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 people was bringing along a couple of early Christmas presents for me!

The fun person in question was Phil, and he’s an absolute beer fanatic. Knowing I would be there, he had brought along a couple of beers from his private stash to sample with me - one a Founder’s Breakfast Stout and the other a Bell’s Expedition Stout. Neither are available here in Upstate NY. Smiling as he showed them to me, he asked which one I wanted to sample first. Although both brews were on my list of beers-I-must-try, it didn’t take me long to select the Bell’s.

And what a beer it was! It was incredibly easy to drink, with no astringency at all and virtually impossible to detect the alcohol (which was 10%abv+). It had a BIG espresso kick at the end to accompany the dark roasted malt flavor. Touches of cocoa and toffee/caramel sweetness were also there.

As we were enjoying our beer, Phil let me know that he purchased this beer about a year and a half earlier from a Cincinnati-area beverage store. As he was taking it off the shelf back then, another gentlemen remarked to him that the beers had the “old” labeling, which meant they had to already be at least three years old. By doing some complicated math, that meant the beer we were drinking had to be a least 4 and a half years old!

That is, if the label story holds up. Here’s a picture of a current Expedition Stout label I found on the web:

The one I had was a little different then this, (but not by very much) if I recall correctly. Is anybody out there familiar with the Bell’s labeling changes over the past few years? Please let me know if the timing of my story holds up.

As the evening wore on, we also broke out the Breakfast Stout (which was also great, but a very different beer), and just had a wonderful time in general. To top it all off, as my wife and I were leaving, Phil presented me with a gift for the cellar: a bottle of Stone’s 10th Anniversary Ale. It’s sitting happily in my basement as we speak.

Thanks for a memorable night Phil!

Jason

jason@brewbasement.com

www.brewbasement.com