The Oldest Beer You've Had

Discussion in 'Cellaring / Aging Beer' started by Sneers, Apr 3, 2012.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. InebriatedJoker

    InebriatedJoker Initiate (0) Sep 16, 2010 Ohio

    So far for me a 2008 Heninipin and a 2008 JW Lee's - The Hennipin was great the JW's not so much.
     
    Bitterbill likes this.
  2. stxSS07

    stxSS07 Initiate (0) Nov 23, 2010 Illinois

    Had a 2005 Third Coast from Bell's. It was...old.
     
  3. Bitterbill

    Bitterbill Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,772) Sep 14, 2002 Wyoming
    Pooh-Bah Society

    I've always found the JW Lees need a lot of cellaring...apparently for that edition, more than 4 years. I had a 97 last year...that's what prompted me into saying this.
     
  4. semibaked

    semibaked Pooh-Bah (1,897) Mar 27, 2007 Minnesota
    Pooh-Bah Deactivated

    1985 Westy EXTRA 8. Very good too.
     
  5. dasenebler

    dasenebler Initiate (0) Jan 26, 2008 Maine

    I'd agree. The 1999 vintage is the oldest beer I've ever drank, and it was delicious at 11 years out. Had a bottle of the 2005 around the same time and it wasn't nearly as good. Cheers
     
    Bitterbill likes this.
  6. Hotmetal1

    Hotmetal1 Initiate (0) Feb 28, 2012 Mississippi

    I'd like to have an empty can since my name is J.R.
     
  7. dannon71

    dannon71 Devotee (396) Jun 19, 2005 Florida

    These two Ratcliff's are in my cellar but I've not tasted. 1902 King's Ale would be the oldest for me.

    [​IMG]
     
    Gosox8787 and jedwards like this.
  8. ChanChan

    ChanChan Maven (1,341) Dec 12, 2009 California

    One more thing... The cork can be very brittle, it snaps out easily so be very careful when opening this beer!
     
  9. notchucknorris

    notchucknorris Pooh-Bah (2,156) May 28, 2010 California
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Sounds good. Thanks for the heads up!
     
    ChanChan likes this.
  10. hooliganlife

    hooliganlife Pooh-Bah (1,697) Apr 12, 2007 Missouri
    Pooh-Bah Society

    1987 samichlaus helles. Front end was sweet and dark fruit, smooth. Back end was complete soy sauce.
     
  11. Retsinis

    Retsinis Maven (1,486) Sep 25, 2009 Arizona

    A joke to make a point. It was mid way through a tasting, and a Cantillon Lou Pepe had already been served, but he also had an empty bottle of the same beer in his garage. He took this bottle of four loko that was years old, been baked in the sun, chilled it, and then poured it into the Cantillon bottle, and brought it out. It was funny those that knew immediately that something was very wrong with the beer and that it was not Lou Pepe at all, and those that sniff, drank, and said "wow, I love Cantillion, it's so awesome"

    Seen it happen in the wine world a bit. Invite some self described wine afficinado's over for a tasting, have a bottle of say Silver Oak and maybe a few others, and say a Charles Shaw (Aka $2 buck chuck) in a decantor, along with an empty bottle of a really high end bottle of wine you may have already had, and or served that evening along with other wines. Many often will still say, "man this is fantastic, I love Silver Oak" after being served the Chuck, since they perceive the bottle, not evening having a very discerning palatte to know the difference in the beverage, but the same person might be very snobbish about the wines they buy, taste the rare. I prefer blinds tasting myself, (as does the friend that did this) takes preconveived perceptions out entirely.
     
    tony32408 likes this.
  12. jedwards

    jedwards Initiate (0) Feb 3, 2009 California

    Opened one of these earlier in the summer:

    [​IMG]

    There's some debate regarding their age, but they're definitely pre-WWII, possibly WWI-era. It was actually quite good -- had some really interesting smoky qualities that I was not expecting.
     
  13. dannon71

    dannon71 Devotee (396) Jun 19, 2005 Florida

    Absolutely gorgeous bottles! We must have secured ours from the same source...lol. I originally had four of these and have only drank one so far. The one I had was very drinkable and interesting. It was quite thin with a bit of the smokiness that you mentioned but also some very noticeable brett yeast characteristics. I've been told this was possibly from wild spores inside the brewery vats that were controlled and intentionally allowed to be exposed to the beer (not 100% sure about this though). It appears these were bottle by the publicans themselves as I had three from Mrs. J. Telfer in Musselburgh and one from W. Irvine in Edinburgh.
     
    jedwards likes this.
  14. Bonis

    Bonis Initiate (0) Jul 28, 2010 Ohio

    1999 JW Lees. Have also had the 2000 and 2001 versions. Still see these floating around occasionally. Can't say I thoroughly enjoyed them, then again I don't know how they were cellared for most of their lifetimes.
     
  15. nicks6217

    nicks6217 Initiate (0) Jan 15, 2010 California

    Gosox8787 likes this.
  16. sacrelicio

    sacrelicio Pooh-Bah (1,826) Feb 15, 2005 Minnesota
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Oh I bet. Love that beer.
     
  17. sacrelicio

    sacrelicio Pooh-Bah (1,826) Feb 15, 2005 Minnesota
    Pooh-Bah Society

    No way, the hops are gone after 2 weeks.
     
  18. sacrelicio

    sacrelicio Pooh-Bah (1,826) Feb 15, 2005 Minnesota
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Yup, that is also the oldest beer I have had. A guy at Midwest Brew Review was walking around with a bottle of Triple Bock and I managed to get a pour. Tasted like tobacky spit. Ugh. As for the wine, my grandma had a bottle of Dom Perginon from 1980 (my birth year, I'm her first grandchild) that she opened on her 75th birthday in 2010. Total vinegar. Looked it up on the internet and the longest you can save champagne is maybe 10 years.
     
  19. sacrelicio

    sacrelicio Pooh-Bah (1,826) Feb 15, 2005 Minnesota
    Pooh-Bah Society

    What did the old Four Loko taste like? Fruity and sour? Not sure how anyone could even confuse that with Cantillon.
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.