CulturAle Press

Aging Beers: Left Coast Ale Epeteios Imperial Stout, San Clemente, California,  at 3.5 Years

Date:  February 5, 2019

The Story—  Left Hand has brewed well for decades.  They’re harder to find now than they were 20 years ago as so many other good west coast breweries have flooded the marked and depressed wholesale prices.   But Left Hand is still a brand that’s worth picking up when you find it.

An imperial stout by any other name…   is an imperial stout. We loved this fresh–  Creamy and rich dark chocolate malts; coffee cherry.  Herbal hops. Sweet dessert of a beer but well balanced.  Ellie was succinct – scrumptious.

The Beer—Big rich dark roast.    Licorice, some very dark chocolate.  Kinda muddy   Flavors are still here but have held at best rather than evolved.  Still – a decent bitter.  Dark chocolate covered orange slices waif thought at the end.  Certainly drinkable, chewy and chocolaty.  I’ll drink it.  Ellie didn’t find orange, but did find coconut, which on reflection is indeed there.  Complicated complex and really yummy. Maybe or maybe not better, but certainly evolved in a really nice way.

Value —  Very good.   Either fresh of cellared.

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.   Here are the ones we’ve posted so far: Stone Porter with Chipotle; Lost Rhino Wandering Belgian IPA; Magic Hat Wee Heavy Champ; Samuel Adams Norse Legend Sahti;

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.”