Still the same massive (almost bittersweet) cocoa, this time none of the "sour taste" from my notes, although less spirit. Everything is more balanced, first couple sips were very sweet but I could keep drinking this. Not dry but doesn't fatigue the palate. Nicely done, still excellent after two years.

4217 - Lots of cocoa powder, less viscosity than I remember. The spirits really come through on the back end, with a slightly sour taste that doesn't benefit the overall experience. Label says up to two years in barrels, I wonder if this is exclusively bourbon. No hint of infection, could be the extensive aging, possibly room to grow in the art of blending.

Very heavy on the apple from the Teku glass.

Blows me away, every time. The wrong food pairing can wreck this beer, though. First glass was amazing. After a salad with vinegar mustard dressing, all I could taste was the apples and a little cherry tart and cranberry sour.

Not fair to evaluate this since I mistakenly bought it out of code. Still has nice bitterness, some grapefruit rind and pine, but overall hop presence is very muted.

Not fair to evaluate this since I mistakenly bought it out of code. Still has nice bitterness, some grapefruit rind and pine, but overall hop presence is very muted.

Last bottle. Last night in Wisconsin. It can't get much better than this. Will probably never have it again.

Now this is more like it! So much more well integrated after a year in the bottle. I can taste the base beer and it's great, and the barrel adds so much. It softens the corners of the aggressive stout underneath without losing the bite. This is what I was expecting, one of the best I've ever tasted.

Not fair to evaluate this since I mistakenly bought it out of code. Still has nice bitterness, some grapefruit rind and pine, but overall hop presence is very muted.

I missed recording a bottle of this somewhere.

Not fair to evaluate this since I mistakenly bought it out of code. Still has nice bitterness, some grapefruit rind and pine, but overall hop presence is very muted.

Cocoa powder. Less bourbon than I remember from the other bottle, wouldn't mind a little more. It also needs another month, at least, to settle in the bottle. But maybe the best vintage that I can remember.

The 2016 took a few months to get this good. This one is ready to go out of the gate. Chocolate bomb on the nose and tongue. Some coffee at the backend, too. More than I remember in other vintages. This is simply great. Reaffirms that I don't _need_ any other barrel stout.

Not fair to evaluate this since I mistakenly bought it out of code. Still has nice bitterness, some grapefruit rind and pine, but overall hop presence is very muted.

Char baby, char. Sweetened (but not too sweet) Postum as it warms. Good stuff after four and a half years.