Beer in the new era

Trying to think of shelf BA Stouts that are decent, at least ones available in wide distribution:

New Holland Dragon's Milk
Hoppin' Frog Barrel Aged B.O.R.I.S.
AV Wild Turkey BBA Stout
Unita Labyrinth
All those Eclipse variants that sit on shelves forever $$$

All have their drawbacks, but I'm usually not sad drinking most of them. There are a bunch of local breweries that do them as well that range from mediocre to outstanding. However those are not readily available outside the Chicago market.

I've never much been bothered by how "hot" fresh BCBS is, but it should be noted that aging it cools it down significantly. That two year old one I had the other day was remarkably smooth and drinkable.

And as a whiskey drinker I am once again puzzled by any reaction to it that cites overwhelming whiskey. I mean, it's there! That's part of the point. But I see reviews that exclaim "like drinking straight bourbon" or "it's too hot to drink," and I'm like, huh? The ABV of BCBS is about that of wine.

yea agreed, though if you're not a whiskey drinker it can feel that way, i do remember describing a lot of barrel-aged or even just high ABV beers are "too boozy" or "too hot" before i started drinking whiskey. now even 100 proof whiskey starts to taste like maple syrup to me after a glass or two

how does maple syrup taste after a glass or two?

Good haul today! Prop, reg BCBS, Big Hugs. Heard from a friend there's a shop at Damen/Addison selling 2014 BCBS for $7 a bottle, but couldn't find time to check it out.

My local has been dropping bottles of 2014 BCBS in the cooler at random points in December. I've gotten one each time, even though I still have plenty at home. Just an excuse to open it up and drink right there.

My cellar is stuffed, so I have been successfully keeping to a promise to hold off a bit on new bottles.

Maybe I just got a bad batch, but I've found an Otter Creek beer that I don't particularly care for: the Backseat Berner IPA. It seems a bit too alcohol-y and it has an unpleasant bitter aftertaste.

i love that beer but a lot of ppl don't

FWIW, Chicago locals, it looks like they just dumped a ton more BCBS all over Chicagoland, at Binny's, Whole Foods, Jewel, etc.

Which I'm sure is all gone by now.

I picked up two more bottles of reg, which should be enough for me. See you in 2016.

At least all gone in the northside establishments, it may linger in the burbs.

http://rukkus.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/billy-joel.jpg
"A bottle of reg ... "

Found an '08 BCBS at a cellar sale:

http://i.imgur.com/gie1jEp.jpg

Probably right in the cusp of drinkable, if even.

On the cusp.

had 12-13-14-15 BCS tonight plus 2015 prop and night stalker, my tongue was pretty much dead after the first 3, but it was fun

that 1349 black ale in the pic is good

pretty sure '08 bcbs is dead now

I have bottles back to '09. Need to find a reason to drink them soon.

Dead how? I know they say "up to 5 years," but there are several stouts that basically tout they can be stored indefinitely. Like Bell's Expedition, which some (and more importantly, Bell's) say can be stored more or less indefinitely. What's the dif. between storing one high ABV stout and another? Is Goose Island just covering their butts with the "up the 5 years" instruction?

All depends on how the oxidation has affected it. Bad oxidation and you start to get something that taste like Bourbon Country Cardboard. I did a 10 year vertical last year from '05 to '14. '07 was the worst of that bunch, '12 was the best. '05/'06 were slightly better than '07, but paled in comparison to '12 to '14. It's all subjective, of course. Some beers move towards a sherry flavor from oxidation.

Also it could have been how those older ones have been stored, that's a huge wild card. If a beer is 10 years old, unless you've had it in your possession for that entire time, you never know how many times it's been exposed to light/heat.

I think the "up to 5 years" is a better safe than sorry recommendation. It can be good after that, but the chances that it has fallen off are higher.

agree w/all that. i did a similar vert two years ago and if '08 goes the same way '05 and '06 did back then it's definitely in the danger zone. i didn't find that anything i would call "good" was happening to bourbon county after about the 3-4 year range.

At the same time, isn't there some variation in the formula from year to year? I can't imagine the '08, fresh, tasted the same as the '15, fresh. Or maybe it did!

i don't think the base bcbs recipe has changed ever

I have bottles back to '09. Need to find a reason to drink them soon.

I let a $90 bottle of red wine go past its prime waiting for a "special occasion" so now I've dialed back my "special" threshold. I also should have stored it better, but still.

http://www.mashtunjournal.org/2015/12/what-its-worth-rare-bourbon-county-stout/

Hmmm, so if I can get it without the box I will get a 68% discount?

Barrel $0.59
Barley/Hops $0.49

So that analysis is saying that "ghost whale" 35 year old Heaven Hill barrels that HH didn't know existed is worth the same as the grain bill that went into the base beer? Haha... sorry, but that's a pretty goofy guesstimate. Thanks for the bloggin'.

Same guys who wrote that had a bottle of Rare for sale in their store listed at $120.

At the beer temple?

Maria's

I should say, the guy who posted the article, Ed Marz.

Right! Got it. I know BT was charging pretty much MSRP.

Weirdo beers tonight. The Stone/Sierra NxS, gin/bourbon/rye barrel aged dry hopped IPA. I just got a lot of gin flavor from it, didn't hate it. And Founders Project Pam, maple syrup barrel aged black IPA. I just don't know. I think we've spent too much time in the lab with these.

I considered Project Pam when I was at the store and struck out on getting any Darkness. Glad I skipped it.

So has anyone met a certified cicerone? is that one of the dumbest professional certs ever or is it legit, like does it get people jobs?

I think I would like to become a blind test expert in distinguishing between piss lager beers all over the world. Pour Sapporo, Tsingtao, OB, Singha, Tiger, Carlsberg, Heineken, Grolsch, Budweiser, National Bohemian, Yuengling, Grain Belt, Coors Banquet, PBR, Rolling Rock, Lone Star, Milwaukee's Best and Narragansett into identical glasses. I will be able to correctly name each one with complete accuracy. This is going to take a lot of practice.

I am looking forward to trying some of these this summer:

http://www.koreacraftbrewery.com/beer

I mean look at the labels this is clearly an excellent source of amazing beverages

Everyone at my local bar has at least the certified beer server level, with one at the certified cicerone level. They are certainly knowledgable and the owner sees it as a selling point that all the servers have certification. The Cicerone office is based out of Chicago, so we do have quite a few of them, including 3 out of the 11 that have achieved the master level.

So I guess it's worth it if you find a place that cares about it.

If I come back from Seoul without having had one of these then I will be making the face on the label
http://www.koreacraftbrewery.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/brat_03.jpg

I know a cicerone too, he used to work for Two Brothers.

First two beers tonight: Westvleteren 8 and BCBCS. Good start.

i hate having to drive on holidays.

Rumors that BCBCS 15 is infected. I only got one bottle and shared it (no signs of infection)... but the draft pour I had was really viscous and smooth, I believe CAD called it "milkshake" like or frappe-like upthread? Not sure if mouthfeel is affected by young infection or not.

Port City Tidings is not as delicious as I remember it from years past.
I may just be getting over spiced belgian stuff, too.

I only had one bottle of BCBCS and it was delicious.

drank my only bottle last night. didn't seem as rich as the draft pour but similar flavor.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/423/50570/

Tried this and liked it, although not as much as beer advocate dot com. Slightly too boozy for a farmhouse ale imo, but I'll take that over not boozy enough.

found a secret stash and i picked up five bottles of BCBS in L.A. at $11.99 a pop, plus a bottle of the Barleywine for $13.49. they said they were sold out of it, but it looks like someone decided to hide a bottle and i happened to come across it.