It's $25 in NY and IMHO, not at all worth it. I'd rather buy 3 four packs of BCS. It does age nicely tho. If you can hang onto it for 3 years, then you'll have something nice!
I tried it once 2 or 3 years ago and thought it was decent but I wasn't a huge fan of the champagne yeast element. I through one in the cellar to see what a few years would do to it. Anyone have any thoughts on 2 to 3 year aged Black Ops?
I'm not much of a fan of it fresh (at least in bottles, it is nice fresh on cask though). After it's been sitting a year though it starts turning into something really nice. My cousin opened a bottle of the 09 batch on Christmas Eve that I thought was doing very well, and I plan on doing an 08-12 vertical some time in the next few months.
I bought a couple of bottles just before Christmas...never got to it on NYE like I planned...and didn't particularly feel like cracking it at random...so in the cellar they sit.
I still have a 2011 and a 2009. Drank both of my 2010s and my other 2011. Think it's a pretty tasty beer, but like others said, def a different BA taste.
This thread seems to be dominated by the non-fans of Black Ops, so far. For each thread full of people who hate it, there's a thread full of people who love it. Like any high-profile beer, it tends to be polarizing. I don't understand why. Perhaps because it's different from the standard model of bourbon barrel imperial stouts, perhaps because it's fairly available, not an incredible whale. Personally, I like it. I like it even more with a couple years on it. We shared an '09 among some serious beer geeks on New Years, and I heard no complaints. I know a number of brewers who love the stuff. It's certainly a good beer, and you may like it. Or not. As to price...it's normally priced around $20. If you're seeing it at $30 or $40 or more, your store is trying to rip you off. Blame them, not the beer.
I was a fan of the 2008 vintage and drank/reviewed it many times over the course of 2 years.... http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/45/40149/?ba=koopa
Cost not justified...by me in my area. There's no shop anywhere near me selling Black Ops for $20. Almost everything of note is substantially more expensive here in SE PA compared to other areas of the country. At least we don't have silly %abv limits like some other states though. Had a choice between Black Ops & FW 16th today (basically no limit of each)...and did not hesitate to went with 2 FW 16th without hesitation. Cheaper & without a doubt will be enjoyed more by me. Also, Fruet was $$$ & totally worth the cost of admission. Like anyone cares about my opinion.
I liked it a lot, thought the barrel character was awesome. Only downfall was the cost.. I've had much better barrel aged beers for much less.
I think it's extremely subpar for the style, and very overpriced. Thin, boozy... it's all been said. At $20 I would consider it too much - it should be about a $12 beer. For the $25+ it often goes for, it shocks me that it doesn't sit for very long.
I really disliked this beer, because of the champagne yeast. It gave me a terrible stomach ache. I have one more bottle that I plan to sit on for a long while. I am hoping that matures into some thing that I would enjoy drinking!
