Founders Imperial Stout shelf life?

Did you drink it? It's supposed to be better.

Actually, scratch that, I'll dm you my address and you can send it here.

 

I'd crack one open to see how it tastes. At almost 11%, the stuff will age pretty well. It might have gotten better. I just wonder how much light got into the bottles, seeing it was in a store. If it was on a bottom shelf, they might be ok. Temperature might be a little warm. 55 degrees or less is usually recommended, and I doubt the store was that cool. Who knows?

 

IMO, Founders Imperial Stout seems to need at least a year to mellow out to become good.

 

Depends on the store. If they had ac you are good. If they had it in back your even better. Stouts are ok to age, some better then others though. I would save one and buy the 2013 release and compare the 2 to see if you would like to get into aging beers.

 

Second that, and I'd pay the shipping cost if I get two.

 

To me, if it was sitting in the warmth that whole time, I would be concerned enough not to buy it. But if it was in a cooler, I would say it should be stellar! Just beware of the sediment bomb that may be in the bottom. It has a tendency to drop into your glass at the end of the pour. I use a kitchen strainer on all my old stouts especially FIS.

Enjoy!

 

Great question. Properly cellared? Maybe five years isn't too much to ask. Some like it longer.

 

Your best bet is to open 1 and drink it. If you like it then drink the rest or age them. If you don't, refer to post #2.

 

^this The properly cellared part is the most important. Can't hurt to open one up and take a swig. If it tastes sour, dump it and continue from step one.

 

There is a better chance than not that this beer will be fully enjoyable. Drink it, enjoy it, move on.

 

Founders has a mixed record on aging. Some of their beers fare better than others. Stouts as a category are unpredictable--I had a 25-year old home brew that fell between the cracks that was great, but I've also had some 2-year old real-brewery bombers that were supposed to get better with age turn out flavorless and thin. The other factor is how much you trust the store. I've seen some high-ABV beers with 2010-2011 bottling dates straggling in along with later versions in a couple of stores and even though they were supposed to improve with age, I would not buy them because I simply did not trust those stores to take proper care.

Sorry about the equivocal answer on all fronts--I guess, I'm not a wannabe Jewish Mother who says to everything "Try it--you'll like it!"

 

My money is on AWESOME! I had a '10 the other night and it was beautiful.

 

Nearly two year old FIS is nothing to complain about, I would gladly pick this over the fresh product everyday. I will also say that storage is really not a huge concern for be with this beer. Less than optimal storage can accelerate the aging process and is particularly harmful to lighter styles of beer, however the impact is going to be much less severe when talking about an Imperial Stout.

I have been lucky enough to enjoy nearly twenty year old Expedition Stout, and it was quite possibly the best version of that beer I have ever had. With that in mind, two year old FIS will not make me bat an eye.

 

Think so? Fine, don't drink it. Plenty of your friends would be happy to enjoy a good imperial stout with a little maturity to it. Your loss.

 

High alcohol imperial stouts can age almost like wine for a few years. Give it a go!

 

The original post almost seems so.... troll like..

I purposely buy 2-3 4 packs of it, and age it. I drink 4 fresh and the rest go to sleep. I like them with a year on them myself.

 

LOL

 

Welcome to the site. Lots of information here to explore and learn.


Too old? Well, it depends....

If you look on this page:

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1199/21822

on the right you'll see that it says the beer can be cellared for extended periods of time without damage. And from some people's responses to your OP you can see that many people think it tastes better.

However, if you bought it from as store where it was kept warm and in the sun...