A few of my notes from our NYE cellared beer extravaganza:
King's Ale (brewed 1902, bottled 1929 or earlier): The best-condition bottle I've ever opened, most of the red wax still intact. I held the bottle at an angle to dampen the cork for a few months prior to opening, and it came out quite easily for this bottle. Nice mellow oxidative tartness, an interesting spicy component to the typical iodine peat flavor, some burning wood dryness. Great bottle.
"Courage" RIS 1962 (called Courage-Barclay at this point): Not my favorite bottle, strong musty nose and very drying on the palate. Good leather/sherry flavor but lacking something in the great bottles of this era.
Samichlaus 1994 & 2004: Both terrific, in very different ways. The 1994 bottle was quite toffee/sweet with a touch of must, the 2004 was a bright caramel without the darker sugar flavors of the '94.
Raison d'Extra 2005: Crazy fusel/brown sugar nose, good flavor but very hot. I think the 2007 aged the best of these old releases, glad to hear it's coming back in 2014.
J.W. Lee's Harvest Ale 1989 & 1997: The 1989's gone on a little long -- the mouthfeel has a watery texture and there's some definite basement must/bleu cheese creeping in. Still tasty, but the '97 was a much better representation of how I like this beer to age (huge brown sugar/treacle without being cloying, sherry on the nose, etc). Alternately, I think the 97/98 bottles might just be spectacular, been my favorite for awhile now.
Allied Skol 1977 Strong Lager (brewed for the Silver Jubilee): My first time having this one, a very nicely aged bottle. Thin body, a bit of musty funk, slight oxidative tartness, very sweet on the finish.
Bellevue Selection Lambic 1999: Awesome, just awesome. Powerful, puckering sourness with a lot of tropical fruit and cheesy funk on the back end, almost like if the deep mellow sourness of an aged lambic came to the forefront. Has aged quite well.