Steve's Cellar Cleveland Heights, Ohio
Total Beers: 113 | Unique Beers: 39 | Breweries: 21
83
30
| Consumption History | When |
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| Drank 12 oz of Big Bad Baptist by Epic Brewing Company (2019) | February 1st, 2020 |
| Drank 16 oz of Narwhal Imperial Stout - Barrel Aged by Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. (2019-12-20) | February 1st, 2020 |
2020-02-01 4.44/5 rDev +2.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
12/20/2019 16 ouncer poured into a DFH tulip. Deep dark brown body topped with a brown fluffy head that stuck around for a while. Smell has the barrel and bourbon up front with a deep malty underpinning. Taste reflects the smell but with some chocolate tinges and other hard to put your finger on flavors. As is typical of a big stout it gets better as it warms up, but it still tastes "young" as in these flavors need time to merge into something bigger than the sum of the parts. Mouthfeel is very appropriate for a big stout. This already is an impressive stout but I look forward to revisiting this with some age on it.
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| Drank 12 oz of CBS (Canadian Breakfast Stout) by Founders Brewing (2019-09-16) | January 25th, 2020 |
| Drank 16 oz of Winter Warmer - Maple Barrel Aged by The Brew Kettle (2019) | January 25th, 2020 |
2020-01-25 This was a pleasant surprise. Not that big a Brew Kettle fan but this is very good. Had a sample before picking up a four pack. Just the right balance between sweetness and not detracting from the malt taste. I hope this isn't a one off. | |
| Drank 12 oz of Old Rasputin by North Coast Brewing Co. (2018-01-25) | January 18th, 2020 |
2020-01-18 1/25/2018 12 ounce bottle on 1/18/2020. Large tan head over a dark brown body. Rich chocolate infused malty smell. Taste is much creamier and mellow with the hop bite lessened from fresh with complex dark fruit flavors making their presence known. Not boozy per se but you know you're drinking something with heft, the type of brew that Catherine the Great wanted transported large distances for her enjoyment on the long Russian nights. | |
| Drank 12 oz of Dragon's Milk Reserve Oatmeal Cookie by New Holland Brewing Company (2019-09-19) | January 11th, 2020 |
2020-01-11 4.19/5 rDev +0.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Saw a four pack of this a while back, maybe in mid November, and snagged it. Took a couple bottles over to a buddy's place for beer tasting and music enjoyment and, although my attention was divided, remember enjoying this a great deal. So now I get to really analyze it.
Normal sized tan head over a dark brown body. Smells like a muted oatmeal cookie. Can definitely detect the spices, and as it warms up it the aromas increase. But the taste is where everything comes together. Rich spicy raisiny brown sugary oatmeal taste over a solid malty stout body with the alcohol completely hidden. Nicely thick mouthfeel.
When I bought this I thought it sounded gimmicky but it really delivers as a flavored stout. I don't think aging can improve this because nothing seems out of balance so I'll finish this off shortly. | |
| Drank 12 oz of Old Stock Ale 2012 by North Coast Brewing Co. (2012) | January 11th, 2020 |
2020-01-11 Drinking the next to last of the 2012s as I like to begin the year with one of these, my first introduction into the joys of English old ales. Still plenty of carbonation as poured into a DFH tulip but the color has darkened into a reddish dark amber. Before I get into any tasting notes, like an idiot I brushed my teeth before enjoying this because my post dinner mouth tasted like hot garbage. Be that as it may, adding an artificial mint to my palate completely screwed everything. It's been an unusually warm January day here, as in the windows are open, so it did get to warm up more than usual at this time of the year.
Even after it warmed up the smell was very muted. There was some vanilla and dark fruit but not to the level I was expecting. The taste was initially more fusil than I was previously accustomed to but as it warmed up, and that fucking artificial mint subsided, a richer taste of vanilla, brown sugar and dark fruit took over. I hadn't planned on doing a vertical with subsequent years but maybe when I enjoy the last one I'll do it for comparison purposes. Because, even though these are capable of being aged far in excess of eight years according to the brewer, maybe the optimum spot has been exceeded.
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2018-11-15 found a four pack of 2012 vintage two years ago and just immediately snagged it. Nothing in my cellar exists in the sheer numbers that Old Stock Ale does. Even after appreciating the wonder of big stouts this is still an automatic purchase like breathing. I polished off one of these bad boys last summer as part of a vertical, and now it's the second one.
Poured into a long stemmed tulip, the color has gone from gold to a reddish tan with perhaps less carbonation but things are far from flat. Smell is just full of vanilla tinged dark fruit. Taste delivers the total goods. There is no sign of oxidation or cardboard flavors or any of the other signs that maybe aging this beyond a point was pushing it too much. There's no reason to not keep this going; if things turn bad, there are more recent years to set a limit to. | |
| Drank 500 ml of Fyodor by Stone Brewing (2018-01-25) | January 5th, 2020 |
2020-01-05 4.29/5 rDev -4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
Brewed 1/25/2018. Had trouble removing the cork and had the resort to a corkscrew. Poured most of a 500 ml bottle into a DFH tulip. The body was as dark as Rasputin's soul with an ample tan head. Drinking in a 58 degree room everything got better as it reached room temperature. At first everything seemed thin with the char dominating but eventually the other flavors prevailed. Never specifically noticed the anise in smell or taste but lots of dark fruits and barrel were present. Mouthfeel was fine for a big stout.
Maybe I've been spoiled by BCBS and Jackie O's barrel aged stouts but this just didn't deliver what I was hoping it would. Maybe I'll try it again to see if this was just a subjective one time thing. It wasn't bad by any reasonable criteria but just wasn't the knock it out of the park experience I was hoping for. | |
| Drank 500 ml of Bourbon County Brand Wheatwine by Goose Island Beer Co. (2019-09-08) | December 28th, 2019 |
2019-12-28 9/24/2019 bottle consumed on 12/28. Everything tracks similarly to the previous year except the bitterness on the back end. So that's an improvement. Please keep making this. | |
| Drank 12 oz of Barrel Aged Esther by Platform Beer Co. (2018-11-30) | December 23rd, 2019 |
2019-07-30 Christmas in July | |
2019-04-13 4.23/5 rDev +3.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
The original review was from 12/11/2017 at the brewery and it was much more bourbon forward than the subsequent canned version from 11/30/2018 drank on 4/13/2019. Don't get me wrong, this is still very enjoyable but I'm wondering how much variance there was between batches or if it's just me. | |
| Drank 12 oz of CBS (Canadian Breakfast Stout) by Founders Brewing (2019-09-16) | December 22nd, 2019 |
| Drank 12 oz of Stone Farking Wheaton w00tstout 2019 by Stone Brewing (2019-05-18) | December 14th, 2019 |
| Drank 12 oz of Bourbon Barrel Oro Negro by Jackie O's Pub & Brewery (2019) | December 14th, 2019 |
2019-12-14 4.58/5 rDev +1.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
2019 bottle poured into a DFH tulip. Very dark brown to black body topped by a tan head. Smell is of chocolate, cinnamon, peppers, bourbon and vanilla. Wonderfully complex as is the taste with the peppers really hitting the palate. Mouthfeel was a little thin but maybe I've been spoiled by chewier British Barleywines.
A superb sipping imperial stout. | |
| Drank 500 ml of Bourbon County Brand Stout by Goose Island Beer Co. (2017-10-14) | December 7th, 2019 |
2019-12-07 4.64/5 rDev -0.4%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
I can't believe I didn't write a full review two years ago because drinking it was a transcendent experience. I was listening to a disc of small group improv that night and there was a trombone-tuba-woodwinds trio performance that I'd never bothered really listening to before because it previously was just random sounds. I was transfixed by it; it sounded like pure musical genius. Obviously BCBS was the causal factor in producing such an extremely positive reaction.
That was two years ago and I have no written notes to compare it with. But based upon two years of consuming *many* barrel aged stouts, including subsequent BCBS variants, this is the gold standard against which all should be compared. Regarding the look, maybe some carbonation has been lost in that there wasn't a prodigious head over a dark brown body, but this is still plenty lively. The smell and taste are just wonderful with plenty of flavors like vanilla, caramel, malts and who knows what else just swirling around. There is still some boozy heat but not nearly at the 14.7% level. If anything it seems hidden in the smoothness. The mouthfeel is very thick and chewy, with it adhering to my teeth so that minutes after a sip I'm still tasting it. Just a wonderful experience. | |
| Drank 12 oz of Curmudgeon by Founders Brewing (2016-12-30) | November 23rd, 2019 |
2019-11-23 No problem with it going flat because the carbonation hasn't subsided at all as the body continues to get darker. And the smell is still plenty rich and sweet with vanilla tones. But in the taste the molasses has faded somewhat leaving the bitterness of the oak barrel being somewhat grating on the palate. As it warms to room temperature this becomes less problematic as the sweetness returns to mask the barrel but I recall this being a better experience with less age under it. If/when Founders offers this again, I'll be so guided. | |
2019-04-25 Poured into a DFH tulip. Carbonation is still present with no obvious diminution. Not sure if the color has darkened more from 11/13/18 but it is decidedly darker than the starting point. Molasses and oak seem to be more blended. Aging hasn't hurt this at all but I'm not sure that it's improved at the same level as, say, North Coast Old Stock Ale. Still I only have one left and I'll wait until at least the three year point if not longer. | |
2018-07-21 Poured into a DFH tulip the color seems darker but there's no loss of head nor retention. The oak smell is still present along with a touch of molasses and a pleasant booziness. Taste replicates the smell but it seems more balanced than in the past. Bitterness in the aftertaste noted in February hasn't gotten any worse and might be less prominent. Cellaring hasn't negatively impacted this. | |
2018-02-12 Poured into a long stemmed Lost Abbey tulip I think the color has darkened some. Still a strong oak smell and taste. The taste has a slight bitterness at the end that I'm not sure I noticed a year ago; this was a gift from a friend moving and cleaning out her fridge so I'm not sure what the storage circumstances were, so I still have three more to further age and hopefully the bitterness doesn't get to the point that it's undrinkable. Maybe in another year there will be a fresh batch with which I can compare. | |
