 kmweaver (2125), Takoma Park, Maryland, USA
Jun 10, 2008
750mL bottle, courtesy of mwsf, shared trade with acrdz and I. Goddamn. Thanks so much, Matt! Pours a lightly hazy, orange-brown color; honey-yellow edges; good amount of viscosity; solid perimeter of off-white bubbles with patchy lacing. Loads of honey in the aroma: vinous red fruits, Belgian sugar, cherries coupled with the slightest tartness; some chewy caramel from oxidation, but this doesn’t overwhelm the other, clearer notes; incredibly dense, honey-laden, vinous nose; no show of the alcohol underneath. Full mouthfeel: similar honey-like sweetness and viscosity that one would expect from the stille nacht, but coupled with lightly tannic red fruits, incredibly complex yeastiness, chewy caramel, and viscous Belgian sugars; this bottle seems to have held up beautifully (thanks to great cellaring, evidently, and large pours); there’s nothing thin about this beer, nothing close to watery or relaxed concentration; I could sip this for effectively forever, and I just might. Lengthy finish: sweet, complex honey and yeastiness, toasty breadiness, and a touch of red fruits, spicing, and dough. Just a magnificent, complex, seamless barrel-aged beer that can outlast even our desires to track down and drink every single last bottle of this.
sleepylopes (281), New York, USA
Aug 21, 2008 a great opportunity to try this beer thanks to the rb comunity. this beer was a bit like watching and old athlete in a come back fight. still good but past its prime. great balance and strong fruit presence, a little to mellow in body vs. a newer non reserva. surprisingly there was some alcohol in the nose along with yeast and light spice. i did learn something, don’t hold on to long to the jewels in your collection.
SETANTA (556), Allentown, Pennsylvania, USA
Aug 5, 2008 Orange color, slight head rims the glass. Aroma similiar to sherry mixed with a yeasty bread. Taste like a sherry, vineous, with the flavor dry fruits, apricots, dried apples or mangos. Its a beer I think I could taste something different each time I tried it. Somewhat dry finish. Excellent!
JoeMcPhee (3815), Jackson Heights, New York, USA
Jun 29, 2008 Kudos to eyedrinkale for bringing this gem out to share. Deep golden orange beer. The aroma is awesome, rich orange peel, apple, pineapple and rich clovey/nutmeg spiciness. Peach and tangerine with a soft tartness over the sweeter estery character and apple pie spiciness. Loads and loads of yeasty complexity wrapping around a softly sweet honeyish belgian malt base. It’s got a nice basementy bit of age that is well integrated with all of the other yeasty characters. Awesome.
puzzl (1823), New York, New York, USA
Jun 26, 2008 Man, I never in my wildest dreams expected to try this one. Unfortunately, it would seems its past its prime, though still rather nice. The aroma is deep and complex, with anise, pineapple, licorice, and a light bit of alcohol. Though the flavor is rather basic and uncomplex, it is a nice mixture of fruit, deep spices, and a touch of tartness. Very mellow and balanced all around, with a wonderful sweetness.
beastiefan2k (1133), Lawrence (formely NYC), Kansas, USA
Jun 23, 2008 Most graciously shared by EDA, jez I never thought this would come around. I was as awed as the rest. I got one of the early pours from the bottle and then a little from the end to have a nice mix in the glass. Either way the first pour was still pretty murky, could not see through it but it definitely was a glowing golden color. It poured with a small head but it stuck around. Aroma is definitely aged, lots of aged malts that have turned into slightly cardboard but very sweet honey malts. And a cool yet weird moldy/sour old white grape. Lots of damp basement in the aroma as well. Taste is similar with less of the basement aspect but still plenty sweet. The ’basement’ maybe the oak. The yeastiness also really breaks through with lots of doughiness. As far as aged beer goes this is held up very well and is very nice to try, again as far as aged beer goes. So I will rate it as a good ’old beer.’ Thanks again Mike. 750mL bottle, white wine glass.
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