Originally released in 2010, I bought all four of the XXX anniversary beers from Sierra Nevada, And with Beer Camp having rumbled across America and into recent memory, now seemed a good time to open 1/2 of my bottles up. I had a hard time picking two but I thought this Bock (Imperial & Helles in one bottle) might be the first to fade so it was plucked first….
At 8.3% this would not seem a suitable candidate for aging and my initial review when I sampled it at a Library Alehouse Sierra Nevada dinner offers a second dissent to having squirreled it away. This is my review from June of 2010, the beer “pours a dark red/brown. It is all over the place to me. It is not heavy but it has an alcohol kick to it. Bock maltiness shows up then fades into a note of hops. Complex but not one of my favorites.”
In 2014, this beer pours a very hazy orange with tints of brown to it. There is still a bit of head to this beer with an island of foam floating on the surface as I sip it. The aroma is strong and a traditional bock / German notes. I get a bit of what some may characterize as caramel while others call it butterscotch. I also detect a little bit of sherry and a smidge of citrus as well.
This bock is pretty thin but still lively. The alcohol kick that is sensed over four years ago is but a lingering memory. There is a bit of sharpness left but only just hanging on. It is almost as if someone took a sherry or port and put it over ice and an hour later I am tasting a much lighter and diluted spirit.
The Verdict? – I like it better now. It has a certain dessert / by the fireplace feel to it without being a sugary, syrupy mess. It is sweet for sure much like a maple bar is sweet. Which is why I would pair this with donuts which may seem odd but I think the malt and sweetness of the beer would really echo the same in a donut.
Sean, I am truly surprised this beer has held up so well for 3 years too. While the abv is just in the low end of the “aging range,” it didn’t taste age-worthy to me when it was fresh. At what temperature did you store it?
I’m surprised you weren’t getting more sherry/wet cardboard. Prominent caramel notes are to be expected, but when you say butterscotch, do you mean diacetyl? That “flaw” would be likely, but if the flavor remained mostly sweet, I can see how that buttery flavor would actually be complementary.
Even the blonde Samichlaus Helles (a helles ultra-bock at 14% abv) is boozy and sherry-fied when drank aged.
I need to open soon the one bottle of Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary Imperial Helles Bock that I held onto in order to see how it changes. I hope it tastes as good as yours apparently did.
I was surprised that it lasted as well. And since a recent off-flavor class at Firestone Walker, I have been extra aware of the bad flavors that I am more immune to than others (diacetyl) being one of them and it wasn’t that. It was much more caramel candy and not that fake popcorn butter. And no wet cardboard either. The bottle was stored in my garage in a box at a pretty constant temp which I think is why I have been fairly successful so far.
Amazing. A box in a garage in Glendale does not seem to be the optimum condition for aging, especially a lager like this one. It it air conditioned? How can you keep a constant temp year-round?
‘Tis underground and far from the driveway ramp so no sun hits it and the lights are on motion sensors and only occasionally flicker on. My past two garages were outside and blazing hot, which is why I never collected until moving to where I am now.
I miss that beer so much! I bought out Vendome and Total Wine when it was out. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the self-control you do and drank all of mine.
If it weren’t for cost and lack of sel-control, I would have a cellar larger than a house.