Cellared Beer Reviews

[stakem1]

So last night popped a 2013 bourbon Fred from the wood. I remember when this was released, a lot of people bitched that it was flat and gross.

Randomly decided to open my only one last night, been sitting in my basement since release.

Perfectly carbonated and super smooth. Wish I had more carbonated hair of the dog, when it’s done right, it’s one of the best out there. Guess when they say bottle conditioned they mean it.

Pop em if you got em.

Pretty sure I still got a sixpack of the 2011 bourbon fred ftw and while its been a year or 2 since having it, there have never been any surprise bubbles/carbonation formed in any that ive drank.

Lack of carb doesnt bother me one bit though, in fact, I loved it when they sold the bottles at discount because they were flat. I gave up on buying HOTD brews when he started charging full price and pretending the lack of carb was on purpose.

Really wish I would have bought/traded more of that first batch of Adam ftw when it came out for the first time in 12oz bottles after a decade plus hiatus. To this day that was one of the best HOTD beers.

 

[KevSal]

Really wish I would have bought/traded more of that first batch of Adam ftw when it came out for the first time in 12oz bottles after a decade plus hiatus. To this day that was one of the best HOTD beers.

that’s crazy you mention that! this past weekend at my folks house i went they my stash there purposely looking for that exact bottle. brought it home and now it’s on deck to be consumed once i’m feeling better.

man that beer seriously blew me away when i first had it, i guess i wasn’t the only one.
i’ll report on here how’s it’s holding up, hopefully it’s still amazing like it once was

here’s the plump seal now...

 

[KevSal]

here you go stakem

this beer fux!

tons of chewy bourbon goodness. vanilla, toffee, slight leather. excellent still
i feel like a missed the peak by a year maybe, oxidation has started to creep in but you can taste the amazingness. this batch was something else! i wish i got to it around 2015, but it’s still very enjoyable on this cold winter night.
definitly not getting better at this point, drink em if you gotten fellas

 

[stakem1]

I opened a 2008 Troegs Mad Elf last night. Carbonation was low and the nose was straight honey. Each person who had a taste couldnt believe it was even Mad Elf as all the belgian yeast character was gone and there was zero alcohol impact. For an 11% brew, it drank more like it was 4%. Taste was like a honey tea with no residual sweetness and a touch of cherry.

I got a couple left from various years. Its fun to get these out at Christmas and see peoples reactions who only ever had it fresh.

 

[trickytunadicky]

Drinking fantastic right now. The right amount of oxidation. Brown sugar notes, molasses, raisins, dates, still some heat from big alcohol, but not overpowering.

 

[CommanderofAwesome]

x-post

Been sitting on this one for a while waiting for the right time to get 5+ of my beer buds together to tackle this guy and I've given up. Said to myself, you have tomorrow off, let's do some cellar cleaning and start with with a 4/5 yr old adjuct stouts.

Really surprised with this one. Reminds me of why I used to love the bruery and their big ass dumb stouts. This beer's mouthfeel is superb full bodied, rich but not oily, strong and you can tell, but not as harsh as their more recent variations. Smooth drinker, vanilla is still really present, cocoa melds nicely with the slightly subdued bourbon. Overall great beer, and much better than I could have imagined an aged adjuct stout would fare. I was expecting it to be straight up BT, and I got CR.

 

[trickytunadicky]

My cellar software says 1/2/10, but I don’t see any marks filled in on the bottle, so I think that's when we got it.
I get a little cardboard popping through, but still a fair amount of molasses, tons of carb despite the screwtop, more reminiscient of an old ale than a barleywine to me, but still quite good.

 

[PurityControl88]

2011 HOTD Doggie Claws.
I was actually a little afraid of opening this bottle as the 2012 bottle I had was some kind of flat cardboard soup thing.
This 2011 bottle though reminds me of a sweeter, well aged Bigfoot. Tastes of brown sugar, raisins, leather, honey and that toasted marshmallow barleywine thing. Creamy carbonation. Very sweet with a drying hop bitterness. Overall a good beer to sip on when it's in the single digits outside.

 

[Der Fuchs]

2005 Thomas hardy's.

Flat.
Toffee.
Raisin.
Sweetness.
Yum.

 

[JBP]

Drinks like a champ still, no secret how well the anni’s age. So smooth now.

 

[Tlo4sho]

Cap came off with a hiss, poured with a nice head. Smell is pear, sweet cantaloupe, white wine, and tangy smarties with a bit of alcohol. Carbonation is tight light small pearls of air with a pretty full mouthfeel. Lactic milky, super oaky sweetness with a decent tartness. Doesn’t really have that distinct Sante saison characteristic (might not even have known it was, had I had it blind). Smooth, rested, and extremely balanced. I wouldn’t say it has fallen off, more evolved maybe, and I think it could last a bit longer (although I never had it fresh). Big milky oaky finish. Cheers!

 

[KevSal]

Cap came off with a hiss, poured with a nice head. Smell is pear, sweet cantaloupe, white wine, and tangy smarties with a bit of alcohol. Carbonation is tight light small pearls of air with a pretty full mouthfeel. Lactic milky, super oaky sweetness with a decent tartness. Doesn’t really have that distinct Sante saison characteristic (might not even have known it was, had I had it blind). Smooth, rested, and extremely balanced. I wouldn’t say it has fallen off, more evolved maybe, and I think it could last a bit longer (although I never had it fresh). Big milky oaky finish. Cheers!

 

[lazerviking]

x-post
Decided to crack this open last night as my final beer of 2017.

This is in an excellent place right now. Bright lemon lambic gives way to peat, brine, damp earth, and tannic oak. A real treat to ring in the new year.

I don't see this one getting much better than right now. Drink em if you got em.

 

[iong516]

Cap came off with a hiss, poured with a nice head. Smell is pear, sweet cantaloupe, white wine, and tangy smarties with a bit of alcohol. Carbonation is tight light small pearls of air with a pretty full mouthfeel. Lactic milky, super oaky sweetness with a decent tartness. Doesn’t really have that distinct Sante saison characteristic (might not even have known it was, had I had it blind). Smooth, rested, and extremely balanced. I wouldn’t say it has fallen off, more evolved maybe, and I think it could last a bit longer (although I never had it fresh). Big milky oaky finish. Cheers!

I had it twice in 2015, and it was shockingly perfect both times in a way that I can't put into words. Would love to try it again but realize it's pretty unlikely. Cheers!

 

[stakem1]

2015 Black Tuesday Reserve

Of all the vintages of black tuesday and all the variants I have tried, this remains the only version of BT where I can actually notice what the barrels have added. Coconut, caramel and vanilla but also borderline vulgar in how alcohol forward it is. There is no hiding the 20.5% abv.

I shared this with 3 others last night. Granted we had been drinking quite a bit leading up to this but you could actually see everyone take the turn from good to drunk as they finished their glass of this rocket fuel.

 

[iong516]

you could actually see everyone take the turn from good to drunk as they finished their glass

Happened to my friend and I last night when he decided to do some cellar cleaning after we had probably already drank enough and opened a '15 Surly Darkness. Tasty but oof, I was on beer afterward.

 

[stakem1]

I could have swore this was only a year old, turns out its more than a little over 2 years. It hasnt changed much, still tastes like chocolate covered raisons and espresso with a pleasant alcohol warmth. I wont touch another one of these for at least 3 years and at that time will likely drink it beside a bottle of expedition of similar age.

 

[stakem1]

~15 year old mad bitch. A ******* disaster. Cap was decayed and this was exposed to unprecedented levels of oxidation. The crown was rusted and crumbled so I actually looked down in the bottle to see if I dusted the liquid with rust... to my surprise there was a pellicle resting atop the liquid. For a moment, I braced myself for this being wild/sour. Nope, cooked cabbage and decaying folliage. It hit the back of my throat and immediately induced gagging.

This guy was rediculous. 2012 bottling tasting like tootsie rolls in an alcoholic raspberry syrup.

 

[stakem1]

Almost 8 years old yet I remember like it was yesterday buying it off the shelf when it was a fresh release. Much better than I was anticipating. Very mild oxidation in the aftertaste but has subtle notes of cherry and light vinegar tartness without tasting medicinal. Alcohol masterfully hidden.

Ive been drinking BA blackout stout since 08-09 and can honestly say, I think this was the first time drinking the non-barrel aged base. Not sure when this was bottled but it had a best by date of 8/10/10 and was fantastic. Milk chocolate, slight raisony alcohol and a dusty dry grain aftertaste

 

[stakem1]

2011 bottle...she long dead. Shoulda drank it 5+ years ago. Nose is all kinda sour, tastes like a mistake.

Still has a modest herbal bitterness contrasted by an increasing amount of malt and barrel character. However, instead of being the pleasant nuance I typically enjoy in barrel aged beers, this is more harsh and tannic with a raw oakiness.

 

[KevSal]

damn stakem your slaying your cellar! New Years Resolution?

regardless i enjoy the reviews!

 

[stakem1]

eclipse grand cru tasting 2011 vs 2016
Ive said it a bunch of times in numerous places/discussions, new eclipse just isnt on the level that the older stuff was and im afraid even aging the new stuff isnt enough to make it as awesome as the eclipse of yesteryear. Newer eclipse tastes mineral laden/carbonic and has a green yeasty tinge to it that was never in the older versions. Having said that, this 2016 grand cru is better than 90% of the eclipse variants ive tried that were released the last 3ish years.

2011- milk chocolate, honey, vanilla, caramel, roasty coffee and faint oxidation
2016- earthen, vegetative, raw oak, minerals

A couple years back I drank a FW 12 and 15 and thought they had aged like a turd. For that reason alone I figured these were **** and id been avoiding them. Wow am I glad I drank them and didnt just give them away like I was considering.

The 13 is stout heavy but starting to show its age with milk chocolate, dusty grain, raisony alcohol and soft oxidation. The alcohol is seemingly nonexistent.

The 14 is more english barleywine in feel with just as much oxidation creeping in but strong focus on malty sweetness- caramel, vanilla, molasses

 

[stakem1]

damn stakem your slaying your cellar! New Years Resolution?

regardless i enjoy the reviews!

"I need to clean my cellar/reduce inventory/get a better handle on what all I have/I have too much beer"
Are all things I have been saying for at least 5 years now.

My wife and I are in the final stages of the design portion of our new home floorplan. Hopefully we will be breaking ground as soon as winter is over.

Not only do I refuse to try and transport this much beer into our new home, I physically cannot. My new beer cellar will be approximately 1/10th the size my current one is. Its better for me to drink it down now than to be in a panic later. My friends have been alerted that we are going to have regularly occuring tastings in which im the only one supplying the beer for awhile.

 

[landrewg]

ISO: stakem friend zone

 

[stupac2]

eclipse grand cru tasting 2011 vs 2016
Ive said it a bunch of times in numerous places/discussions, new eclipse just isnt on the level that the older stuff was and im afraid even aging the new stuff isnt enough to make it as awesome as the eclipse of yesteryear. Newer eclipse tastes mineral laden/carbonic and has a green yeasty tinge to it that was never in the older versions. Having said that, this 2016 grand cru is better than 90% of the eclipse variants ive tried that were released the last 3ish years.

2011- milk chocolate, honey, vanilla, caramel, roasty coffee and faint oxidation
2016- earthen, vegetative, raw oak, minerals

A couple years back I drank a FW 12 and 15 and thought they had aged like a turd. For that reason alone I figured these were **** and id been avoiding them. Wow am I glad I drank them and didnt just give them away like I was considering.

The 13 is stout heavy but starting to show its age with milk chocolate, dusty grain, raisony alcohol and soft oxidation. The alcohol is seemingly nonexistent.

The 14 is more english barleywine in feel with just as much oxidation creeping in but strong focus on malty sweetness- caramel, vanilla, molasses

Have you had any 2017 Eclipse? I thought it was by far the best year for fresh bottles in a long time. Joseph Magnus and Belle Meade are both awesome, and the maple variants are great. Most of the others aren't slouches either. Last year there were a bunch of "meh" bottles but this year there really weren't. I've also been finding that the newer ones still age well, though whenever I bring out a 2011 or 2012 they're always sofa king good, I kinda doubt 2016 will be like that, but then again I also didn't buy all that much 2016.

 

[KevSal]

i had a 2009 elijah craig last new years that was crazy good. in fact i think i still might have one more kicking around

2010 eclipse were epic, the year they had the gourmet haus staudt blend were all knockouts too

i still have a 2010 christian brothers, it was their “special bottle” that year. someone offered me a 2009 bt for it back then, yea a ******* batch 1 bt. like an idiot i turned it down lol

 

[stakem1]

Have you had any 2017 Eclipse? I thought it was by far the best year for fresh bottles in a long time. Joseph Magnus and Belle Meade are both awesome, and the maple variants are great. Most of the others aren't slouches either. Last year there were a bunch of "meh" bottles but this year there really weren't. I've also been finding that the newer ones still age well, though whenever I bring out a 2011 or 2012 they're always sofa king good, I kinda doubt 2016 will be like that, but then again I also didn't buy all that much 2016.

I have not had any 2017 eclipse. In 2016 I was so disappointed with all the 2015 and 2016 variants that I gave up on them and my long standing trend of having tried every variation that was bottled.

 

[stupac2]

I have not had any 2017 eclipse. In 2016 I was so disappointed with all the 2015 and 2016 variants that I gave up on them and my long standing trend of having tried every variation that was bottled.

Well, I think you may have written them off too early, but since it sounds like you have way too much beer that may be just as well.

 

[kzeon]

My cellar software says 1/2/10, but I don’t see any marks filled in on the bottle, so I think that's when we got it.
I get a little cardboard popping through, but still a fair amount of molasses, tons of carb despite the screwtop, more reminiscient of an old ale than a barleywine to me, but still quite good.

no notch on the labels indicating the dates? Can look tonight at my oldest bottles to see

 

[trickytunadicky]

no notch on the labels indicating the dates? Can look tonight at my oldest bottles to see

None of the boxes were notched.