not quite as high in abv. You still want to be standing at the end oif the night.

 

[Qhrumphf]

Me? I'd be going straight for the Cantillon (assuming they still have it). Broucsella is good enough, but my least favorite Cantillon that I've tried (although I don't recall what vintage I had). But Vigneronne is very, very good.

 

[pdxal]

Ola Dubh Reserve 30, JW Lees Harvest in sherry cask, Hitachino XH, Rodenbach 2007, Thomas Hardy, Struisse Pannepot, Cantillon Vigneronne would all be on my list. Pace yourself if you are trying to drink these and many on their vintage list.
-Happy Birthday! :rockin:

 

[TNGabe]

What they have listed as "2012 De Dolle Stille Nacht Reserva (Bordeux)" (better known as Stille Nacht Reserva 2010, the year it was brewed) was probably the best beer I had in 2013. If you're into sour beers, it's amazing. It's also possibly going to be north of 75 bucks at a bar. The De Dole 'Special Reserve' (Oerbier Reserva) is also very, very good and less astronomically priced.

I wouldn't bother with Cantillon for bar prices, but the 08 Drie Fonteinen or 07 Boon Marriage Parfait would be tempting, and the 11 Tilquin is a great geuze also.

04 Fantome Pissenlit jumps out at me. Bon Chien is another very good and very expensive sour beer. Some of the French ciders are probably excellent as well. All of the 09 Jolly Pumpkin stuff is probably bangin right now.

02 JW Lees would be a good choice if you want to try and older barley wine, but I'm guessing it's $30+ for a 25cl bottle.

For such a well known bar, they have several 'dead' - filtered & pasteurized - beers on the menu, the more recent Petrus Pale, NB La Folie, and Rodenbach Grand Cru. The 03 Petrus should be living and possibly quite good, but the rest aren't worth aging.

97 Samichlaus should be coming into it's own if you like very strong beers.

91 Thomas Hardy will be excellent and seems like the oldest list bottle if you want to try a two decade plus barleywine.

If someone else is picking up the tab, I'd say one of each.

 

[brewmaster12]

Cigar City Marshal Zhukov would be my first pick.

St Bernadus Abt 12
Chimay Grande Reserve
Either of those two would also be on my list.

 

[Teromous]

Wow man, I can see why you're giving this some forethought. They have a very large selection. I agree that Cantillon prices would be more expensive at a bar but that's part of the experience (pay for atmosphere, etc). This would be at the top of my list though.

On my own personal list I would probably have:
Van Honsebrouck - 2010 Bacchus
St. Bernardus - Any
Het Anker - Any

There's too many to go through...I keep scrolling down the list and finding beers I'd like to try...it looks like you're going to have a nice birthday.

 

[cfrazier77]

I would go with the 91 Tomas Hardy hands down. A friend and me split a 2004 and a 1995 bottle. The difference between the two was amazing. The 95 had rich pipe tobacco notes and chocolate covered cherries running through it. It tasted more like a smooth liqueur than beer.

 

[suprchunk]

What they have listed as "2012 De Dolle Stille Nacht Reserva (Bordeux)" (better known as Stille Nacht Reserva 2010, the year it was brewed) was probably the best beer I had in 2013. If you're into sour beers, it's amazing. It's also possibly going to be north of 75 bucks at a bar.

Wow, that's crazy. I didn't spend more than 10 bucks. And you are correct it would definitely be 2010. They probably didn't get it until 2012 so they labelled it that way, and spelled it incorrectly in the process.

I also like the vintage section of the list with most beers being 5 years "old" or younger. Funny.

Enjoy your night out, but save your cash on a bunch of those. And depending on price Glazen Torren's 2011 Cuvee D'Angelique is a great beer. It is one of the only one's on that list that you probably won't see too often. Stay away from Samiclaus, there is not such thing. Oh, they misspelled another one I guess.

There are more bottles to steer clear of on the list than there are must-tries. Especially if the menu in the background is any indicator of the prices they charge.

If I had no problem spending the dough though, I would just drink the BFM's all night.

 

[Hello]

I'd want to try a two year (at least) vert tasting of the Maharaja. Definitely the vert tasting of KBS as well. I'd want to try the Boulevard 2013 Bourbon Barrel Quad, honestly. I'd start with Brewdog's 2008 Paradox Macallan probably. 2011 Jai Alai White Oak as well and 2013 Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Biscotti Break because I know that is amazing.

There are so many. If you're charged $75 for a pour though, that would be a tough pill for me to swallow. If someone else is paying, I'd work that as much as possible!

 

[Teromous]

I'd want to try a two year (at least) vert tasting of the Maharaja.

I found it odd so see a lot of IPA/IIPA's on that list. I try to drink mine as close to the brew date as possible. I'm not saying it would be bad but it seems like some of those were put in the vintage category because they couldn't sell them the same year. My bottle shop would put those on the discount table.

 

[GibbyGibson]

This is a great list. Can I join? Enjoy it whatever you decide. I've wanted to try the maharaja myself. It is supposed to be fantastic. The only one on the list ive tried is the Goose Island Matilda. It is a very good beer. All of the goose island sisters are very good. Can't go wrong with them.

 

[TNGabe]

Wow, that's crazy. I didn't spend more than 10 bucks. And you are correct it would definitely be 2010. They probably didn't get it until 2012 so they labelled it that way, and spelled it incorrectly in the process.

I hate you. Sorry, it's the jealousy talking. I think I heard it was 10 or 12 euros at the brewery. I was happy to find it for 'retail' of $45. Very, very few beers I'd pay that for.

 

[Qhrumphf]

I hate you. Sorry, it's the jealousy talking. I think I heard it was 10 or 12 euros at the brewery. I was happy to find it for 'retail' of $45. Very, very few beers I'd pay that for.

Someone showed me a Ratebeer thread where someone was demanding something like 3 full cases of Westy 12 for one bottle. If it's that good, I'd consider paying $45 for a bottle. But people were rightfully calling this guy out as ludicrous.

Edit: 4 bricks or one case, not 3 cases. http://www.ratebeer.com/forums/ft-s...10-iso-4-bricks-of-westvleteren-12_221028.htm

 

[Hello]

I found it odd so see a lot of IPA/IIPA's on that list. I try to drink mine as close to the brew date as possible. I'm not saying it would be bad but it seems like some of those were put in the vintage category because they couldn't sell them the same year. My bottle shop would put those on the discount table.

You have a good point. My idea to try them was to taste what an IPA "aged" was like. But if it is costly, I'd ditch it. You're right.

 

[Doctor_M]

I would go with the 91 Tomas Hardy hands down. A friend and me split a 2004 and a 1995 bottle. The difference between the two was amazing. The 95 had rich pipe tobacco notes and chocolate covered cherries running through it. It tasted more like a smooth liqueur than beer.

Perhaps I had a bum bottle or 1994 was a bad year but out of the three bottles of Thomas hardy I had at falling rock during gabf last year the 1994 was oxidized to ****. 1997 was pretty good but the 1999 was my favorite. The 1997 seemed like it was starting to turn but still had the tobacco notes like you mention. The 1999 was amazing.

 

[BamaPhil]

As a follow up, here's my scorecard. I didn't end up getting anything outrageously priced (partly because I'm cheap, partly because they were only available in pretty big bottles and I only have so much stomach space when you include a shrimp po-boy and herb fries).
Overall it was a great night and everybody had fun. If you live in ATL (and survive the winter) you should definitely head over there. I was really impressed with how well they handled our party of 10 on a Saturday night and how non-pretentious the staff was in the hipster capital of the south (East Atlanta).

Lindemans peach lambic- Damn tasty. I'm glad I took the advice of having it first, even though I had to take a "fruity beer" ribbing from a buddy.
Boulevard Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale- Liked this one too. Wish I had the palate to give a long drawn out review but I don't!
Stone double bastard- Enjoyed it but damn I'm glad I didn't have a 22 oz bottle from the cellar like my buddy did. I had an 8 oz draft, like molasses.
Avery Maharaja- Also enjoyable but just too much sweetness for a full bottle like I was stuck with.
Omnipolio Nathalius- I asked for the driest, hoppiest thing they had to wash down the Maharaja. I wasn't disappointed.

Thanks for the input! On a related note in the ATL beer scene- I had Red Brick's Chai Tea Milk Stout a few days before this. It was really unique and I recommend giving it a shot. I haven't really cared for Red Brick but this one I enjoyed.