Drinking beers you have kept

Belgian · Post by **Belgian** » Mon Sep 10, 2007 11:07 am

Since having the house it has been really nice to properly 'cellar' beers in a dark, cool environment for some years.

Do you guys do this? There is nothing like cracking open a Rochefort or even a Westmalle Tripel, years on and it springs to life after a long quiet rest.

The Rochefort 8 is getting wonderfully smooth while keeping a big punch of flavour and aroma. I wonder how a R 10 would improve! Noticing a kind of demerera flavour more than before.

The Westmalle, which I was expecting would fade a bit was still brilliant & very much as good as it was when new, perhaps less of an alcohol sting to it than I remember. I like the hopping of this beer and it preserves rather well.

Jon Walker · Post by **Jon Walker** » Wed Sep 12, 2007 7:21 pm

I'm lucky enough to have an ideal cellar for storage. I currently have about 250 standard size bottles of various beers and about 100 bombers (or larger) of others. I tend to stock mostly stuff that will age; barley wines, imperial IPA's, stouts, bottle conditioned ales with good potential for aging. Besides that I keep about one third of the shelf space stocked with more regular drinking stuff that is ever changing (mostly IPA's and such from the U.S. and then a wide variety of other international and local beers that don't age). I also have a fridge in there for keeping certain beers cool, particularly my summer beers.

viggo · Post by **viggo** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 12:10 am

Why would you want to age an imperial IPA?

runes · Post by **runes** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 12:19 am

alters the flavour profile of course. just because it's not a hop bomb 3 years down the road doesn't mean it has a unique flavour, and sometimes even exceeding 3 years they can get a really interesting floral/herbal note

Jon Walker · Post by **Jon Walker** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 12:19 am

viggo wrote:Why would you want to age an imperial IPA?

Some IIPA's age very well. First off, the higher alcohol content can often be dominant in higher alcohol IIPA's and, in time, that subsides and allows more complexity to creep in to the flavour. Second, hops are a natural preservative and lend themselves well to longer term storage. Third, I generally don't buy crap and what I buy I buy in volume. I am never going to go through two or three cases of Stone Ruination bombers in a short time span so, out of restraint, many of them are ageing (BTW they hold up exceedingly well).

viggo · Post by **viggo** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 12:03 pm

To each his own I guess. For me the appeal of DIPA's are the hops. If I want those smoothed out I'll drink a barleywine.

SILENUS · Post by **SILENUS** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 3:36 pm

I currently have about 10 cases of belgian ales, imperial stouts and barley wines sitting in my "cellar" waiting for the right day.

Jon Walker · Post by **Jon Walker** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 4:08 pm

viggo wrote:To each his own I guess. For me the appeal of DIPA's are the hops. If I want those smoothed out I'll drink a barleywine.

In my experience most of the IIPA's I've cellared haven't experienced a steep drop off in hop flavour after cellaring for 12-18 months...in most cases the alcohol just gets more subdued. I don't generally cellar them for longer, just the other stuff that is better suited to 2 or more years of slumber. Several of the IIPA's I've cellared I have done so on the suggestion of the brewers themselves.

viggo · Post by **viggo** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 4:37 pm

I prefer the rough pungent hops/alcohol in brews like that, so I try to keep them fresh.

Jon Walker · Post by **Jon Walker** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 4:43 pm

Well to each their own indeed. The best IIPA's I've had (being 9, 10, 11%) have the alcohol so well integrated that it's barely detectable. When it's not I find the booziness of the flavor hurts the complexity of the hop flavours (even though some of the beers are well over 100 IBU).

I'm still hopeful of organizing an IPA and IIPA tasting with others in T.O. that both appreciate them and can supply a few for the event. I've got at least 30 different types on hand from all corners of North America and beyond.

viggo · Post by **viggo** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 4:46 pm

I've got a few, let me know what you have and I'll probably be down for a tasting.

sstackho · Post by **sstackho** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 9:08 pm

I'd certainly be up for an IPA tasting. Let me know if there is anything in particular that you don't have and would be looking for.

I make regular trips to the Boston area, but most of the very big beers in the stores are from out west, which you probably have access to. Hmmm, what big IPAs are brewed out east... Smuttynose?

pootz · Post by **pootz** » Fri Sep 14, 2007 12:37 pm

Aside from barley wines I like to cellar imperial stouts, belgian strongs, doppel bocks, Baltic porter, vintage ales and eisbocks...I find that many have a harsh alcohol edge and undeveloped complexity which aging a few years can effect)

...lately I have found that cellaring improves the new imperial marzens, helles doppels and wheats (although it only takes a matter of a few months to a year or so to see the effect)

As for DIPAs I agree with Viggo, most are good to go upon bottling.....there are a few very rough ones I have cellared which did improve them but you do so at alpha loss and in some cases that is the price you pay for taking the rough fusil edge off a poorly made Impy or DIPA.

Jon Walker · Post by **Jon Walker** » Fri Sep 14, 2007 12:46 pm

My issue has more to do with buying in volume. If part of a private order is a case of 12 IIPA bombers (like I just got from Southern Tier) I'm just not likely to consume all of them within a few months bearing in mind that I have a fairly sizable stock of other stuff too. I can only consume so much so fast!

pootz · Post by **pootz** » Fri Sep 14, 2007 12:57 pm

Jon Walker wrote:My issue has more to do with buying in volume. If part of a private order is a case of 12 IIPA bombers (like I just got from Southern Tier) I'm just not likely to consume all of them within a few months bearing in mind that I have a fairly sizable stock of other stuff too. I can only consume so much so fast!

Keep them in the dark and cool ( say 50 degF) and I don't think there would be a worry of flavor drop out for a year or so. Storing anything at room temp shortens it's flavor profile retention span even though it may not effect it like oxidation or photo degredation.