Cellared Beer Reviews

[Snarf1]

Drank a bunch of old beer over a couple nights this week.

07 Oerbier Reserva was still pretty nice, but thinning out. Dulle Teve Reserva was a pretty good bottle to me. Big calvados nose still that carried through in the mouth better than the last time I had one. 02 Oud Beersel from the Beersel brewed stock blended at Boon was nice. Good conditioning & still lively which was a little surprising as the cork was somewhat dry, lots of basement funk, very 'Beersely' for lack of better description - I'm hungover still and didn't drink yesterday. I think the only bad Belgian was a Pipaix of unknown age that had some nasty oxidation, chlorophenol, and some other weird vegetal quality I couldn't quite put my finger on. Not surprising, but it's a beer that really holds a place in my heart from when they still got yeast from Rodenbach, although this bottle was from well after that stopped. That's right kids. Their used to be a weird, spiced saison brewed with Rodenbach yeast.

Got into the US stuff a bit as well. Little known fact that I myself often forget, but 5 year old Bell's Best Brown is really good. I never remember to actually buy any, but grab a 6er sometime and hide it for at least 3 years. Batch 9000 is still Batch 9000. Now with less molasses and more licorice. Not a good beer, never has been, never will be. If anyone happens to be dying to complete a vertical though, I know a guy.

03 120 Minute was tits. Really sweet, really oxidized, kinda bitter? A bit like super old Double Bigfoot might taste. 03 WWS was good too. Smooth, clean, really nice conditioning and carb level. Other than that higher abv 2nd(?) vintage (2000?) these tend to be iffy so this might have been the big surprise for me. I think these were brewed on the system after their 10 bbl (first 50 bbl maybe). The stuff they brewed on the 10BBL system is what has done really, really well long term and I'd be extremely interested to know why. Brute E!18(?) maybe getting a little long in the tooth, starting to lose some crispness. Could have been the bottle, too. Some weird white crusties and those fake corks. I'd probably use it as an excuse to open another bottle soon if I had one.

 

[trickytunadicky]

Drank a bunch of old beer over a couple nights this week.

07 Oerbier Reserva was still pretty nice, but thinning out. Dulle Teve Reserva was a pretty good bottle to me. Big calvados nose still that carried through in the mouth better than the last time I had one. 02 Oud Beersel from the Beersel brewed stock blended at Boon was nice. Good conditioning & still lively which was a little surprising as the cork was somewhat dry, lots of basement funk, very 'Beersely' for lack of better description - I'm hungover still and didn't drink yesterday. I think the only bad Belgian was a Pipaix of unknown age that had some nasty oxidation, chlorophenol, and some other weird vegetal quality I couldn't quite put my finger on. Not surprising, but it's a beer that really holds a place in my heart from when they still got yeast from Rodenbach, although this bottle was from well after that stopped. That's right kids. Their used to be a weird, spiced saison brewed with Rodenbach yeast.

Got into the US stuff a bit as well. Little known fact that I myself often forget, but 5 year old Bell's Best Brown is really good. I never remember to actually buy any, but grab a 6er sometime and hide it for at least 3 years. Batch 9000 is still Batch 9000. Now with less molasses and more licorice. Not a good beer, never has been, never will be. If anyone happens to be dying to complete a vertical though, I know a guy.

03 120 Minute was tits. Really sweet, really oxidized, kinda bitter? A bit like super old Double Bigfoot might taste. 03 WWS was good too. Smooth, clean, really nice conditioning and carb level. Other than that higher abv 2nd(?) vintage (2000?) these tend to be iffy so this might have been the big surprise for me. I think these were brewed on the system after their 10 bbl (first 50 bbl maybe). The stuff they brewed on the 10BBL system is what has done really, really well long term and I'd be extremely interested to know why. Brute E!18(?) maybe getting a little long in the tooth, starting to lose some crispness. Could have been the bottle, too. Some weird white crusties and those fake corks. I'd probably use it as an excuse to open another bottle soon if I had one.

I don't think I posted it here, but I love to age Hell Hath No Fury. Popped a.... batch 10XXX the other week and it was fan friggin tastic.

 

[jedwards]

Drank a bunch of old beer over a couple nights this week.

07 Oerbier Reserva was still pretty nice, but thinning out. Dulle Teve Reserva was a pretty good bottle to me. Big calvados nose still that carried through in the mouth better than the last time I had one. 02 Oud Beersel from the Beersel brewed stock blended at Boon was nice. Good conditioning & still lively which was a little surprising as the cork was somewhat dry, lots of basement funk, very 'Beersely' for lack of better description - I'm hungover still and didn't drink yesterday. I think the only bad Belgian was a Pipaix of unknown age that had some nasty oxidation, chlorophenol, and some other weird vegetal quality I couldn't quite put my finger on. Not surprising, but it's a beer that really holds a place in my heart from when they still got yeast from Rodenbach, although this bottle was from well after that stopped. That's right kids. Their used to be a weird, spiced saison brewed with Rodenbach yeast.

Got into the US stuff a bit as well. Little known fact that I myself often forget, but 5 year old Bell's Best Brown is really good. I never remember to actually buy any, but grab a 6er sometime and hide it for at least 3 years. Batch 9000 is still Batch 9000. Now with less molasses and more licorice. Not a good beer, never has been, never will be. If anyone happens to be dying to complete a vertical though, I know a guy.

03 120 Minute was tits. Really sweet, really oxidized, kinda bitter? A bit like super old Double Bigfoot might taste. 03 WWS was good too. Smooth, clean, really nice conditioning and carb level. Other than that higher abv 2nd(?) vintage (2000?) these tend to be iffy so this might have been the big surprise for me. I think these were brewed on the system after their 10 bbl (first 50 bbl maybe). The stuff they brewed on the 10BBL system is what has done really, really well long term and I'd be extremely interested to know why. Brute E!18(?) maybe getting a little long in the tooth, starting to lose some crispness. Could have been the bottle, too. Some weird white crusties and those fake corks. I'd probably use it as an excuse to open another bottle soon if I had one.

What a nice set of beers. I have a soft spot for those Ithaca fake corks because they color-matched them (yellow for Brute, blue for Le Bleu), but the beers probably suffered for it. Good to hear that Dulle Teve Reserva is still holding on weird/strong.

 

[trickytunadicky]

What a nice set of beers. I have a soft spot for those Ithaca fake corks because they color-matched them (yellow for Brute, blue for Le Bleu), but the beers probably suffered for it. Good to hear that Dulle Teve Reserva is still holding on weird/strong.

I dunno, Brute has been tasting pretty good the last few I have opened. Maybe my cellar is kind to synthetic corks. I can do one more round of Fruit Brute (Garagiste melomel of your choice blended 50/50 with Brute, long story) before I am out.

 

[CruisaC]

I dunno, Brute has been tasting pretty good the last few I have opened. Maybe my cellar is kind to synthetic corks. I can do one more round of Fruit Brute (Garagiste melomel of your choice blended 50/50 with Brute, long story) before I am out.

 

[Thevicster]

2014 Madeira barrel Sucre.

Tons of carbonation, and even after 3 years still incredibly wine forward. On the nose is wine. Wine. Wine.

Taste is wine on steroids, wine plus a subtle heat. On the back end you get some notes of dark fruits, a kind of must and some old ale notes.

But at the end of the day this reminds me a lot of wineification II with how wine forward it is.

Enjoyable, wish I had another bottle. Although I do still have the port barrel, Portuguese brandy barrel, cognac barrel, and whatever the gold wax variant is in my cellar waiting to be drunk

 

[Kasher]

2014 Madeira barrel Sucre.

Tons of carbonation, and even after 3 years still incredibly wine forward. On the nose is wine. Wine. Wine.

Taste is wine on steroids, wine plus a subtle heat. On the back end you get some notes of dark fruits, a kind of must and some old ale notes.

But at the end of the day this reminds me a lot of wineification II with how wine forward it is.

Enjoyable, wish I had another bottle. Although I do still have the port barrel, Portuguese brandy barrel, cognac barrel, and whatever the gold wax variant is in my cellar waiting to be drunk

Can you switch the order of the two books on the left of the photo? Unless you're some sort of anarchist.

 

[Thevicster]

Can you switch the order of the two books on the left of the photo? Unless you're some sort of anarchist.

haha. Will do!

 

[coldstorage]

 

[mrk_d]

Drinking a 7/2015 Orval right now that I bought today from a shop where it was languishing in the cooler. The beer pours as expected, i.e. there's a **** ton of ridiculously perfect meringue-like head. The color is a nice pale amber. Retention isn't quite as good as it is fresh. The aroma is the best part of this beer, nice funk and hints of tartness come through. There is a tiny hint of menthol, think early 2000s 3F but dialed down by a factor of 10. Taste is great, a little bit sweet and the brettiness isn't as aggressive as it was in the fresh bottle I had last night. Overall, a great beer and one of the better recent Orvals I've had. I will buy the remaining bottles tomorrow.

For those of you who have consumed more Orval than I have: has the color evolved in the past few years from a pale golden color to a slightly more amber color, or is my memory failing me? The fresh (9/2016) bottle I had last night and this bottle are both more amber than I recall.

 

[ExPimp]

For those of you who have consumed more Orval than I have: has the color evolved in the past few years from a pale golden color to a slightly more amber color, or is my memory failing me? The fresh (9/2016) bottle I had last night and this bottle are both more amber than I recall.

I'm not sure if 7yrs is old in Orval terms, but the one I had last month was more amber than golden.

 

[beerandraiderfan]

Heard so much about this one going downhill for years. I dunno, the Supplication aspect of the beer was huge. So much aged cccchhhherry bomb and Oude Tart like flanders esque stuff going on here. A lot of the other aspects of the blend were muted, just didn't have impact. More wood to it than any RR beer I've ever had or noticed. Carbonation was appropriate.

So in terms of its age, the lighter beers didn't seem to survive to fight on this day, but the wood and cherry taste was still poppin'. If I were to try and recreate this beer, I would just blend equal parts 5 year old Supplication, Sanctification and Oude Tart.

 

[Treebs]

2010 Coast Brewing Blackbeerd



Pours that usual opaque blackness. Still has a solid roast on the nose with some prune oxidation, but no cardboard yet. Fig and roast on the taste with some mild acrid malts notes. Sherry with some slight mushroom earthiness. Chocolate is faint. Body has definitely thinned out quite a bit.

Overall it's far from bad and oxidized in a way which still makes it drinkable. Going to open the 2010 Buffalo Trace version of this beer for my 30th in a few months and this definitely gives me hope for that one.

 

[KevSal]

2010 Coast Brewing Blackbeerd



Pours that usual opaque blackness. Still has a solid roast on the nose with some prune oxidation, but no cardboard yet. Fig and roast on the taste with some mild acrid malts notes. Sherry with some slight mushroom earthiness. Chocolate is faint. Body has definitely thinned out quite a bit.

Overall it's far from bad and oxidized in a way which still makes it drinkable. Going to open the 2010 Buffalo Trace version of this beer for my 30th in a few months and this definitely gives me hope for that one.

crazy coming here to post about this bad boy

2013 blanton barrel aged blackbeerd. i swear it was a 14 or 15, some of the beers in the cellar are aging to fast lol

nose was oxidied a bit but the flavor is still tasty tho! just a slight hint of oxidation. i remember really digging this one fresh, kinda wish i got to it sooner.

i don't think the 2013 will be getting any better at this point

 

[CyberMonk1]

Held a little tasting party yesterday (pictured below), and while the beers were too numerous to comment on everything, here's what I remember standing out:

• Befuddlement (2014): this beer has held up amazingly; still tons of fruit, mild but well balanced tartness, and the stout character finishes things off nicely. Was everyone's favorite of the bunch.
• Black Tuesday Rum (2014): we enjoyed this a lot more than the 2013 regular BT, added a nice sweetness and helped to cut the heat. Really tasty.
• Sucré Tawny Port (2014): by far my favorite variant of Sucré, though I am admittedly also a big port fan; really combines well with the base Sucré profile, adds some sweetness and a bit of barrel character.
• Reuze (2012): All the Reuze was pretty good, but the 2012 really stood out; amazingly tart profile, a mild funk, and really refreshing.

 

[stupac2]

Held a little tasting party yesterday (pictured below), and while the beers were too numerous to comment on everything, here's what I remember standing out:

• Befuddlement (2014): this beer has held up amazingly; still tons of fruit, mild but well balanced tartness, and the stout character finishes things off nicely. Was everyone's favorite of the bunch.
• Black Tuesday Rum (2014): we enjoyed this a lot more than the 2013 regular BT, added a nice sweetness and helped to cut the heat. Really tasty.
• Sucré Tawny Port (2014): by far my favorite variant of Sucré, though I am admittedly also a big port fan; really combines well with the base Sucré profile, adds some sweetness and a bit of barrel character.
• Reuze (2012): All the Reuze was pretty good, but the 2012 really stood out; amazingly tart profile, a mild funk, and really refreshing.

Wow, really? I had a befuddlement recently and it was a drainpour.

 

[Snarf1]

Wow, really? I had a befuddlement recently and it was a drainpour.

I hear it really benefits from being served alongside a menu with its BA rating.

 

[RyanG1]

Held a little tasting party yesterday (pictured below), and while the beers were too numerous to comment on everything, here's what I remember standing out:

• Befuddlement (2014): this beer has held up amazingly; still tons of fruit, mild but well balanced tartness, and the stout character finishes things off nicely. Was everyone's favorite of the bunch.
• Black Tuesday Rum (2014): we enjoyed this a lot more than the 2013 regular BT, added a nice sweetness and helped to cut the heat. Really tasty.
• Sucré Tawny Port (2014): by far my favorite variant of Sucré, though I am admittedly also a big port fan; really combines well with the base Sucré profile, adds some sweetness and a bit of barrel character.
• Reuze (2012): All the Reuze was pretty good, but the 2012 really stood out; amazingly tart profile, a mild funk, and really refreshing.

Awesome setup and menu.

 

[CyberMonk1]

I hear it really benefits from being served alongside a menu with its BA rating.

There were a lot of non-beer-nerds in attendance alongside the nerdy folks, so those ratings were there just for fun. Got a lot of comments about Geriatric Hipster Club way down there at an 80 (I didn't much like it, but some others were more forgiving and didn't think it deserved quite that low a rating. It was unanimously agreed that it tasted nothing like an Old Fashioned, however.)

 

[matedog]

Heard so much about this one going downhill for years. I dunno, the Supplication aspect of the beer was huge. So much aged cccchhhherry bomb and Oude Tart like flanders esque stuff going on here. A lot of the other aspects of the blend were muted, just didn't have impact. More wood to it than any RR beer I've ever had or noticed. Carbonation was appropriate.

So in terms of its age, the lighter beers didn't seem to survive to fight on this day, but the wood and cherry taste was still poppin'. If I were to try and recreate this beer, I would just blend equal parts 5 year old Supplication, Sanctification and Oude Tart.

Hard to compare because of the age difference, but it seems to be holding up better than T20.

 

[davey101]

Way, wayyyyyyy better then 2010 was drinking. A lot like an aged Founders RIS. Lots of roast/ash and chocolate with some light oxidation and cola/cherries setting in. Carb is fine with a great mouth feel. Wish it was a year younger but a solid 4/5.

 

[libbey]

2013 Jolly Pumpkin Baudelaire Beer iO Saison

Bottles opens with a bit of a gush. Big frothy head laying on top of a crystal clear amber body. Great sticky lacing.

Rose hip/petal on the nose but not as perfuming as I remembered this one fresh. Intertwined nicely with a barnyard Brett nose. Little bready lemon zest on the finish.

Taste is actually on the sweeter side hibiscus is more noticeable but lends a nice tartness to the finish. The beer is bone dry which I love.

Overall this beer has aged well. No complaints. Quite enjoyable on the back patio.

 

[libbey]

 

[libbey]

Also from last night. 2013 3F Oude Geuze

Exceptional beer and hits all the notes I'm looking for in a lambic. Barnyard funk mixed with lemon rind and a wonderful minerality through out the pour. The beer was perfect.

 

[kzeon]

I hear it really benefits from being served alongside a menu with its BA rating.

How many people died from diabetes on that night? Amazing lineup!

Pulled out a 2014 Dieu du Ciel! Bourbon BA Solstice d'Hiver a few days ago



This was magical. I had a 2013 recently and oxydation started to show up, but this one was flawless. Bourbon and oak everywhere, but in such a balanced way. Not overly sweet, but had that very rich and creamy mouthfeel that you expect from good barleywines, without getting too thick. This beer, especially the non-BA version (without much surprises...) is quite hoppy initially but ends up being much more of an english than an american BW after a while. The 2015 version that came out last year was ok, but still needs more time to settle down. However, the 2016 version that came out 3 months ago is already very incredible, so I'm really looking forward to see the results on aged bottles, in 1-2 years.

A beauty that I was glad to drink by myself, ha!

 

[Saind]

2001 Cuvee van de Keizer blauw vs 2016. The 2001 is an old recipe, 8.5% instead of 11 but it aged wonderfully. Lots of raisins and port, oxidized as is to be expected. Very surprised at how nice this was

 

[barleywinefiend]

95 Sam Adams Triple Bock.
Pours like motor oil. Lots of flakes and residuals cling to the glass. Zero carbonation.
Nose is prunes, leather, soy, chocolate.
Taste is great initially. Layers of complexity. The raisins, prunes, leather and chocolate are great but this beer wears you down. Five sips into it and I am reaching for water and begging for mercy. Holy crap. Cloying, sweet, and really in your face in a soy way.
I have a dozen more.

 

[golden1]

95 Sam Adams Triple Bock.
Pours like motor oil. Lots of flakes and residuals cling to the glass. Zero carbonation.
Nose is prunes, leather, soy, chocolate.
Taste is great initially. Layers of complexity. The raisins, prunes, leather and chocolate are great but this beer wears you down. Five sips into it and I am reaching for water and begging for mercy. Holy crap. Cloying, sweet, and really in your face in a soy way.
I have a dozen more.

Sounds delicious in a savory way!

 

[jedwards]

95 Sam Adams Triple Bock.
Pours like motor oil. Lots of flakes and residuals cling to the glass. Zero carbonation.
Nose is prunes, leather, soy, chocolate.
Taste is great initially. Layers of complexity. The raisins, prunes, leather and chocolate are great but this beer wears you down. Five sips into it and I am reaching for water and begging for mercy. Holy crap. Cloying, sweet, and really in your face in a soy way.
I have a dozen more.

Yes!! Always great to hear about a non-'97 bottle.

 

[PDXAmbassador1]

In 2014 they specifically changed the recipe but just for Masterpiece, because they were trying to recreate the original Pappy Eclipse which was, apparently, a different recipe than the others.

...Oh, and FWIW I had a Pappy Masterpiece recently and thought it was a lot better than at release.

Has anyone had an original (2008) Pappy Eclipse lately, and can tell me how it's holding up? I loved Pappy Masterpiece -- so if the OG pappy eclipses are similar I'd love to hear how they're doing.

Follow up: There we're three different bottling dates for the 2008 Pappy Eclipse. Is there any known difference between them?