There’s a heraclitean aspect to beer. You’re always trying to step back into the same malty stream that is ever changing. Both from a subjective palate level, and beer as a living product, subject to neckbeard entropy. So much of beer enjoyment hinges on freshness, setting, and contextual aspects. Unlike bourbon or wine, who enjoy the immutable fetishism of people who just love to possess, beer is actively dying every second. We are beer and we don’t get a b2.

So is VSOJ B2 better than B1? It’s like trying to change the staves on a barrel that is rolling out into Milwaukee avenue. Some dudes obsess over what order to show their kids the Star Wars movies, as though their appraisal of the past has any bearing on current quality. VSOJ B2 is extremely well done, but it is different than B1.

With terrible/paid editorial beer reviews, you’ll get evasive language, platitudes, and lengthy description of PLACE. I will outright say I enjoy B2 less than I enjoyed B1, but it is currently drinking better than batch 1. Let’s lean instead upon contrasts, like the guy who tosses his keys to the valet for his Grand Cherokee and says KEEP IT CLOSE.

Batch 2 is steeped in barrel to a staggering degree, it is pure heat and long intense cask that is masterfully done. If you pay a premium for ultra aging and then complain about the spirit profile, you’re the exact consumer who needs to switch to one of the “possession” based hobbies. Your wardrobe is from Kohl’s and like 6 pairs of shoes in plastic boxes you never wear. Yes, technically you care about clothes.

The initial sip is less sweet malt and a tighter, burnt marshmallow, almond brittle, the rye crackle of Four roses, sugar babies, melanoidins like brown sugar Cream of Wheat, and a finish longer than the film Magnolia. This will age better than b1 and is far more complex, albeit thinner.

If you take boomerangs of aperol spritzes, maybe skip this one. It is for a different breed of fire livered buyer. This extravagant malty gem is to be savored low and slowly like when your friend offhanded mumbles that their parents paid for the down but THEY PAY THE MORTGAGE. The complexities of generational blending.