For 2014, I will be pulling up some bottles from my cellar and reviewing them. Not to be pessimistic, but I don’t have lofty expectations. Though my beers were light protected and kept at a consistent temp, beer can be fickle and some may have been better last month or next month. That being said, I am really excited to dig into the beers and see what time has wrought.
First up is a Stone Brewing collaboration with the esteemed BottleWorks of Seattle Washington. But before that, the backstory on the beer from Stone, “Bottleworks, Seattle’s legendary craft beer store captained by Matt Bonney and Matt “Vern” Vandenberghe, celebrated their 13th Anniversary in March of 2012. Since bottle shop owners can’t make their own beer, “The Matts” commission a different brewery each year to help them create their anniversary brew. This time they wanted an especially big beer (they were aiming for 13% abv), so naturally they turned to us for help. Here you see the delicious fruits of our collective labor: a 13-grain, 13-hop imperial porter that packs a wallop.”
The beer pours with a big head of espresso that you could put a barista design into easily. I catch a slight bourbon-esque whiff as I pop the cap. A little sweet raisin note and a bit of alcohol heat also rise up out of the glass. Not totally what is expected but this beer sorta defies style though it is called a porter, it probably could just have easily been called a strong ale or barleywine due to the hefty malts and hops in it.
Now the taste is very complex. He’Brew has done the whole double digit malt and hops thing and I have liked the idea better than the execution but this beer is quite enjoyable and different. I get notes of tobacco, coffee, caramel and milk chocolate that start and finish a sip as the sharp raisin note takes over the middle. Coffee notes at the end linger for a bit too. The time wore away the hop aroma and bitterness. Though that may be for the better. Probably more akin to an English Barleywine with the fruit notes. For all the big flavors, the consistency is a bit on the thin side. And for it’s high ABV, it isn’t hot on the palate or cheek warming.
The final cellaring verdict: This beer held up well but I think that if I had pulled this a bit sooner (maybe 5 months ago) some of the more jarring raisin notes would not have been there and this beer would have been even more balanced. But overall this experiment in aging gets a thumbs up.