CulturAle Press

Cellaring Beers:  Dogfish Head Beer to Drink Music To– At  One Year From our “Vault”

Date:  February 21, 2018

The Story—  The compelling feature of a good beer vault is its flexibility– you’re under little pressure to drink at a given time– but the question of what do you pull and when do you pull it is not an easy one to answer?   We cellared this beer sort of by mistake because we didn’t like it when it was fresh.  We pulled it this month because we’re clearing out much of the vault and expected to pour it down the drain.  (The cellaring disasters don’t make it to this site.)

At a year, however, the beer showed all the complexity that Dogfish intended with more “off center” flavors and fewer “just plain off” edges.   We couldn’t find much beer in this diversion when it was fresh, but there’s much of interest as it mellows with time.

The Beer—  At a year it’s Bretty and fruity with some pineapple, and it’s creamy and rich.   The spices have backed off and blended.  If you like the off centered original you might not want to put this down, but if you’re a bit jarred by the cacophony of the original, a year can allow the flavors to blend and even out. It’s still very fruity with some slightly  medicinal notes with a bit more of the pepper. Ellie found more of almost wit-like Belgian flavors–orange, cardamon, and the vanilla emerge more strongly with just a hint of heat from the pepper.

Value — Priced as a regular craft beer, this is a good deal fresh, but after a year or two, it’s a genuine bargain.

Values:  “fair” is a good beer at an above market price, “good” is worth the money, “very good” is a bargain, and “excellent” is a steal.

 In February, we’re digging into our legendary “vault” where we’ve been storing hundreds of bottles of beer waiting for the right time to taste them (or sell them for charity).   The charity market has slowed, so we’re working through them in front of a fire and finding some disappointments, but more very surprising delights.   You can find the full list –eventually– here on this “index post.”

 We’re often asked to share our tasting notes on over 33,000 beers; this blog is in answer to those requests.   Not all our notes, though.  The great beer writer Michael Jackson admirably followed the Thumper Rule, and we’ll try to do the same.  (“If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nuthin’ at all.”)   All the beers we post are from the top half of our ratings and most are from the top quarter.   Of greater value, we think, are the stories behind the beers,   and we try to give you enough about the brewery, the style and the places to find great beer to help you on your own beer journeys.   At CulturAle Press we try to write books and publish posts that will help you “Drink Well and Travel Safely.”