AROMA 5/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 3/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 7/20
adamjackson (248) – Canaan, USA – MAY 5, 2012
A – Dark brown. Almost plum or blueberry appearance when held against the light. Absolutely no head and fantastic alcohol runners on the glass swirl.
S – bourbon, oak and smoked malts.
T – Huge tobacco taste, licorice, hints of vanilla, bourbon, oak, roasted malts.
M – No carbonation at all, big body, dry and lingering bits of bourbon
O – I keep trying Old ales and keep being very disappointed with them. This was no exception to that rule. Too boozy, to must musty like eating the dust on an old leather bound dictionary that hasn’t been touched for a decade. It’s like spending the day in a morgue. Just very bad taste in my mouth…and unfortunately…drain pour on the last half.
You’re a fucking moron
I’ve heard from some that this does not age well. It’s a pretty hot beer by nature, so in doing so much of what the brewer wants you to taste could be lost. I personally opened a bottle from their latest batch (says 2011 on the bottle) and it was incredible. You would be doing yourself a great disservice if you don’t revisit a fresher bottle.
Cheers!
Nick
Hi Nick. You have a great point. A) I’d love to have it fresh and B) I’d love to have it with a few more years on it. Another thing is that this beer was traded to me by someone so they may have not cellared it properly. I love Bourbon Barrel beers but I am not a fan of Old Ales. I don’t rate them poorly but, if given a choice, they’re not in my top 10 styles.
So, maybe a combination of skunked beer + better fresh + not a fan of the style equaled a lower review? Not sure. However, I do have one more in the cellar (same vintage, same trade) so I’ll give it a shot and see.
Thanks!
I know you are not particularly interested in trading at the moment, and I see you have a trip planned soon (enjoy that! My sister was just married in Brussels and my mother who attended was kind enough to bring back some Cantillon goodies.) If you decide to partake in a small exchange, I live a stones throw away from Kuhnhenn and would gladly grab you a fresh BB4D or four.
P.S.
You have some great material on here, and your documentation of recent life changes, and experiences with beer are insightful and actually quite inspiring. Keep it up.
Cheers!
Thanks Nick! Yeah, I am bringing back a lot. 2 cases of Westy and almost 50 bottles of Lambics…Shipping them back actually. I’m going to try my very hardest to hold on to many of these so I can see how they improve over time but will be trading some to my normal 5 trading partners.
Maybe we can work something out but let’s talk in July? is that alright? I have a problem with over committing for trades and then, following a trip, realize I’ve promised all of the beer I just bought to people before I even have it!
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Very excited for the trip for sure. I have no short term memory or very little so I document things so I can recall them later. I’ve been called prolific and an attention seeker which might be true but I can’t tell you what I had to drink last night so these reviews help me tremendously.
glad to have a reader. Many thanks for stopping by!