Favorite vertical

[highlyhopped16]

What's the best vertical you've done that you would recommend to others?
Last year I did a 17 year Bigfoot with a few friends, which honestly changed the way I saw aging beer. Previously I thought I could anticipate how beer would age and assumed that it year flavors would continue to develop. However, this vertical blew my mind with complete changes year to year.

Stand-outs- 2010, 2008, 2003, 2001, 1999.

Finished the vertical off the best way I knew, a 2013 BA Bigfoot

 

[beerandraiderfan]

My favorite vertical story was last summer doing a vertical of Parabola. Batches 1-5.

We got so drunk that we didn't even notice we wrongly grabbed a bottle of Abacus on the 5th one.

That's when you know your palate is shot. 4 dudes who can't tell they're drinking a barleywine instead of an imperial stout in the dark.

Now we use a spotter when doing verts.

 

[highlyhopped16]

haha "spotter" thats amazing.
what was the best year in your opinion?

 

[beerandraiderfan]

haha "spotter" thats amazing.
what was the best year in your opinion?

You're kidding me right? After that disaster of a performance. . .

This feels like an Onion headline

"Bumbling drunk asked for tasting notes after ****ing up vertical."

It would be like asking Dada 5000 & Kimbo Slice how they got in shape for their fight.

 

[highlyhopped16]

yeah, wasn't sure if the drunkenness crept up at the end or just a total mess form the start.
how many of you split that? that is a beast of a vert

 

[brentsdodgers]

Last July 4th we did a Cask 200 vertical that included the 5 fruit variants as well.

B2 of 200 and Cherry were the top 2 for me. B2 tasted like a Geuze. That being said a bottle we opened a few weeks later tasted completely different.

Cask Cherry still held tons of fruit flavor. evilhead you have pictures of these yeah?

Don't know what it is with Sante bottles and Batch 2 of things but we have done a similar thing with Bernice and Ashley and both of those batch 2s were standouts as well.

 

[RyanG1]

Soleil di Minuit '99 and '15

Or Millenium and 2015 3F

Or Blabaer 13 - 15

Those were some good verticals with large gaps in them from last week.

 

[sb67]

My favorite vertical story was last summer doing a vertical of Parabola. Batches 1-5.

We got so drunk that we didn't even notice we wrongly grabbed a bottle of Abacus on the 5th one.

That's when you know your palate is shot. 4 dudes who can't tell they're drinking a barleywine instead of an imperial stout in the dark.

Now we use a spotter when doing verts.

Filed away in my brain under "Information it would behoove me to remember, but will forget by morning." Have got a stack of Parabola and of Anniversary Ales that I've been wondering when to do verticals of (separately, of course). Always good to have a sneak peek of what I'm getting myself into.

 

[Brew33]

02-03 to 14-15 Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout.

Much headache, many poops.

07-14 Bourbon County Stout was fun too.

 

[EverybodyLovesRainman]

Expedition, and BCBS.

BCBS is good for 3-5 yers of verticals, and Expedition just keeps getting better and better and better and better...

 

[pmoney]

Yeah, it sounds stereotypical to say but BCBS verticals are fun. I've done 2006-2013 (with all variants at the time) and 2007-2014 (with most variants at the time).

My favorite "tasting event" is a blind-taste of different gueuzes. Not a vertical, but a "horizontal"?

 

[McGrupp612]

Yeah, it sounds stereotypical to say but BCBS verticals are fun. I've done 2006-2013 (with all variants at the time) and 2007-2014 (with most variants at the time).

My favorite "tasting event" is a blind-taste of different gueuzes. Not a vertical, but a "horizontal"?

The blind gueuze tasting is my favorite too. A few months ago we did a 3 F tasting. All four seasons, A&T, golden blend (original batch), OGV 08 and regular oud gueuze 11. We were all surprised that we unanimously put golden blend at the top, followed closely by A&T. The rest were all over the place

 

[McGrupp612]

Gratitude was fun, however it was only 06-10

 

[mixed_master7]

This was a fun one, all thanks to DenverBeerDrinker

Full Casey 1st year.

 

[pmoney]

The blind gueuze tasting is my favorite too. A few months ago we did a 3 F tasting. All four seasons, A&T, golden blend (original batch), OGV 08 and regular oud gueuze 11. We were all surprised that we unanimously put golden blend at the top, followed closely by A&T. The rest were all over the place

That's awesome!

 

[DenverBeerDrinker]

This was a fun one, all thanks to DenverBeerDrinker

Full Casey 1st year.

That was fun. Year 2 tasting is being assembled and by the way Troy is bottling it might be almost double the amount of bottles

 

[mixed_master7]

That was fun. Year 2 tasting is being assembled and by the way Troy is bottling it might be almost double the amount of bottles

Death will happen.

 

[pgh_penguins]

Bourbon County Day '15, semi-vertical

 

[sweemzander]

Yeah, it sounds stereotypical to say but BCBS verticals are fun. I've done 2006-2013 (with all variants at the time) and 2007-2014 (with most variants at the time).

My favorite "tasting event" is a blind-taste of different gueuzes. Not a vertical, but a "horizontal"?

Really want to do a blind Gueuze horizontal - all the big names to compare

 

[highlyhopped16]

Bourbon County Day '15, semi-vertical

how many people did you do this with?

 

[pgh_penguins]

how many people did you do this with?

Around 10-12 people, of course we opened other stuff too. Got drunk.

 

[Minnesotaryan]

stack dat vert, get dat cellar cred.

 

[RochesterAaron1]

Full (as of last summer) sucaba/abacus vert.

Some vintages were light years ahead of others. Only two of the bottles came from my cellar though so I can't speak to cellaring conditions.

 

[Minnesotaryan]

KWMiles post some stacked cellar cred pron!

 

[SeaWatchman]

Soleil di Minuit '99 and '15

Or Millenium and 2015 3F

Or Blabaer 13 - 15

Those were some good verticals with large gaps in them from last week.

 

[MooseLang]

Full (as of last summer) sucaba/abacus vert.

Some vintages were light years ahead of others. Only two of the bottles came from my cellar though so I can't speak to cellaring conditions.

Remember any standouts? I have the complete Abacus - '16 Sucaba vertical, and I want to crack it soon. Can never seem to find enough people though. Considered selling it at retail price or trading it, but I'm not sure if it is even that desirable.

 

[ExPimp]

Remember any standouts? I have the complete Abacus - '16 Sucaba vertical, and I want to crack it soon. Can never seem to find enough people though. Considered selling it at retail price or trading it, but I'm not sure if it is even that desirable.

#newmoney would buy it, at least $250 I'm sure.

 

[fosterjm]

Ive done a bigfoot veritcal with 10 years and then the BA version
Also did the Stone 02-12
Did the 1st 5 Bruery Anniversary with variants.

 

[KevinC1]

Ive done a bigfoot veritcal with 10 years and then the BA version
Also did the Stone 02-12
Did the 1st 5 Bruery Anniversary with variants.

Now...how did this go?

 

[RochesterAaron1]

Remember any standouts? I have the complete Abacus - '16 Sucaba vertical, and I want to crack it soon. Can never seem to find enough people though. Considered selling it at retail price or trading it, but I'm not sure if it is even that desirable.

I wish I could remember. 15 was good and one of the older vintages was really good (11 or 12). Conversely either the 12 or 13 was ****ing awful (still can't remember). The 14 was okay, but a shell of what 15 was. Only two of the bottles came out of my cellar though so I can't speak to the conditions they were all aged under.

 

[fosterjm]

Now...how did this go?

I actually really enjoyed it. IIRC, 04-06 were my favorites.

 

[ncaudle]

a few friends and I did the full Gratitude vert in late 2013. probably the only vert I've participated in I would want to do again...

 

[RochesterAaron1]

a few friends and I did the full Gratitude vert in late 2013. probably the only vert I've participated in I would want to do again...

Holy ****! I've never seen Shilt without a huge smile on his face.

 

[ncaudle]

Holy ****! I've never seen Shilt without a huge smile on his face.

even weirder, he looks to be pretty quiet in that pic too!

 

[jedwards]

With claaark13 about two years ago. Complete vertical, plus a couple single-barrel variants.

 

[Dubc]

Fou 13,14,15

 

[StevonHanby]

Remember any standouts? I have the complete Abacus - '16 Sucaba vertical, and I want to crack it soon. Can never seem to find enough people though. Considered selling it at retail price or trading it, but I'm not sure if it is even that desirable.

Doing the whole vert this Friday. Will report Sunday after recovery.

 

[CommanderofAwesome]

Did a 2010 to 2014 BT tasting complete with the barrel variants. 2010 was the clear winner, rum was the clear loser. That was my "favorite" because of stupid it was, would not do again.

 

[StevonHanby]

Doing the whole vert this Friday. Will report Sunday after recovery.

So 2016 Sucuba is tasting great really no reason to age this one I think.
2015 is still has some heat to it takes away from the body of the beer.
2014 you're getting a bit darker beer but has large Caramel notes up front and hints of vanilla in the back end
2013 is still my favorite year. It's fantastic. Great body and you get everything at once.
2012 others in the tastings thought this was a bit better but I felt it was in the same state as 2013.
2011 huge body but the caramel as subdued a little with vanilla become much more dominant.

 

[thechrislife]

With claaark13 about two years ago. Complete vertical, plus a couple single-barrel variants.

Need some details on this. I've had 4 or 5 different vintages, but only did 05 and 12 side by side.