A Tale of Two North Coast Old Stock Ales
By jason on May 12, 2008 in Barleywines & Strong Ales, Beer Tastings, Featured
OK, so they look the same, but how do they taste?
The minute I saw the 2008 vintage of North Coast’s Old Stock Ale on the shelves earlier this spring, I knew this article was coming soon. I just couldn’t wait to pour one of my 2007’s to see how it was matching up with this year’s version!
Before I start the comparison, you should go see my updated tasting notes of the 2007 North Coast Old Stock Ale or my recent tasting of the 2008 Old Stock Ale.
As you can see from the picture, there wasn’t too much difference in how the two brews looked. If anything, I would say the 2007 vintage is shading a bit darker, but it’s a small difference at best. The feel of these two brews were both pretty much the same - both were thick and syrupy with virtually no carbonation at all.
Both brews had the same signature syrupy-sweet malt smell. Ripe dark fruit was apparent in both, but the 2007 definitely had a deeper fruit characteristic which gave it a more port-like quality. The sweetness of the 2008 vintage also had a distinct brown-sugar like quality to it that I found absent in the 2007 vintage.
Even though the basic flavor profiles of these two brews were the same, there were plenty of differences between the two. The biggest difference was in the sweetness level - the 2008 was noticably sweeter then the 2007, and had that same brown sugar/molasses taste that I mentioned before. Both brews also had that same port-like and dark fruit character, but the flavors were much more distinct in the 2007 vintage. I was getting savory grape port tastes in the 2007 that were nowhere to be seen in the 2008.
To wrap things up, I’m not sure how much of the difference between these two beers was from the aging and how much was simply from two different brewings seperated by a year. Whatever the case, I found the 2007 vintage more complex and enjoyable to drink. I can’t wait to get a year or two under the 2008 to see how it progresses - will I see the same qualities that were in the 2007 vintage emerge?
Jason
I enjoy reading about how aging affects the taste of a beer. Since starting to read this site, I’ve begun storing a few beers for next year and then comparing notes. It’s nice to be able to sample one year side by side with another year’s beer. That’s the best way to do it and more fun. It’s hard to just rely on memory and notes to tell the difference aging makes.
Chipper Dave | May 13, 2008 | Reply
I really like reading those post in this blog..It updates me with beers that I don’t know..
Dondon | May 21, 2008 | Reply