Thinking there should be an archive for beers that are treated with all the care of wine.
The beer that made me post:
2013 prairie bomb
After having the new release tonight of Sunday Morning Stout (awesome too) and being inspired of sorts to compare beers similar (KBS/similar) I popped open a 2013 prairie Bomb. Bomb is not coffee forward at this point but has morphed into a slightly more pepper like beer, its not hot, but wow there’s a depth of something brewing under like a deep mole from topolobomco.
This particular bottle was targeted because the blue wax was just disinigratimg (naturally?) In this case the wax maybe wasn’t doing anythng as the beer was among the best stouts I’ve ever had. Imperial Stout heaven really and a big step up complexity wise from the other beers. I hate Hot beers (love hot food) but this thing just burned right.
Nice note Robert. I have a couple of things that I’ve been holding on to a few years now (including a bottle or two of '13 KBS). When I get around to opening one I’ll remember to make a note and post it.
Thanks Jorge and I’d like to hear what you think of the “old” KBS. SMS seems to be a Really good clone in a world of wanna bes.
Feeling good about the Bomb I popped:
2014 Prairie Apple Brandy Barrel Noir - Of all the barrel Prairie aged this was my absolute favorite to drink fresh. I didn’t tAke a note at the time but I really thought the brandy made a killer finish on this beer. So at this point we have an awesome base beer with a diminished apple brandy finish. Still really good beer but probably better last year. Don’t think this is one to hold.
I opened a six year old Bells Expedition Stout a few weeks ago and it was fantastic. When they are young the coffee can be a little too much for me, but with age it smooths out. I need to buy some more.
We have a bottle or two of the Three Philosophers also. And a five year vert of Chimay blue. All 750ml though which makes it difficult to do a tasting of all of them.
Most years I buy at least a 4-pack of Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Ale, a barley wine style ale that is usually 9.6º or so and I have a vertical of at least one or two bottles from 2009 to present.
The old ones take on an intensity and depth of flavor that I really like, it is still a really big beer but the edges get rounder and the experience is more…sublime.
For the BA type beers I have aged, I have found the base beer is often the best, rather than the variants, especially coffee. Saisons w/brett from producers like Transmitter and Boulevard do really well too. BCBS with about 3 years is probably my favorite. 2d would be Jack’s Abby Framinghammer (Baltic Porter).
I don’t find the Bigfoot too pleasant when young, but once it has had a while to settle down it is great.
I reckon the Narwhal benefits from a couple of years too although I like that as a young beer as well
Most of my older beers won’t mean anything to anybody on here but I do have a bunch of local stouts aging. A couple of years back one of the breweries was selling 6 packs of 6 different vintages of their stouts. At 5 years old the 2009 was the best of the 6 pack.
Is anybody cellaring John Courage RIS? I have a six of 2011 & 12 but the 13 never showed up here for some reason, wondering if Its worth it to search out to keep it going. There are some 2012/13 with a glass combo packs, but I don’t need 6 bad glasses (or more 2012).