Old Stock Cellar Reserve 2009 from NCBC

The North Coast Brewing Company Old Stock Cellar Reserve Bourbon Barrel Aged edition is a winner! It pours as a full-bodied tawny ale, with a lightly rocky, but more creamy of a tan head. Your initial notes are of cider, but not a spiced cider more of that ripe apple scent you get standing under an apple tree in late October. Your first sip engulfs your pallet in a warm toffee apple with very slight hints of the ale's fresh form (that Toffee/Vanilla/Coffee vibe) but this early in the aging process you can already see how the ale has matured. The toasty marshmallow has rounded off into the toffee and the initial booziness has turned into that of ripe harvest fruits. It ends with a pleasant if noticeable warmth reminiscent of a bourbon spiked coffee on a foggy Mendocino morning.

This is a masterpiece of brewing perfection. I have always been a huge fan of Old Stock Ale (personally having been collecting the regular releases of it since 2003). While it tastes beautiful right now I will suggest hanging on to it for another 5 years. I intend to hold on to mine 2 years till I open another one (perhaps with the 2011 special edition?) Open another again in 5 years and then 10. Patience is a virtue and definitely not for the weak so if you plan to age this baby remember out of sight, out of mind. This is a gem, an investment, a beer for when your children graduate.

This beer is truly the milk bath Cleopatra bathed in regularly- pure, decadent, luxury.

What would I pair this with? A cold winter evening with rain tapping on the roof and a good book (perhaps a cigar? but nothing too heavy). This is definitely a beer that can be considered a philosophy beer. Sit. Sip. Contemplate.

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