Just cracked into some of my 2008 Bigfoot stash. Its damned near opaque - all 12 bottles or so that I have seem to be this way. what is weird is that I recall that it was rather clear when I purchased them in Feb 08, and they have been refrigerated the entire time.
Anyone noticed this ‘permanent chill haze’ that appears as the beer ages?
FWIW, I have been 'collecting bigfoot since '02, though I only have '06 and up left, and I’ve not noticed this before.
I recently had a 12 year vertical tasting of Bigfoot at our house. I served the beers at about 50 degrees, there was no sign of haze.
That happened to me with some '07 I tried last year. I think I have one bottle left. I will check it out.
How did you store them? Just asking because I assumed mine were cloudy do to being stroed in the back of the fridge. Or, possibility number two is that previously they used the twist off caps?
However Tfries apparently did not have that…
tfries, I’d love to hear your opinion on the worthiness of aging Bigfoot that long…
Is it possible or likely that they had started to freeze at any point. That is really strange. I just had an '08 two weeks ago and I don’t recall any haze.
So it is true!..Bigfoots feet are getting smaller with age! ;D
nah - not freezing - but close. I have a separate fridge for bottled beer - its probably 35df in there, though I’ve never checked for certain. In any event, I’ve started reading in various spots on line that <45-50df is not really ideal for long term storage and storage belows these temps can lead to chill haze. so i guess I’ll just have to live with it - its either 75df or 35df, I ain’t gonna get another temp controller!
I keep thermometers that I checked against a lab therm in my chest freezer and my beer fridge. I like to keep tabs on the temps.
I think I paid less than ten bucks each for them at a kitchen store.
…
I meant i am not going to buy another Ranco/Johnson controller…
I also recently held a twelve year vertical of SNBF at the homebrewery & noticed a few of the older vintages were cloudy. A couple even left film or rings in the bottle, but they were all older vintages with the “twist-off” crown caps. On a seperate note, I noticed the newer (2008+) “expeditions” had much better head retention & carbonation. I found it very interesting how the vintages have changed, as I looked over my old tasting notes. Anyone who reports that Bigfoot doesn’t age well past a couple of years has obviously not had a 12 yr. old bottle before! whoa :o
tfries and Beertracker, I would also be very interested to hear impressions and/or see tasting notes from the vertical tastings!
+1
We had 5 people who participated in the tasting. After the tasting, we each ranked the beers first through third. There was no clear winner, although, the 99 vintage got two first place votes. After that, it was scattered with 05, 04 and 02 each getting a first place vote. In general, the range of 02-04 got the most votes.
Here are some of the comments.
98 - Dark fruit, raisiny, molasses flavor. Slight tartness. No hop flavor, good bitterness.
99 - More sweetness than 98. Bitterness and Sherry notes not as intense as 98. Very smooth mouthfeel.
00 - More fruit and bitterness than 99. Smooth and balanced. Not as tart as the others.
01 - Tobacco and chocolate notes in both aroma and flavor, lower hops. Earthy, coffee like. Vegital aroma.
02 - Smooth integrated caramel. Faint sherry notes. Dry hopping noticeable. Lighter in color than others.
03 - Sweet on palate. Not as bitter. Hops in the aroma. Darker than others. Sharp bitterness lingers on back of palate.
04 - Malty marshmallow aroma. Very malty.
05 - Vegital aroma. Sharper, caramel more prevalent. Good bitterness. More carbonated than others
06 - Big ethanol aroma. Ethanol/airplane glue in flavor. Astringent bitterness. Harsh aftertaste.
07 - Rounded fruit balanced toward sweetness. Low aroma. Slight oxidation.
08 - Balanced more toward sweetness than 07. Very little aroma. More carbonation. Pronounced bitterness. Not twist off.
09 - Sweetest yet, good carbonation, good foam, lower body. Sweeter aroma with some floral hops. Lots of hop flavor and taste.
Thanks tfries. It’s great to drink vicariously through others! ;D
