Aging improves everything on this: appearance gets darker, smell and flavor get richer and more complex, and mouthfeel gets fuller. Even though these aren't part of, for lack of a better term, my regular beer rotation, every year I buy a new four pack and cellar it like clockwork. And it's for times like this.

Drinking the next to last of the 2012s as I like to begin the year with one of these, my first introduction into the joys of English old ales. Still plenty of carbonation as poured into a DFH tulip but the color has darkened into a reddish dark amber. Before I get into any tasting notes, like an idiot I brushed my teeth before enjoying this because my post dinner mouth tasted like hot garbage. Be that as it may, adding an artificial mint to my palate completely screwed everything. It's been an unusually warm January day here, as in the windows are open, so it did get to warm up more than usual at this time of the year. Even after it warmed up the smell was very muted. There was some vanilla and dark fruit but not to the level I was expecting. The taste was initially more fusil than I was previously accustomed to but as it warmed up, and that fucking artificial mint subsided, a richer taste of vanilla, brown sugar and dark fruit took over. I hadn't planned on doing a vertical with subsequent years but maybe when I enjoy the last one I'll do it for comparison purposes. Because, even though these are capable of being aged far in excess of eight years according to the brewer, maybe the optimum spot has been exceeded.

found a four pack of 2012 vintage two years ago and just immediately snagged it. Nothing in my cellar exists in the sheer numbers that Old Stock Ale does. Even after appreciating the wonder of big stouts this is still an automatic purchase like breathing. I polished off one of these bad boys last summer as part of a vertical, and now it's the second one. Poured into a long stemmed tulip, the color has gone from gold to a reddish tan with perhaps less carbonation but things are far from flat. Smell is just full of vanilla tinged dark fruit. Taste delivers the total goods. There is no sign of oxidation or cardboard flavors or any of the other signs that maybe aging this beyond a point was pushing it too much. There's no reason to not keep this going; if things turn bad, there are more recent years to set a limit to.

4.29/5 rDev -4% look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25 Brewed 1/25/2018. Had trouble removing the cork and had the resort to a corkscrew. Poured most of a 500 ml bottle into a DFH tulip. The body was as dark as Rasputin's soul with an ample tan head. Drinking in a 58 degree room everything got better as it reached room temperature. At first everything seemed thin with the char dominating but eventually the other flavors prevailed. Never specifically noticed the anise in smell or taste but lots of dark fruits and barrel were present. Mouthfeel was fine for a big stout. Maybe I've been spoiled by BCBS and Jackie O's barrel aged stouts but this just didn't deliver what I was hoping it would. Maybe I'll try it again to see if this was just a subjective one time thing. It wasn't bad by any reasonable criteria but just wasn't the knock it out of the park experience I was hoping for.

9/24/2019 bottle consumed on 12/28. Everything tracks similarly to the previous year except the bitterness on the back end. So that's an improvement. Please keep making this.

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.

Having the fifth of a sixer that cellaringt hasn't hurt, at least to me. The funny thing is I don't even like pecans much but this tastes fine.

4.58/5 rDev +1.8% look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5 2019 bottle poured into a DFH tulip. Very dark brown to black body topped by a tan head. Smell is of chocolate, cinnamon, peppers, bourbon and vanilla. Wonderfully complex as is the taste with the peppers really hitting the palate. Mouthfeel was a little thin but maybe I've been spoiled by chewier British Barleywines. A superb sipping imperial stout.

4.64/5 rDev -0.4% look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5 I can't believe I didn't write a full review two years ago because drinking it was a transcendent experience. I was listening to a disc of small group improv that night and there was a trombone-tuba-woodwinds trio performance that I'd never bothered really listening to before because it previously was just random sounds. I was transfixed by it; it sounded like pure musical genius. Obviously BCBS was the causal factor in producing such an extremely positive reaction. That was two years ago and I have no written notes to compare it with. But based upon two years of consuming *many* barrel aged stouts, including subsequent BCBS variants, this is the gold standard against which all should be compared. Regarding the look, maybe some carbonation has been lost in that there wasn't a prodigious head over a dark brown body, but this is still plenty lively. The smell and taste are just wonderful with plenty of flavors like vanilla, caramel, malts and who knows what else just swirling around. There is still some boozy heat but not nearly at the 14.7% level. If anything it seems hidden in the smoothness. The mouthfeel is very thick and chewy, with it adhering to my teeth so that minutes after a sip I'm still tasting it. Just a wonderful experience.

No problem with it going flat because the carbonation hasn't subsided at all as the body continues to get darker. And the smell is still plenty rich and sweet with vanilla tones. But in the taste the molasses has faded somewhat leaving the bitterness of the oak barrel being somewhat grating on the palate. As it warms to room temperature this becomes less problematic as the sweetness returns to mask the barrel but I recall this being a better experience with less age under it. If/when Founders offers this again, I'll be so guided.

Poured into a DFH tulip. Carbonation is still present with no obvious diminution. Not sure if the color has darkened more from 11/13/18 but it is decidedly darker than the starting point. Molasses and oak seem to be more blended. Aging hasn't hurt this at all but I'm not sure that it's improved at the same level as, say, North Coast Old Stock Ale. Still I only have one left and I'll wait until at least the three year point if not longer.

Poured into a DFH tulip the color seems darker but there's no loss of head nor retention. The oak smell is still present along with a touch of molasses and a pleasant booziness. Taste replicates the smell but it seems more balanced than in the past. Bitterness in the aftertaste noted in February hasn't gotten any worse and might be less prominent. Cellaring hasn't negatively impacted this.

Poured into a long stemmed Lost Abbey tulip I think the color has darkened some. Still a strong oak smell and taste. The taste has a slight bitterness at the end that I'm not sure I noticed a year ago; this was a gift from a friend moving and cleaning out her fridge so I'm not sure what the storage circumstances were, so I still have three more to further age and hopefully the bitterness doesn't get to the point that it's undrinkable. Maybe in another year there will be a fresh batch with which I can compare.

4.21/5 rDev -0.7% look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25 Picked this up over the summer when someone in a local bottle shop who knows my tastes pointed this out along with a regular Thomas Hardy so I snagged them both. Didn't know how long to sit on them so I decided to try this now. Poured 250 ml bottle #12523 into a DFH tulip. No carbonation: Zero, Zip, Nada. Color was a rich maroon amber with a little haze but no floaty things. Smell was of dark fruit, scotch and raisins. Taste mirrored the smell but with a tobacco and leather tinge. Almost no alcohol heat which at 13.7% is incredible. And no detectable hop presence even though it's listed in the ingredients. Mouthfeel was a little thinner than I expected but not bad. I debated sitting on this longer; the owner of the bottle shop gave me a WTF look when I asked his opinion but he might be agnostic on the joys of aging. So this didn't quite reach my expectations but it was still a very pleasant experience in which I'm still basking as I type this.

4.35/5 rDev +2.8% look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25 2019 Limited Release. Saw this at a local bottle shop, thought "what have we here" and snagged it immediately with thoughts of a cool autumn night; like tonight. Stored in the cellar fridge at 50 degrees. Poured into a DFH tulip, there an inch light tan head over a dark slightl reddish brown body. Smell developed as it warmed up into a sweet spicy barrel tinged wine smell. Taste was even better with all the smells plus some very complementary bourbon and brandy highlights. Mouthfeel was a little thicker than I was expecting from a dubbel but this is not a complaint. This might be the best dubbel I've had. I've said before that barrel aging perhaps bastardizes styles by making them something different but frankly I don't care. This is superb. A long time ago Ommegang was a personal entry point into the craft beer world with their superb Belgian style ales. Through time I've drifted elsewhere but this is a good start on dragging me back.

Having the fifth of a sixer that cellaringt hasn't hurt, at least to me. The funny thing is I don't even like pecans much but this tastes fine.

4.24/5 rDev +3.2% look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25 Bought this in September at Big Fatty's in White River Junction, Vermont. 500 ml bottle stored at 55 degrees poured into a DFH tulip. Dark brownish black body with a small tan head which dissipated quickly. Smell is a pleasant mix of brandy, barrel and orange peel. Taste reflects the smell but the brown sugar adds a sweetness. Mouthfeel is suitable for a baltic porter; not as chewy or full as an imperial stout. This is a fine Baltic Porter. For some reason I'm not quite as satisfied as I was hoping to be but that was surely unrealistic on my part.

4.56/5 rDev -3% look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5 The ratings I gave it originally were done in 2017 when I recall being disappointed that I couldn't detect the maple. In the intervening two years either the coffee and chocolate flavors have somewhat faded or my palate has become more discerning because the maple permeates the aroma and the taste. The bourbon and barrel likewise are less prominent although as it warms to room temperature they start to reappear. I didn't buy this in 2108 because of mild disappointment in 2017, and from reviews at the time I wasn't the only one feeling that way. Either the aging has worked wonders on this or I was an idiot two years ago. Those aren't mutually exclusive. Anyway this is very enjoyable and I look forward to trying the current year.

In August I drank the next to last bottle of this and commented that the coffee hadn't faded. Welp either the colder weather has muted it, even though I consider the start of weather chill to be 100% imperial stout weather when you're not sure if you're channeling Dostoyevsky or Rasputin, or it faded away. Make no doubt about it, this is still very enjoyable but I think it passed its best by date. Oh well, the 2019s should be here soon.

This reminds me of something that happened in February: it was cold as fuck in Cleveland and I was flying through Minneapolis to get to San Jose to drive to Santa Cruz. The flight got cancelled because of mechanical problems so Delta, being a quality airline, rescheduled me for the following morning and put me up in a local hotel so Mrs Hate didn't have to fuck around with picking me up in brutal conditions. I had dinner in the hotel's bar and they had Great Lakes Blackout Stout on tap. I ordered one and texted one of my fellow hops kissers in Raleigh, NC, and asked him if that wasn't what we split a growler of when he visited and got so blotto that Mrs H still uses it as a benchmark of overindulgence. He just responded "Dude...". So the tulip I ordered was totally enjoyable. But I noticed a waitress walking by with a Jackie O's bottle and asked the bartender "you got Dark Apparition here?" She said hell yeah and told me I'd ordered from an old list. So I ordered one of those and the difference is why Jackie O's is, in my opinion, the best brewery in Ohio. I could smell and taste immediately that there was more richness and complexity in the Dark Apparition. That's what I'm tasting tonight versus the Great Lakes Imperial Oyster Stout previously. In every category this is a much better stout. I know that others like the past Lagunitas versions but I can't evaluate this against something I'm unaware of. Perhaps the coffee has faded, although I'm not willing to concede that, but there's still a lot going on. Fortunately I have another bottle (these are extremely affordable) in my cellar to enjoy subsequently.