Cellared 2014.03.26 12oz
Drank 2015.12.31
Founders KBS
Strong initial alcohol on the nose. Very impressive first sip. Coffee is very much there. Very smooth and the flavors are strong and integrated. Better than I remember this. It is still thin. I should probably get through the next 3 before too long as I am sure the coffee will fade eventually.
Cellared 2013.11.17 750ml
Drank 2015.12.25
Brouwerij Het Anker Cuvée Van De Keizer Blauw
A bit of alcohol on the nose. No alcohol when tasted. Sweet dark fruits. Light and highly carbonated. Refreshing. Very good. One of the best results of my experiments with aging beer. I have not had a fresh one. I would be very interested in seeing how this was like fresh. But while it is indeed very good, a fresh Sixth Glass is probably even better than this.
133°F for 18 hours to 2 days
Update 2015.12.25: I only was able to do the shanks. The shanks were done at 133 for ~39 hours. The doneness was good. The meat was dryer than I want. It wasn’t salted but I think a bit of sail might have helped with getting the flavor better. But then again it might have made the texture worse. I am not sold on beef shanks. There were nice tendons interlaced with the meat but I don’t think they had enough of an effect on the texture to pursue this as something I want to make often.
Cellared 2013.10.20 12oz
Drank 2015.12.19
Sierra Nevada Narwhal
I was pretty unimpressed the first time I had this. I am just as unimpressed this time with over 2 years on it. The flavor is still thin. It has picked up a bit of metal flavor. It is not rich enough and the flavors are not deep enough. It is bitter without being roasty. I smelled lots of alcohol but didn’t taste it. I suspect now I really do like my stouts sweet. This isn’t sweet enough. Or maybe I don’t like sweet itself but rather I like a ton of grain. Narwhal just comes up short. It is not the stout analog of Bigfoot.
Cellared 2013.11.17 12oz
Drank 2015.12.19
North Coast Old Stock Ale
Smells of alcohol. Does not taste of it.
Initial impression was less than positive. Slightly metallic. Uninteresting flavors. Thin mouthfeel.
A bit in, it tastes sweeter and fruitier. Better. Almost like a quad.
I now have a dedicated container for doing sous vide. The plastic should be a slightly better insulator than metal. the size is great. Large enough for anything I currently plan on cooking. And it is light weight. The lid will reduce evaporation.
Cellared 2014.03.08 12oz
Drank 2015.12.04
Dark Horse Plead the 5th
In a year and a half, it did not get particularly better. It developed none of the most favorable flavors. None of that sweetness I enjoy. It was never as good as Expedition or FIS fresh. The intensity of flavor is just not there. It has not picked up this good stuff with age. Yet at least. With 11 more in the cellar, I will be revisiting this for a LONG time.
Cellared 2013.12.27 16oz
Drank 2015.12.02
Brewery Vivant Plow Horse
I disliked this a lot fresh. It was VERY hard to drink. It was kind of sour. I had a difficult time finishing it. It was unpleasant. But I got through two of them. The second one was hard because I knew it would be bad.
After nearly 2 years, it got so much worse. One sip and I drained poured it. The smell was of alcohol. The taste was metallic and sour in a very bad way. If I had to guess, this is what an infection tastes like.
I have not purchased anything from Vivant since the first time I had Plow Horse. I know I never will now.