The Bar Towel

Some very helpful info here. Thx

Regarding what's in whose cellar:

http://www.bartowel.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=8524

I wonder who (an individual, not a beer bar or restaurant) has the most bottles in their cellar in all of Canada? I bet there are at least a handfull of people out there with 1,000+ bottles...

TheSevenDuffs wrote:I wonder who (an individual, not a beer bar or restaurant) has the most bottles in their cellar in all of Canada? I bet there are at least a handfull of people out there with 1,000+ bottles...

Yeah, you.

just wondering how people with large cellars deal with beer best before dates. I see on the westy 12's I just bought a best before date of 2015. Does that mean it won't be good after that date? At which point is it a waste to keep hanging onto a beer? If beer can be kept for longer than the best before date, why do they bother to list a date at all?

It's an industry standard that you have to put a BB date on beer, especially in Europe where they are stricter regards dating products, seeing as the beer is classed as a perishable, and the maximum BB date tends to be 2 years from bottling date.

I have a bottle of the Nelson Sauvin from Mikkeller, BB date is sometime in 2023, I think.

Torontoblue wrote:It's an industry standard that you have to put a BB date on beer, especially in Europe where they are stricter regards dating products, seeing as the beer is classed as a perishable, and the maximum BB date tends to be 2 years from bottling date.

I know for the fuller's vintage ale there is a little explanation on the box or the card inside it that says they are required by law to put one on, but that the flavour will continue to change and possibly get better for many years after that date.

Weebay wrote:

TheSevenDuffs wrote:I wonder who (an individual, not a beer bar or restaurant) has the most bottles in their cellar in all of Canada? I bet there are at least a handfull of people out there with 1,000+ bottles...

Yeah, you.

LOL, I have nowhere near 1,000 bottles and I highly doubt I have the buggest cellar in Canada.

Torontoblue wrote:

TheSevenDuffs wrote: A general rule of thumb...
Don't age:

Any beer below 8% ABV (aside from wild ales, lambics, etc)

But you can age Black Oak's Double Chocolate Cherry Stout for a good few years. A 5 year old bottle has great soured cherry & cocoa flavours. The Nutcracker ages well, too.

While drinkable, I found that the Double Chocolate Cherry Stout loses something...maybe a bit bitter/sour cherry flavour. I've had better results with the Nutcracker. After three years, the carbonation fades, but the beer is still quite nice.

I'm with those who posted earlier with respect to the Red Racer....don't sit on that. I've found it starts to taste 'stale' a lot quicker than the 6 months until next summer...