Beoir#1

Origin: Ireland | Date: 2014 | ABV: 9% | On The Beer Nut: April 2014

This once-off double IPA is the youngest vintage beer yet featured on Stash Killer!, but it's the last hoppy beer in the stash, and the main thing I've learned from this project is that hop-forward beers don't age as well. That said, I've opened a number of these over the years and have always found it to be good. When the fresh hops faded away they left behind a still-fruity barley wine that has always been enjoyable to drink. Let's see where the end of the line has left us.

I don't remember it being as muddy as it apparently is, though it's still an attractive deep red colour. The aroma still speaks of hops, though it's an aftershave-like musky spice rather than any fruit. Lots of caramel in the flavour, reminding me of the stronger sort of American amber ale. There's an almost port-like grape sweetness and tannin, matched to an alcohol heat, and then a leathery dryness in the finish.

It all still feels coordinated and balanced, almost like it was supposed to turn out like this. There's a luxurious richness to the whole thing; a lovely comforting warmth you can just sink in to. And I doubt if it has in any way disimproved in recent years, so if you're one of the project funders still hanging on to a bottle or two, I'd say it's good for a while yet. And your stash has just become that little bit rarer.