Aged Saisons

I think it's pretty hard to determine whether or not a given saison is going to age well. I don't have any experience with the particular beer in question, but Avery comes to mind...

Two of Avery's anniversary beers have been saisons. Sixteen was brewed with a number of adjuncts - hibiscus, honey and peaches if I remember correctly. It was brewed and bottled in 2009 and is drinking remarkably well at the moment.

Avery Eighteen was the other saison - brewed with rye and dry-hopped. This one was bottled just last year and it's almost undrinkable at the moment.

Additionally, BeerAdvocate claims that saisons can generally be aged for long periods, for what it's worth.

 

I've read that saisons were first brewed to last longer periods of time than other beers, but six years is pushing it. But hell, try it anyway, it's only $7. If it's bad, you'll at least learn what a saison past its prime is like and be able to detect it in other saisons.

 

No worries - let us know how it is if you decide to crack it!

 

Fantome and De Ranke saisons age nicely

 

to me they are light fruity with pepper and funk some lemon grass IMO

 

i had a 2008 hennepin alongside a 2011 not all that long ago and the 2008 was way over the hill. it was drinkable, but was pretty funky in a not great way.

your mileage may vary on others though.

as for bringing beer back, pretty sure it is against the law, even if it is too old. i once bought a 4 pack of duchess de bourgogne and got home and realized it was a few years past the best by date. i brought it back to the store and they told me that they weren't allowed to take it back, but they did make an exception since i was a very regular face there (and the manager wasn't around). they couldn't give me a proper refund, so they let me exchange it for something else.

 

Southern Tier Cherry Saison is fantastic with a few years on it! Also had Surly Cynicale with a couple years on it and thought it was brilliant!

 

I returned a four pack of GF west coast to a wegnans. First bottle tasted like it had oxidized. They took the other three back with no issues

Enjoy

 

maybe it is a new york thing then? i bought a case of the trader joe vintage ale after loving the previous year. got home popped a bottle and it was vile. tried to return the other 11, they said it is the law that you cannot return alc. it did actually improve quite a bit over time though.

 

Had a 2010 Fantome Saison at The Brick Store Pub in Atlanta, GA over the weekend and it blew me away. After taste was an amazing burst of apricot. Beautiful stuff.

 

I think it goes without saying that whether a saison ages well or not is largely due to the ingredients. Since saisons are across the board with what's used I think it will vary greatly from beer to beer. Saison Brett? Good fresh but I much prefer it with at least a year on it but I like my saisons with some funk to them.

Let us know how it turns out.

 

Agreed about the Southern Tier. I just got one from a friend that was very enjoyable, but I was under the impression it was no longer brewed.

 

For $7 I would try most things with that much time on it. I would just drink it and use it as a learning experience if nothing else.

 

On a recent trip to my small hometown I found about six Fantôme de Noel sitting on the shelf. I had been psyched to try something from them so grabbed one. I assumed it had just come in what with the time of year and all. It was a bit dusty but I didn't really think much of it until I got home and noticed the date stamp on the price tag - January of 2011 - which I'm assuming means this was a 2010 bottle. Anyway, it wasn't all that great (smelled much stronger/better than it tasted) but I noticed it's not really as well rated as their other offerings anyway. Definitely wasn't bad though.