Agree with previous assessment. Very fine, unhyped beer & brewery.

Drank at cellar temp without cooling it at all, really sweet. Rich dried apricot sweetness, almost a port. No heat, very smooth.

Very good classic barleywine. Has a bite at cooler temps so let it warm a bit. Great buy at 3 years old.

Much better out of the IPA glass but still not great. I think it might be 5 months old, not 2 months old. Wish they'd use a canned on date.

Not good. Maybe it's old but it tastes like Budweiser.

Wow, finally, 6 months after bottling it's finally starting to taste right. That weird, hoppy? flavor has faded and it's sweet and boozy and carmely and buttery.

Something's wrong this year. Last year was as good as any barrel aged wee heavy on the market. This year has a bitter bite the destroys the carmely sweetness. Can't believe I bought so much this year instead of last year.

Much better out of the IPA glass but still not great. I think it might be 5 months old, not 2 months old. Wish they'd use a canned on date.

Not good. Maybe it's old but it tastes like Budweiser.

Tried it in my IPA glass, a little smoother. Probably a good IPA but I don't like this flavor profile.

Not my kind of IPA. It's fine for what it is but don't buy again.

Cocoa powder. Held up better than the Scotch Ale, little bourbon left. Doesn't benefit from aging, though.

Yes.

Tried this next to the (very fresh) 2016 and there's no comparison. The 2015 is so mellow and rich and deep. Should be interesting to compare after another year.

Yes. So much flavor. Doesn't have the rick, thick, bite of a RIS but so good. Lots of barrel character. Vanilla in the aroma, chocolate in the flavor. No need to buy Uncle Jacob's Stout anymore.

Still fantastic. No drop-off but my preference center's around the three year mark. Barrel-aged is great but not what I want all the time. Perfect with beef stew.

Nearly 3 years old and this is in it's prime.

Yep, this is my definition of Russian Imperial Stout.

Still very good, although the brandy is mostly background booze at this point. A highly alcoholic tart cherry lager. Best a little younger when the brandy is more prominent but still delicious.

All my previous notes say the brandy comes out as it warms but that seems to be fading now. The brandy is still there but more background. Drinks like a crisp cherry lager. Plus alcohol.

Holding up really well for a lager after 6 months. Get it cold an ther cherry really comes out. Once it warms the brandy tends to dominate. But I don't regret this purchase at all. It's a really nice change of pace. Delicious. Kind of ridiculous ABV, though.

Huge, huge brandy. Still nicely tart. I didn't buy it until it was already 3 months old but doesn't seem to be hurting from the age, even though it's a lager. Of course I never had a really fresh bottle to compare... Still, it's fun.

Brandy works well with the tart cherries. Gets more boozy as it warms up.

Much better out of the IPA glass but still not my kind of beer.

As advertised, a "Hoppy Red Ale". It's fine but NvU is so much better.

Tastes and smells better from the Speigelau IPA glass, should have been using that all along. Anyway, it's a nice clean refreshing IPA with lots of flavor, especially for 5.9%!

So rich and flavorful. What's left to say. I actually thought it tasted like a stout at first. Then the sweetness came out, kind of nutty. Reminds me of a master chef who knows how to use a dozen different spices to develop a complex flavor that is more than the sum of its significant parts. I need to get another six pack and start drinking at 3 years.

Really nice right now. Drank this one somewhat chilled. Kind of a harsh bitterness in the background but plenty sweet and lots of flavor.

Much sweeter than I remember, though not in an unbalanced way. Tasted a lot of dried fruit. Reminds me of Jubilation Ale now. I think I like this one better fresh. Will see what happens after another six months.

Don't let this one warm up to room temp. Best at cellar temp <65.

Past its prime by this point, less than 18 months old. Not much chocolate left. I get bitter coffee and molasses finish. I'll have a 2017 soon to compare. At 1 year old this was still nearly identical to the fresh batch.

Smoother mouthfeel than the 2017 but coffee has dropped off significantly. I like the 2017 better already and I expect it to smooth out quickly as ot settles in the bottle.

Still good, maybe not as balanced as it could be. Smokier, burnt caramel, enough bourbon but not a bomb. More barrel than bourbon.

Lost about all the bourbon in the flavor. I expected it to be smoother by now but it's still quite boozy. Very sweet, in a good way, though.