2013 Parabola - How long do you plan on aging it?

From my experience, Parabola tastes best at about 6 months although it tastes great as well.

I hope to pick up some 2013 and my plan is to consume them this winter.

 

Bought two, but luckily didn't have to open either of them to taste it fresh, as a friend shared his. Glad he did because I didn't much enjoy it fresh. I'll probably open one up sometime in the fall.

 

Not to be unhelpful, but the truth is this beer is probably the best stout in the world and drinks deliciously "fresh", with a few months, with a year, and even with 3 years. We cracked one from the first batch this past winter and it was stupid f***ing good.

 

I have been cellaring my bottle for a year. Any comparisons with fresh?

 

I had a bottle of batch 1 that I forgot I had in my cellar and drank it a year after I got it. I liked it so much that I got a bottle of batch 2 when it came out and drank it after a month or two. Lots of people like it fresh but for me the aged bottle was one of the best beers I had had at the time. Creamy, smooth, and reminded me of a sweet Vietnamese coffee. FWIW I didn't get the same complexity fresh and haven't had the patience to age any bottles longer than a year!

 

I have 6 and plan to drink 1 per year. Had it fresh on tap twice this month (thanks ACBW!), and 2012 from bottle. 2013 fresh was too hot but I bet it'll age nicely in 6+ months. I think 1 year is safe to start popping bottles. Superbowl 2014 at the earliest. 2012 was extremely good. It helps that my friend in CA currently possesses all of my Parabola.

 

8 more hours.

 

for what its worth, i'm usually able to grab 5 or 6 a year. cracked this on easter and its the best i've had so far.

 

I had 12 and 13 side-by-side at Barrelworks and definitely preferred the 12, although the 13 was great too. The 12 tasted richer with more balance, while the 13 was a tad hot and bourbon boozy. I think it's going to hit its prime in 6-12 months.

 

I buy as much as possible and drink one every 3 months! Awesome stuff

 

Not my favorite batch so far, but don't get me wrong, it's still damn good.

 

This seemed to be a good call. I thought it was pretty mellow for a fresh batch. I did prefer the '12 vintage fresh but its still an amazing stout.

 

Ill agree. '12 is better with '11 being my favorite of all the batches, fresh or with age. This years batch has a strong roasty/oaky quality similar to abyss. Either way, its kind of like a piece of pizza. Even when its bad, its still kinda good. (edit: i still like this years batch)

 

I was lucky enough to get a single bottle of parabola a couple days ago. From what I've read on here, it ages beautifully. Since I only have one bottle, what would you guys recommend....drink soon or cellar it?

Thanks.

 

You'll know when the time is right:-)

 

Drink it fresh then you have a baseline to see how it ages if you ever get the opportunity to try another.

 

2013 is drinking beautifully right now. Go for it! Cheers!

 

It all depends. Parabola ages well for a couple of years, but does not retain much of its barrel characteristics. So, if you want to drink a bourbon-barrel stout, drink it soon. If you want to drink a 2 year old (excellent) RIS with minimal bourbon barrel characteristics, then wait that long.

My personal opinion is that it is silly to buy a barrel-aged beer and then wait to drink it until after all of the barrel characteristics are gone. Just because something tastes good with age doesn't mean that it's a good idea to age it, something that seems lost on a lot of people. Parabola is brewed specifically to highlight the characteristics of the various barrels that it is aged in. Waiting until those characteristics are gone kind of defeats the purpose of drinking it.

 

Lucky enough, you must have hoarders or light distribution, I see it a lot out here, drink it know, and if you want to age one, hit we up and I'll get you one to age, maybe for some fresh Head Hunter IPA ?

 

Drink it. I just opened a bottle from the first release, and while it held up well, I didn't think it gained that much.