Wine enthusiasts know that cellaring is a skill. Every wine has its own aging curve, improving at times, worsening at others and eventually falling apart (which might not be for decades, but still, it happens). Well, I believe this is true for beer cellaring as well.
Which leads me to my occasional, ongoing project of thinning out my beer cellar. I mentioned a few weeks back that during some basement cleaning I pulled out a few bottles from my cellar for pruning. I have been slowly working my way through them. Today’s victim? A 2008 bottle of Rogue Old Crustacean Barley Wine.
It opens with a rich caramel aroma, touches of raisin, brown sugar, a medium level of piney hops and a whiff of alcohol. It is medium copper and finds a way to build a rounded, light tan head. There is a bit of haze.
The front of the sip offers thick, sweet candy and toffee which is quickly overtaken by a sharp, piney hop bitterness. I also get a fairly high level of complex dark fruit and a big hit of alcohol. The hop linger is angular and pungent. The beer has a velvety mouthfeel and a noted alcohol residue.
I, sadly, cannot report that this was a winner. It lacks the richness I want from a Barley Wine. It is too lopsided and sharp. The hops are jarring and the alcohol too hot. It feels more like an oxidized double IPA than a barley wine.
Is this beer at the end of its life cycle? Is it just in a bad phase? I am not sure. I remember sampling it fresh and at the time thinking it needed more balance, as it was too hop forward. However I don’t recall the hops being as sharp then. The unfortunate aftertaste clearly developed in the cellar.
Too bad. I had hoped for more from this beer. Maybe my next one will be more satisfactory.
October 20, 2011 at 3:46 PM
Hmmm, quite possibly at the end of it’s life cycle. Depends how long it’s been aging…could(I somehow doubt it)just be a bad phase. I’ve kind of been meaning to try that one myself, as I’ve been pleased with the few Rogue ales I have tried. I currently have a bottle of Dieu du Ciel’s Solstice d’Hiver from last year, as well as-& I’m planning to keep this one for a few years yet-a bottle of Mikkeller’s Big Worst(19.1% American style B/W aged in Bourbon barrels). The best before date is late March of 2020, so I’m thinking New Year’s Eve 20…16 or 17…if I can stay patient?
October 20, 2011 at 4:00 PM
Oh & I neglected to mention a bottle of the Glenda Sherbrooke, which is is in essence, Alley Kat’s Olde Deuteronomy Barleywine.
October 20, 2011 at 11:47 PM
Rogue has always tended to be more about the hops than the barley. For a fresh IPA, that’s a good thing, but they do need a better balance in a BARLEYwine.