Finishing off the last of the 10/11/17 four pack. Carbonation has not fallen off one iota. Unfortunately nothing has really changed positively while nothing has deteriorated either. Maybe my palate's too unrefined because I'm not detecting the variety of flavors that DFH describes in their blurb. It's certainly still good enough and didn't develop any off elements in the aging process so I'm not at all disappointed by the results other than it didn't improve. Isn't that part and parcel of aging experiments?

The positive changes I noted on 7/7 continue in place: there has been no reduction in the carbonation when poured into a DFH tulip. Smell was still lacking for a big stout just after the pour after being stored at 50 degrees, but as it warmed up I got a nice wine aroma over the stout malts. The taste is still not at the level of the top tier RISs but it seems like a typical DFH experiment, which is not meant as a slam because imo they do things with a lot of integrity. I still don't detect much barrel per se so I guess the wine smell and taste is what it is. Mouthfeel is fine for this sipper. I still have one left that I'll crack open at some point in the future because there's been no deterioration that I can detect.

Decided to cellar this to 9 months from bottling date to see if there's any improvement, about which I was skeptical because of how balanced the taste was originally. The pour into a long stemmed tulip showed no deterioration of the head in both size and retention. The wine aroma may have faded somewhat but there's still a pleasantly sweet hint. The taste is where the major improvement has occurred because it seems richer than it was previously with maybe the wine a bit more forward. I still don't taste nearly as much barrel as I'm used to and the alcohol remains entirely hidden. Mouthfeel is still fine so I'd say the cellaring was a success, given the subjective nature of every tasting. Maybe revisit this a year from bottling.

4.28/5 rDev +0.5% look: 3.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25 8/11/2018 bottle poured into a DFH tulip. Brownish mahogany body over a very small head. Smell is just boozy complex sweetness with hints of vanilla, brown sugar and caramel permeating everything. Taste reflects the smell but with a bitterness on the back end, maybe from the hops. Mouthfeel was a bit thinner than the stouts, surely by design. Not unpleasant by any means. I wish I'd bought a few more of these to age to find out what happens. I hope this wasn't just a one off.

Christmas in July

4.23/5 rDev +3.4% look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25 The original review was from 12/11/2017 at the brewery and it was much more bourbon forward than the subsequent canned version from 11/30/2018 drank on 4/13/2019. Don't get me wrong, this is still very enjoyable but I'm wondering how much variance there was between batches or if it's just me.

4.26/5 rDev -1.8% look: 3.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25 2017 12.7 ounce bottle pulled out of my cellar fridge (at first pulled out a 2018 I didn't know I had; nice cellar inventory control). When I popped the cap, a boozy barrel smell immediately was detected. Poured into a DFH tulip, there was almost no tan head topping an inky brown body. Smell is just gorgeous with caramel and molasses over the previously mentioned pleasant aromas. At the first sip I got a brown sugar taste blast which quickly faded as the stout warmed up. Then I detected an unpleasant bitter alcohol taste which made me think WTF, but that too went away with the warming. Still I'm wondering if maybe I've sat on this too long and it's developed some off tastes; I'll try that discovered 2018 in the near future. With further warming I'm detecting some malt char which was buried earlier. Mouthfeel was a bit thinner than I was expecting; not bad but still thinner. This was obviously a positive experience but I'm not sure that the barrel aging made that much of an improvement over the base stout, which I enjoy a great deal. Further testing required!

Dark brown body topped by a smallish tan head which dissipated rapidly. Sipped this very slowly and eventually the carbonation completely disappeared and was like a British Barleywine. Smell was very vanilla and barrel forward with other undefined flavors lurking in the background. Taste was just gorgeous as competing vanilla, toffee, barrel and chocolate flavors interacted. Mouthfeel was thick and chewy; just what I needed on a cold early spring evening after I walked the dog (my avatar) in the rain and settled in to listen to music and read. For whatever reason, BCBS enhances my music listening experiences. Just a great barrel aged imperial stout.

4.13/5 rDev -0.5% look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25 I didn't really intend to sit on this April 2018 500 ml bottle this long, but I picked it up on a whim last year, stuck it in the cellar fridge and other things got in the way until now. Poured a brownish black in a DFH tulip with a dark tan head that stuck around. Smell is of boozy caramel with a strong bourbon barrel presence as other undefinable aromas linger in the background. Taste started off a bit more bitter than expected but as it warms it becomes more balanced as other flavors rise up with an unexpected spiciness settling in. Nicely complex. Mouthfeel is fine but a little thin for as big of a stout; maybe that's the oat presence with which I'm not experienced. I enjoyed this a great deal. Too bad this was a one off release.

4.35/5 rDev +2.6% look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5 2007 bottle poured into a DFH tulip. No carbonation over a reddish brown body with floaters at the bottom. Smell was of raisins over a boozy sherry aroma. Taste mirrored the smell but had almost no alcohol but this is the first ale I've had that I could taste leather and tobacco that I've heard so much of previously but never experienced. No cardboard or oxidation tastes that I could detect. Mouthfeel was fine as it lingered nicely while not being as thick and oily as other British Barleywines I've had. Obviously this is something special. I don't know if 12 years is the optimum cellaring time but it's difficult to imagine how this can be improved on.

It was with great alarm when I read what @bbtkd wrote about aging these stovepipes being not such a smart thing to do beyond six months because things start to fall off, like the coffee flavor. The good news is that this 11/06/17 can, and another, was given to me by a friend relocating across country so it didn't cost me a damn thing. But being a risk averse individual, kind of, I decided to put one of these bad boys to the test and popped one tonight into a DFH tulip. It poured nicely with a reasonable dark tan head over a dark brown body. And the smell still had plenty of barrel and alc over the nice molassesy stout aroma with a matching taste. So WTF does @bbtkd know, right? Except I think he's right. Something is slightly off compared to experiencing this a year ago. It's not as hot, obviously; but it's also not as complex. It's still been a very positive experience (I'm listening to some wild ass music which sounds *great*) but I think these are best experienced fresh.

Had originally planned a vertical with a 2016 but the evening is too far gone for that. Anyway with two and a half years on this the hop bitterness has faded on the front end to allow the caramel sweetness to come forth but still makes itself known on the back end with a piney resinous bite. I still have four left in my cellar to further age because there's nothing that would indicate a need to expedite consuming this year's model.

After my 2/4 initial plunge with a 2019, which was at my daughter's and son in law's place in Santa Cruz, I decided when I returned to chez Hate to pop one of the 2018s (bottled 12/01/2017) as a basis of comparison. One huge difference: I store mine in a cellar fridge set between 50-55; God knows what the kids fridge is set at but it's a *lot* colder. Maybe because of that the head was much larger and consistent with what photos here have illustrated. Definitely because of the temp differences the smell was more prominent as was the taste. The hops are still very forward and any drop off is indiscernible to my unrefined palate. There's still an underlying sweetness that I hope comes more to the fore with increased age.

4.35/5 rDev +1.9% look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25 Poured from a 4/17 1 pint 6 ounce bottle into a DFH tulip. Dark ruby mahogany color with a small head which quickly fades to just an outer ring. Etched fish at the bottom of the glass throws up a small circle of persistent bubbles, otherwise not much carbonation. Smell of sweet boozy dark fruit and maple. Taste reflects the smell but unlike other maple ales or stouts, the maple really comes forward as well as the slightly bitter aftertaste you get with pure maple syrup. I've often complained about Southern Tier cranking the sweetness to diabetic coma levels but for me they get this right. I don't know if the aging had anything to do with it but there is almost no hop presence compared to other American Barleywines and that is 100% not a complaint from me; much more like a British Barleywine. The booze is there but not overpowering at 14.9%. Mouthfeel isn't as oily as a British Barleywine but still a nicely thick minimally carbonated (but not flat and syrupy) retention of flavor. I was very intrigued by this when it came out and it was too pricey for me to buy more, but now I wish I was cellaring more.

10/27/2018 bottle poured into a DFH tulip. Dark brown body with a small tan head of tiny bubbles which quickly dissipated. Smell is richly sweetly boozy with a hint of coffee very deep in the mix, much under the raisin and brown sugar aromas. Taste is very complex between competing sweet flavors with the coffee present on the back end. Mouthfeel is thick and oily, coating the teeth like a British barleywine should. A very positive BCBS experience. I'm glad I drank this as promptly as I did because I'm afraid the coffee might fade to nonexistent status with more age, in addition to unexpected surprises in the rest of the mix.

This is one of three that was given to me by a friend who moved away with a best by date of 2/17/17. I wouldn't have chosen to age this but once I had it I thought why not. I think it's developed a sour off note in both the smell and taste but you can still detect the sweetness of the honey and cinnamon. Not a wretched experience by any standard but not nearly as good as I was hoping it would be. I doubt that I'll pour the other two out but unless either of them yields some startlingly good results, I won't comment about them here.

4.28/5 rDev -1.8% look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25 Poured from a 2017 12.7 ounce bottle bought in the middle of the year into a DFH tulip. For once I did the right thing and let the bottle warm to room temperature before opening (breweries please take note for your big stouts) Very dark brown body topped by a small hot chocolate colored creamy head which dissipated quickly but left a tight bubbly lacing on the glass side. Sweet barrel boozy chocolate smell with other flavors coming in and out. Can taste the coffee faintly but maybe the year plus cellaring has faded it back with the walnut and dark fruits. Booze is there but not overly hot. Feel is perfect for a stout like this as the tastes linger in the mouth. I had the regular Oil of Aphrodite relatively fresh and don't recall it being nearly as good as this.

Before I begin this review, I'd like to point out that I'm getting pretty pissed off at the craft beer "purists" that flock to any mention of BCBS as being a betrayal of the craft beer ethos. I have spent my life fighting Budweiser and their brainless Bud Lite ads and don't need any lectures on the dirtball tactics they've engaged in in the past to put a pillow over the face of craft beer. That said, I like BCBS. I'm not that fond of everything Goose Island has done, but I like Sofie and Matilda and if that makes me a bad person, too damn bad. This poured into DFH tulip with a very dark brown body over a small, quickly dissapating dark tan head. The smell, as it warmed, wasn't as orange forward as I was expecting; rather it was well integrated into a rich chocolaty boozy flavor that was very encouraging. The taste delivered on the promise of the smell and then some. The feel of it was just fine for a slow sipper. For whatever reason, BCBS works on me to heighten the experience whenever I'm listening to music. It did it last year with the standard BCBS and now with this variant. I know that's a subjective evaluation but it is what it is. I enjoyed this a lot.

It was with great alarm when I read what @bbtkd wrote about aging these stovepipes being not such a smart thing to do beyond six months because things start to fall off, like the coffee flavor. The good news is that this 11/06/17 can, and another, was given to me by a friend relocating across country so it didn't cost me a damn thing. But being a risk averse individual, kind of, I decided to put one of these bad boys to the test and popped one tonight into a DFH tulip. It poured nicely with a reasonable dark tan head over a dark brown body. And the smell still had plenty of barrel and alc over the nice molassesy stout aroma with a matching taste. So WTF does @bbtkd know, right? Except I think he's right. Something is slightly off compared to experiencing this a year ago. It's not as hot, obviously; but it's also not as complex. It's still been a very positive experience (I'm listening to some wild ass music which sounds *great*) but I think these are best experienced fresh.