Steve's Cellar Cleveland Heights, Ohio
Total Beers: 113 | Unique Beers: 39 | Breweries: 21
83
30
| Consumption History | When |
|---|---|
| Drank 12 oz of KBS (Kentucky Breakfast Stout) by Founders Brewing (2109-02-13) | April 26th, 2019 |
2019-04-26 Much as it pains me to say this, it isn't up to expectations. I'd already seen some similar comments and was thinking "these clowns are just trying to build some geek cred by having a dismissive attitude" but now I'm thinking they are spot on. Don't get me wrong; this is still an excellent stout but I'm used to being knocked on my ash can by a boozy barrel blast from the get go and I'm just not getting that here. I'm trying a 2017 next, which I thought would be blown away by this but now I'm not so sure; maybe the coffee component. This tastes like a really good Breakfast Stout. | |
| Drank 12 oz of Curmudgeon's Better Half by Founders Brewing (2018-08-29) | April 25th, 2019 |
2019-04-25 First time trying again after 10/14/2018. I'm not sure if six months have balanced the sweetness which I originally found overpowering, but after a 12/30/2016 Curmudgeon, the sweetness tastes refreshing. Further aging might balance the sweetness more but the current level isn't problematic. Maybe it's all a matter of perspective but I've upgraded the rating from 3.91 to 4.16. | |
2018-10-13 3.91/5 rDev -9.3%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Poured from a 12 ounce bottle into a DFH tulip. Gorgeous mahogany body with a slightly off white head that dissipated slowly with some lacing. Smell was very sweet barrel boozy. Taste was just dominated by the sweetness too much; there's plenty of other things going on, with a nice bitterness at the end, but this was just sweeter than I consider optimal. Certainly not a drain pour but not as good as I was hoping. Mouthfeel was fine.
I was really looking forward to this based on the rave reviews it was getting but I prefer the regular Curmudgeon from a couple years ago, of which I am still aging some. I complained about CBS not being sweet enough so maybe this is a case of be careful what you wish for. I will cellar the remaining three and hopefully achieve more balance. | |
| Drank 12 oz of Curmudgeon by Founders Brewing (2016-12-30) | April 25th, 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. | |
| Drank 12 oz of Third Coast Old Ale by Bell's Brewery, Inc. (2017-10-11) | April 24th, 2019 |
2019-04-24 Carbonation was slightly reduced while still being far from flat. Smell and taste had a reduced hop presence while still obviously being there. This is already starting to age nicely. Not sure where the optimum spot is but I'm pretty sure it's not there yet. Looking forward to revisiting this in a year or so. | |
2018-11-09 4.02/5 rDev -2.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Poured from a 12 ounce bottled on 10/11/2017 into a DFH tulip. Small head over a cherry mahogany body which dissipated quickly with little lacing. Smell got much more pronounced as it warmed up since I started this in a very cold attic before moving to a warmer setting. Smell was of nicely sweet fruit with a slight, not overpowering, booze tinge. Taste was more hoppy than the smell but it in no way detracted from the sweet flavors. Absolutely no alcohol burn. Mouthfeel was fine albeit slightly thin.
Overall this was a bit of a letdown because my hopes maybe were higher than were reasonable. Then again, maybe additional aging will get this to the point I wanted it to be since this is still young. Will revisit this in a year. | |
| Drank 12 oz of Third Coast Old Ale by Bell's Brewery, Inc. (2018-09-13) | April 24th, 2019 |
2019-04-24 Poured into a DFH tulip. Nice sized head with decent retention over slightly dark brown body with good retention. Smell was nicely boozily sweet with a distinct hoppy piney bitterness, not as much as Bigfoot but still obviously present. Taste was nicely sweet but with a bitter aftertaste. The aftertaste faded as it warmed (stored at 50 degrees) but never completely disappeared, which was expected (thinking that an American Barleywine is going to be like a British one just ain't happening). It was very enjoyable as it warmed up. | |
| Drank 12 oz of Imperial Porter - Rum Barrel Aged with Coconut by Thirsty Dog Brewing (2018) | April 24th, 2019 |
2019-04-24
4.34/5 rDev +3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
12 ounce bottle (can't find a date but this was a 2018 one off, no?) poured into a DFH tulip. Largish dark tan head over a dark brown body which dissipated rapidly leaving these white specks which I assume (and hope) are coconut. Smell is boozy coconut with a smooth malt undertone. Taste has more of a malt base but the coconut enhances it very nicely. I've not been a big fan of other brewer concoctions aged in rum barrels but this works for me and avoids the astringent thinness which previously annoyed me. They could've cranked the alc more, I guess, and produced something different and maybe not as good. This is perfectly fine as is.
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| Drank 12 oz of Oak Aged Siracusa Nera by Dogfish Head Craft Brewery (2017-10-11) | April 23rd, 2019 |
2019-04-23 Finishing off the last of the 10/11/17 four pack. Carbonation has not fallen off one iota. Unfortunately nothing has really changed positively while nothing has deteriorated either. Maybe my palate's too unrefined because I'm not detecting the variety of flavors that DFH describes in their blurb. It's certainly still good enough and didn't develop any off elements in the aging process so I'm not at all disappointed by the results other than it didn't improve. Isn't that part and parcel of aging experiments? | |
2018-11-10 The positive changes I noted on 7/7 continue in place: there has been no reduction in the carbonation when poured into a DFH tulip. Smell was still lacking for a big stout just after the pour after being stored at 50 degrees, but as it warmed up I got a nice wine aroma over the stout malts. The taste is still not at the level of the top tier RISs but it seems like a typical DFH experiment, which is not meant as a slam because imo they do things with a lot of integrity. I still don't detect much barrel per se so I guess the wine smell and taste is what it is. Mouthfeel is fine for this sipper. I still have one left that I'll crack open at some point in the future because there's been no deterioration that I can detect. | |
2018-07-07 Decided to cellar this to 9 months from bottling date to see if there's any improvement, about which I was skeptical because of how balanced the taste was originally. The pour into a long stemmed tulip showed no deterioration of the head in both size and retention. The wine aroma may have faded somewhat but there's still a pleasantly sweet hint. The taste is where the major improvement has occurred because it seems richer than it was previously with maybe the wine a bit more forward. I still don't taste nearly as much barrel as I'm used to and the alcohol remains entirely hidden. Mouthfeel is still fine so I'd say the cellaring was a success, given the subjective nature of every tasting. Maybe revisit this a year from bottling. | |
| Drank 500 ml of Bourbon County Brand Wheatwine by Goose Island Beer Co. (2018-08-11) | April 20th, 2019 |
2019-04-20 4.28/5 rDev +0.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
8/11/2018 bottle poured into a DFH tulip. Brownish mahogany body over a very small head. Smell is just boozy complex sweetness with hints of vanilla, brown sugar and caramel permeating everything. Taste reflects the smell but with a bitterness on the back end, maybe from the hops. Mouthfeel was a bit thinner than the stouts, surely by design. Not unpleasant by any means.
I wish I'd bought a few more of these to age to find out what happens. I hope this wasn't just a one off.
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| Drank 12 oz of Barrel Aged Esther by Platform Beer Co. (2018-11-30) | April 13th, 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 Bourbon Barrel Aged Dark Apparition by Jackie O's Pub & Brewery (2017) | April 13th, 2019 |
2019-04-13 4.26/5 rDev -1.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
2017 12.7 ounce bottle pulled out of my cellar fridge (at first pulled out a 2018 I didn't know I had; nice cellar inventory control). When I popped the cap, a boozy barrel smell immediately was detected. Poured into a DFH tulip, there was almost no tan head topping an inky brown body.
Smell is just gorgeous with caramel and molasses over the previously mentioned pleasant aromas. At the first sip I got a brown sugar taste blast which quickly faded as the stout warmed up. Then I detected an unpleasant bitter alcohol taste which made me think WTF, but that too went away with the warming. Still I'm wondering if maybe I've sat on this too long and it's developed some off tastes; I'll try that discovered 2018 in the near future. With further warming I'm detecting some malt char which was buried earlier. Mouthfeel was a bit thinner than I was expecting; not bad but still thinner.
This was obviously a positive experience but I'm not sure that the barrel aging made that much of an improvement over the base stout, which I enjoy a great deal. Further testing required! | |
| Drank 500 ml of Bourbon County Brand Vanilla Stout by Goose Island Beer Co. (2018-09-04) | March 30th, 2019 |
2019-03-30 Dark brown body topped by a smallish tan head which dissipated rapidly. Sipped this very slowly and eventually the carbonation completely disappeared and was like a British Barleywine. Smell was very vanilla and barrel forward with other undefined flavors lurking in the background. Taste was just gorgeous as competing vanilla, toffee, barrel and chocolate flavors interacted. Mouthfeel was thick and chewy; just what I needed on a cold early spring evening after I walked the dog (my avatar) in the rain and settled in to listen to music and read. For whatever reason, BCBS enhances my music listening experiences. Just a great barrel aged imperial stout. | |
| Drank 500 ml of Barrel House Series Oat by Southern Tier Brewing Co (2018-04) | March 23rd, 2019 |
2019-03-23 4.13/5 rDev -0.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
I didn't really intend to sit on this April 2018 500 ml bottle this long, but I picked it up on a whim last year, stuck it in the cellar fridge and other things got in the way until now.
Poured a brownish black in a DFH tulip with a dark tan head that stuck around. Smell is of boozy caramel with a strong bourbon barrel presence as other undefinable aromas linger in the background. Taste started off a bit more bitter than expected but as it warms it becomes more balanced as other flavors rise up with an unexpected spiciness settling in. Nicely complex. Mouthfeel is fine but a little thin for as big of a stout; maybe that's the oat presence with which I'm not experienced.
I enjoyed this a great deal. Too bad this was a one off release. | |
| Drank 275 ml of Harvest Ale 2007 by JW Lees and Co. (Brewers) Ltd. | March 9th, 2019 |
2019-03-09 4.35/5 rDev +2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
2007 bottle poured into a DFH tulip. No carbonation over a reddish brown body with floaters at the bottom.
Smell was of raisins over a boozy sherry aroma. Taste mirrored the smell but had almost no alcohol but this is the first ale I've had that I could taste leather and tobacco that I've heard so much of previously but never experienced. No cardboard or oxidation tastes that I could detect. Mouthfeel was fine as it lingered nicely while not being as thick and oily as other British Barleywines I've had.
Obviously this is something special. I don't know if 12 years is the optimum cellaring time but it's difficult to imagine how this can be improved on. | |
| Drank 550 ml of Ten Fidy - Bourbon Barrel-Aged by Oskar Blues Brewery (2017-11-06) | February 23rd, 2019 |
2018-12-01 It was with great alarm when I read what @bbtkd wrote about aging these stovepipes being not such a smart thing to do beyond six months because things start to fall off, like the coffee flavor. The good news is that this 11/06/17 can, and another, was given to me by a friend relocating across country so it didn't cost me a damn thing. But being a risk averse individual, kind of, I decided to put one of these bad boys to the test and popped one tonight into a DFH tulip. It poured nicely with a reasonable dark tan head over a dark brown body. And the smell still had plenty of barrel and alc over the nice molassesy stout aroma with a matching taste. So WTF does @bbtkd know, right? Except I think he's right. Something is slightly off compared to experiencing this a year ago. It's not as hot, obviously; but it's also not as complex. It's still been a very positive experience (I'm listening to some wild ass music which sounds *great*) but I think these are best experienced fresh. | |
| Drank 12 oz of Bigfoot 2018 by Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. (2017-12-01) | February 17th, 2019 |
2019-02-17 After my 2/4 initial plunge with a 2019, which was at my daughter's and son in law's place in Santa Cruz, I decided when I returned to chez Hate to pop one of the 2018s (bottled 12/01/2017) as a basis of comparison. One huge difference: I store mine in a cellar fridge set between 50-55; God knows what the kids fridge is set at but it's a *lot* colder. Maybe because of that the head was much larger and consistent with what photos here have illustrated. Definitely because of the temp differences the smell was more prominent as was the taste. The hops are still very forward and any drop off is indiscernible to my unrefined palate. There's still an underlying sweetness that I hope comes more to the fore with increased age. | |
