Spokane BCBS Tasting: 12/28, 7pm- Harrymel's place

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

harrymel1

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 12, 2013
Messages
6,271
Reaction score
4,595
Location
Methlehem, WA
SaltyMalty JoeLikesBeer bthomas
I moved this out to the forum so we could get any other feedback on tasting order, info, good pairings, etc.
Then we can post results as well.

The Tasting
We will be sampling BCBS 2006-2013. I plan to throw them all in the fridge from the cellar (currently at 48F) and have them all poured at once. The intention of this is to allow all of them to be available at the same time so you can really experience the differences as they warm in real time rather than depending on your alcoholic memories to distinguish the differences. I have 24 small snifters, but would need somebody (bthomas) to bring some more so we all have glassware.

The 2013 will be served in a larger glass, and with a larger sample - this will allow you to continue to measure the difference between young and old consistently. I only have a four pack of 2013, so if any of you would be willing to pitch in a bottle, that'd be great.

I also drank or traded all of my variants, so if you can bring any - it is highly advised.

I will be doing mine blindly for fun, if you would like this set up as well - just say so at the tasting.

Peripheral Satisfaction
It is not unlikely that we will taste other beers during this tasting. We can decide whether or not to deviate from the stout family, but I would suggest we don't blast ourselves with mouth-rapingly sour beers. I think anything that is malt geared should fit well. I will have enough glasses that we can do some tasting on the side as our BCBS breaths and warms. I encourage a each participant to bring whatever they want, and my wife would love it if you brought a bottle of wine for her*.

Food
I think we should have plenty of finger food to help avoid palate fatigue. Cheese, cured meats, veggies, some fruits and maybe some crackers are typical. Please bring something, we have the dishes to do service, just need you to bring the goods (unless you wanna bring dishware)

Whatever you decide to bring, please post it here in the forum so we don't have repitition (4lb of cheddar cheese)

Also, if anybody else from other parts of the earth have any suggestions or insight, please let us know! Also, if you have any suggestions/recipes for randalling - give them to us.

Cheers
harry


MarkIntihar please link anybody you think would be able to offer input

 
Dibs on cheddar then. I got a line on some aged crystally goodness.

I can bring a '13 too. Thanks for hosting this. So excite.
 
I'll be travelling right up until the tasting so I'll pop in here before heading to your place. I'll swing through Huckleberry's immediately prior to grab stuff not listed here. As for beers- I have a couple beers I'm hoping to bring but will wait until they show up before posting. Don't have any variants.
 
Checklist for 28th so far:

Taster glasses, packed and ready.

Dibs on bringing the assorted meats.

No wild yeast, check.

Offering for the wine goddess.
 
I forgot, I have a 2010 Coffee BCBS in the basement, will have that for comparison to new BCBCS.
 
Bringing an Older Viscosity from 2011 or 2012, can't remember. Also a Blondibock from Mammoth, a blonde that spent 3 month in Heaven Hill Barrels. Thought it would be nice to have something lighter but still in the style.
 
That was awesome. So awesome in fact I decided to spend the entire next day in bed just thinking about what a good time that was. No hangover, no after vertical burrito from Atilano's (factoid: they close at 3am). Always great to have a beer I've never had, let alone several vintages, with good people.

Now can we break out the Tums and bring out the wild stuff? I've got at least 3 verts I can offer up if I can just get a venue and a some like minded individuals.
 
So, results for my portion of the tasting:

Ranking for initial pour: 11>10>12>13>09>08>07>06
Ranking after warming: 10>13>11>12=08=06>09>07

Some thoughts

The carbonation obviously dropped off at 2008, coincidentally, this was the last year of the twist top....

The older the beer was, the more earthy the character became with notes of tobacco, leather, and other inedible nouns. The more fresh, the sweeter it was it seemed to me. This was surprising in that many beers seem to get sweeter over time, maybe with a peak at 5 years and then declines into the more oxidized, Porto-esque, sherry realm of profiles.

Coffee Stouts:
2010 vs 2013 - the '13 was clearly fresher with a hardcore punch in the face of coffee, absolutely dominating the beer. The 2010 still had coffee in the nose and flavor, but was more complimentary in lieu of the absolute dictatorship in the 2013.

Cherry Rye: cough syrup. Made me think of what a BCBS would be like with some NG WI Belgian Red in it would taste like. Only one person at the table really dug it. Certainly happy to have tried it though!

Overall I can see why this vertical is something people want to give a go. I have a second set from 2007 forward, but don't see myself drinking it - just isn't that great to me personally. Time to head over to MBC to rake some skrillers.
 
That was awesome. So awesome in fact I decided to spend the entire next day in bed just thinking about what a good time that was. No hangover, no after vertical burrito from Atilano's (factoid: they close at 3am). Always great to have a beer I've never had, let alone several vintages, with good people.

Now can we break out the Tums and bring out the wild stuff? I've got at least 3 verts I can offer up if I can just get a venue and a some like minded individuals.
I was really nice to have a tasting sans hangover the next day.

Wild stuff sounds good for the next one. Always happy to host, just gotta lock down a date. If it's January, I can only do Friday or Saturday nights. Starting in February, I will be out of town for a month, so no go there.

If there's a particular theme (apothecary, cough, cough) we should start a convo in a private setting.

Thanks to bthomas , JoeLikesBeer and SaltyMalty for making this a success and a really pleasant get together.

libbey , you're invited next time.
 
I was really nice to have a tasting sans hangover the next day.

Wild stuff sounds good for the next one. Always happy to host, just gotta lock down a date. If it's January, I can only do Friday or Saturday nights. Starting in February, I will be out of town for a month, so no go there.

If there's a particular theme (apothecary, cough, cough) we should start a convo in a private setting.

Thanks to bthomas , JoeLikesBeer and SaltyMalty for making this a success and a really pleasant get together.

libbey , you're invited next time.

Bring me back some bale breaker libbey, I'll love you more than I already do.
 
Almost forgot to post JoeLikesBeer's results, which he forgot to take with him. Let me see if I can interpret.

Rank cold: 13>12>10>07>08>06>11>09
Rank warm: 12>13>10>07>08>06>11>09

Coffee 10: less dry - better
Coffee 13: Huge coffee, dry finish
Cherry Rye: Dr. Pepper

Hand jibber's could have made tasting better.
 
She only takes tit pics so no sweat. If she does manage to find a tit pic with a face, is an old school black bar over the eyes okay or do we want a pixelated face?
 
Back
Top