Where Spotted: De Vinos, 2001 18th St. NW
Price: $48/1.5-liter bottle
Buy and Large: I like to think that if I won the lottery, I’d be a model of responsibility, doing grown-up stuff like making house payments and finding out what “equity” means. But given the way I fell over myself to blow a $50 gift card on the most hedonistic beer I could find, I’ll probably end up a lifelong renter. As long as this world has comically oversized bottles of beer, I will be drawn to them like a rapper to Patrón.
Drinking Age: The label on this behemoth read “Best before 30 September 2010.” So I was late. But was I too late? I had to buy it, if only to see how those extra 10 months of aging might impact the experience. When I decrowned my prize, the room filled with apricot and apple aromas (a sign of oxidation) under a heavy layer of yeasty musk. On the tongue, the beer was mellow, a frothy mouthful of peach, straw, and lemon peel. From a drinking perspective, it was the final lesson against aging saisons, which robs them of their sprightly zest. But the satisfaction of popping the cap off a beer the size of a golf bag just might be enough to justify it.