The Brew Basement

Name: Imperial Stout
Brewer: Saranac/Matt Brewing Company
Style: Russian Imperial Stout
Vintage: 2006
Cellared On: November 23rd, 2007
Original Tasting: January 9th, 2008
A lot of us who’ve grown up here in upstate NY have fond memories of Saranac beers. Back in the day if my buddies and I decided to go for quality over quantity on any given evening, [...]

What a surprise I had waiting for me at a Christmas party last weekend!
The party in question was being thrown by a co-worker and friend of my wife’s. I was looking forward to going; I knew there would be a lot of fun people there. What I didn’t know was that one of those fun [...]

Name: Imperial Extra Double Stout
Brewer: LeCoq
Style: Russian Imperial Stout
Vintage: 2003
Cellared On: October 30th, 2007
Original Tasting: November 20th, 2007
LeCoq is a somewhat polarizing beer in cellaring circles. A recent thread in the beer cellaring and aging forum on beeradvocate.com shows exactly why. Some people praise this beer for it’s uniquely slightly sour taste, while others point it [...]

Name: Black Chocolate Stout
Brewer: Brooklyn Brewery
Style: Russian Imperial Stout
Vintage: 2007
Cellared On: October 19th, 2007
Original Tasting: November 10th, 2007
Since I enjoyed the tasting of my first cellared Brooklyn beer (Local 1) I decided to come right back with a second Brooklyn offering. The eagerly anticipated Black Chocolate Stout (or BCS) is Brooklyn’s late fall/early winter seasonal [...]

Name: Storm King Stout
Brewer: Victory Brewing
Style: Russian Imperial Stout
Vintage: 2007
Cellared On: August 30th, 2007
Original Tasting: September 26th, 2007
Every Victory beer I’ve tried in the past has been fantastic, so I’ve been really looking forward to trying their Storm King Imperial Stout.
Let me tell you, this is one dark beer, even for a stout. No hints [...]

Name: Chocolate Stout
Brewer: Rogue
Style: Chocolate Stout

Cellared On: August 4th, 2007
Original Tasting: September 9th, 2008
You can almost see the thought process here: Hmmmm…..I like chocolate…..and I like beer……why not chocolate beer?
Rogue’s Chocolate Stout is the first Chocolate Stout I’ve tried, so I wasn’t really sure what to expect from the style. It poured very dark, with [...]

Name: Gonzo Imperial Porter

Brewer: Flying Dog
Style: Porter
Cellared On: August 3rd, 2007
Original Tasting: August 18th, 2007
Wow. I just had the best porter of my life on a hot August afternoon. Who would have thought?
I poured this black gem of a porter into my pint glass and watched a lacey toffee-colored head form. Smells of roasted malts [...]

Name: Fat Dog (Imperial Oatmeal Stout)
Brewer: Stoudt’s
Style: Imperial Oatmeal Stout
Vintage: 2007
Cellared On: July 13th, 2007
Original Tasting: July 19th, 2007
Imagine seeing a cute little monkey in a zoo. He’s sitting there all nice and happy, doing funny monkey things. Then WHAM! - a huge chimp jumps right on the little monkey and starts beating the living [...]

Name: Samuel Smith’s Oatmeal Stout
Brewer: Samuel Smith Old Brewery
Style: Oatmeal Stout
Cellared On: July 7th, 2008
Original Tasting: July 8th, 2008
My first Oatmeal Stout in a long time, and damn, is this a good one. It pours very dark with a beautiful creamy head. I can taste the oatmeal, along with a bit of a chocolate as [...]

Name: Old Rasputin
Brewer: North Coast Brewing
Style: Russian Imperial Stout
Cellared On: July 13th, 2007
Original Tasting: August 5th, 2007
It’s August in upstate NY, and the thermometer is tipping 90 degrees. It is WAY too hot. So naturally I go inside, sit by the air conditioner, pretend it’s December, and crack open a stout.
And this sure is one [...]