Top 5 Beers to age!

1. Firestone anniversary ales (12th and 13th are amazing after a few years!)
2. Just about any Geuze
3. most barrel aged stouts
4. Beatification batch 2
5. veritas 00?

 

Bigfoot, Old Stock, Abyss, Old Guardian, and Green Flash barleywine are good for aging a couple years. Don't listen to these guys about gueuze, it sucks, don't even buy any.

 

I like how Abyss gives you a best after date. They are telling you to age it.

 

Just from my experiance:
Great Divide Yeti
Great Divide Old Ruffian
Ommegang Three Philosophers
GI BCBS
Bell's Expedition

Others I have but am really looking forward to down the road:
'09 Bruery Black Tuesday
'09 Bruery 2 Turtle Doves
'10 Bruery Coton
'07 Unibroue 17
'04 Samuel Adams Chocolate Bock
GI Rare/BCBVS/King Henry/BCBCS/Bramble Rye
'08 FFF Behemoth
just to mention a few.

 

I will say that Stonr IRS, Yeti, and Oak Aged Yeti (surprisingly espresso oak aged is not) are all extremely harsh when fresh, and personally I wouldn't have any of them uncellared. That being said, as my other thread implies I am completely new to cellaring beers so I don't really know what I'm talking about I guess.

 

When you consider a top 5 beers to age category the measurement is based purely on the beers that will change the most from their bottling date. I won't list an exact top 5, but will say 120, Cantillon's and then barrel-aged beers...with each type being a little different. For example, I think for me oak can be one of the most off-putting qualities in a beer. However, as that beer ages, the oak will dissipate, as well as, help the beer maintain its structure and aging potential. So an oak bomb 5 years later may be quite enjoyable.

 

He meant to say buy all the Cantillon and Drie Fonteinen gueuze you can find.

 

For what I have tried to cellar:

Any Russian River "tion" beers
Stone IRS
Firestone Walker Parabola
Bigfoot
Deschutes Black Butte/Abyss

 

DIPA's that turn magically into world class BW's!!!

 

I'd say try everything fresh before putting it down. No use in aging it if you like it fresh unless you just want to play with it. I put a few SN Celebrations down every year (a somewhat controversial idea for some) because I was curious and look forward to comparing them and I find that they transform into something I enjoy.

The top three that are widely available have already been mentioned: Stone RIS, Brooklyn Black Choc. Stout, and SN Bigfoot.

Also, contrary to what some others have said in this thread, I was under the impression that brews with a coffee, vanilla, or even smoke flavor will lose those distinctive qualities with age. I have plenty in my cellar that have coffee flavors in them, but they are mostly things I can at least get in four-packs so I can have a few fresh before putting one down for curiosity's sake.

Play with it. If there is a big stout, b-wine, high ABV non-hoppy offering where you don't mind a bit of fade, give it a whirl. I'm by no means an expert in that area, but that is what I've gleaned from the internets while piecing together my modest cellar.

 

I'll echo this list, but swap in Rochefort 10 instead of westy 12 because it is much more accessible and I've had much better experiences with aged Rochefort 10.

 

I can't decide on numbers 2-5, but WWS is easily my number 1.

 

Dude Rochefort 10 may be the most overrated beer in the world...top 25 is a joke...maybe it changes a lot down the road but fresh I think it is definitely a very good beer...but top 25?

 

Bells expedition stout
Abyss
Bourbon County Brand Stout

 

I don't know about the top 5, but I have limited space and these are the ones I'm aging - Expedition Stout, Behemoth, Arctic Devil, Abyss, and FW15. Got a few others that I'm doing some short-term aging experiments with, but those are the ones I'm keeping for several years.

 

SN Bigfoot
North Coast Old Ale
Victory Old Horizontal Barley Wine
Bells Third Coast Old Ale

 

My 5 US beers are Bell's Batch 9000, Alaskan Smoked Porter, Sierra Nevada Bigfoot, Goose Island Night Stalker, and Avery Hog Heaven. I'd add North Coast Old Stock Ale but the one time I tried it, it didn't fancy me but I saw a huge potential.

 

- Stone IRS
- Old Guardian
- Bigfoot
- Rochefort 10
- Fullers Vintage Ale

 

to many people miller lite would taste a world better than Rochefort 10. it is all opinion and more people are of the opinion that it is a top 25 quality beer, no joke.

 

My top (accessible) 5 in no particular order...
Bigfoot
Old Stock
Expedition
Cuvee Van De Keizer Blauw
Gueuze (mainly DF and Girardin)