Cellaring Beers...what are the benefits?

Largely, no benefits. Beers generally do not improve with time, though beer geek America will make you think otherwise

 

This is what you seek:

http://www.amazon.com/Vintage-Beer-Tasters-Guide-Improve/dp/161212156X

 

I know I've enjoyed the taste of certain high ABV beers after some time. I've noticed some "mellowing out" of some of the barley wines and 120 mins. But I never age IPAs purposefully.

 

I like to age high ABV beers and BA aged beers that have strong alcohol or oak flavors which overpower the other flavors in the beer. Give them 6 months or a year in the bottle and all the flavors seem to harmonize with each other in a more subtle and complimentary way.

Although I've never been able to keep one around my house for longer than a weekend so I wouldn't know for sure but I wouldn't picture a beer Like TenFIDY improving with age. No harsh alcohol or barrel flavors.

 

1) You seem really focused on the specific topic of cellaring IPAs. Are there lots of BAs out there telling you to cellar IPAs? Because, from what I can tell, you're just preaching to the choir here. I'm honestly a little confused.

2) Have you had really old Olde School? I had 2006 earlier this year, and I thought it was phenomenal. You seem to be arguing that alcohol burn in an alcoholic beer will be apparent at any age - if you've done any tastings of verticals of beers like BigFoot, you'll quickly see that the beer changes. You may not like it more (to each his own), but others might.

3) Seriously, no one is telling you age your IPAs/ DIPAs. Pretty much everyone advises against it.

4) You haven't mentioned the effect of aging on mouthfeel/ carbonation. Gouden Carolus Cuvee van de Keizer Blauw is a prime example of a beer that really benefits from aging, because the freshest bottles are somewhat overcarbonated, lending the beer a spiciness that not as pleasant (IMO). After two years, it becomes silky and syrupy.

5) Many beers are bottle conditioned, which can just mean that it was carbonated in the bottle, and not carbonated before bottling. Bottle conditioned does not necessarily mean the brewers anticipate that the beer will benefit with age. There are IPAs that are bottle/can conditioned. That doesn't mean they should be aged.

6) Bottle conditioning with something like Brettanomyces is a different story. Have a Brett beer soon after bottling, and again years later - the beer will change. You may not like it more (to each his own), but others will. Seeing the change may even be the purpose and benefit of aging the beer, depending on the perspective of the drinker.

 

Great post!

Specifically with regard to this, I had not noticed the changes until I had a 2013 vs. 2014 Saison-Brett within a week of each other. Both were amazing, but very different beers. I'd take either in a heartbeat, but if I had to choose one, I like the 2013 just a bit more.

 

It's fun, uhh it gives me energy and it's a great way to keep in shape.

But seriously, tkdchampxi really covered most of it. To sum up:
- Most beer is better fresh
- Some beers do change in favorable ways (personal taste) if cellared properly

 

^Fantastic post there!

OP, to give you a very specific example, and not just rehash what has already been said, I cite Avery's The Beast Grand Cru as a beer that unequivocally improves with age (multiple years worth). Having had the 2008 vintage and 2014 vintage within a very short time period, I can say for certain I prefer it the older version.

My check-in comments on 2008 (drank 12 OCT 14) - "Insane! Raisin/fig/toffee/fig/burnt sugar/caramel malt/biscuit. Dangerously drinkable for almost 17%"

and 2014 (drank 23 OCT 14) - "Definitely a bit hot, could use some age on it. Still tasty, rich toffee/molasses/caramel/biscuit/toast/malt."

 

I am still a noob when it comes to cellaring, but I have to disagree with OP about the fusal notes of alcohol in cellared beer. In my brief experience, that seems to be the most noticeable change. Most high alcohol beers that I have cellared seem to cool off in terms of alcohol flavor and let the beer flavors come through more. I also agree with MLaVioletteJr about BA beers.I couldn't understand why anyone would pay premium prices for beer that tasted like watery bourbon until I cellared a couple.

 

This will be a lengthy post. For a tl;dr, let me say, most people agree that most beers should be consumed fresh, not cellared. That said, you seem to be reacting to cellaring due to overinterpretations of cellaring concepts.

You mention this a couple times in your post. Since the overwhelming advice from people who cellar is not to cellar IPAs I do not understand where you are coming from. Modern IPAs are made specifically to highlight hops flavors as well as bitterness. Only the latter property is really part of preservation, while the former fades fairly quickly, so it stands to reason they should be consumed fresh.

I cannot speak to IPAs historically. Ron Pattinson and others have convinced me hoppy beers were popular and IPAs were not specially developed just to make the journey to India. They may well have simply been a good choice of available styles because they would weather the trip better than the alternatives. So the point wouldn't be that they improved over the journey but that they survived more intact.

I agree merely having high IBUs or high ABV doesn't mean a beer is meant for cellaring. However, they may indicate the potential. Remember IBUs is a measure of bitterness, not of hops flavors. Hops acids can preserve, they also break down slowly over time. So, a very bitter beer may become less bitter and have other changes occur that result in a better overall flavor after cellaring than when fresh. That doesn't mean all high IBU beers should be cellared, only that some do well. Frankly, I would put a beer like Ten Fidy in this category. It can be consumed perfectly happily when fresh, but with age it becomes a more mellow, silky, well rounded drinking experience.

Alcohol works in similar fashion. It acts in part as a preservative. So, while it doesn't equal that all high ABV beers must be cellared, it is the case, that they are more likely to do well with cellaring than low ABV beers (with a couple exceptions, like lambics).

You are assuming the only flavor changes that might occur over time are due to active yeast still being present. I do not understand why. Certainly, the absence of filtering will affect what is in the bottle, but it is not as though filtering and bottling works some magical preservation that keeps what's in the bottle from changing. If it did, there'd be no need to worry how old a bottle of filtered beer was even if it were an IPA. Age will affect various compounds in a beer regardless whether it was filtered. For some beers this improves them. For most it does not.

Alcohol will not disappear over time, but as other changes take place in a beer they can mask the alcohol so it is less prominent as a feature of both taste and feel. You can see this effect with a lot of different types of alcoholic drinks from vintage ports to English barleywines. Fresh they sometimes taste like you took flavored syrup and vodka and just threw them together. After a few years in the bottle, they can taste like a cohesive whole.

Most people, including those of us who cellar, would agree with you. Most beer is not intended to be cellared and will not improve with cellaring.

I'm not sure why this bothers you. Do you feel like you are losing a drinkable volume of liquid to sediment or something? Whatever is settled as sediment was present in one form or another before. The question is whether you wanted it suspended and unformed or would prefer to let it form and settle. Since it will taste different one way or the other, in addition to other changes over time, is it surprising some beers might taste better after the sediment has settled? Just pour carefully.

I age certain beers because I think they get more complex and better tasting with cellaring. It is really that simple. In this category I put most English barleywines, most Russian Imperial stouts, and gueuze. That is not to say I do not like a lot of those fresh, but I do prefer many of them older.

As for decanting, I decant beer the same as wine. I place a light below the neck and then pour very slowly while watching the liquid as it passes through the neck and stop when sediment begins to make its way past. Sometimes this allows for almost (or even all) the liquid to be poured. Sometimes I end up with a half inch of sludge water left in the bottle.

 

How I see it, 96% of all beer is best enjoyed fresh, it will only deteriorate with time. 3% of all beer will age well, meaning it will hold up, potentially show some interesting changes to the overall profile but not ultimately improve at all. 1% of all beer will ultimately improve with age. A beer within this 1% will become more cohesive, the flavors will meld together, prefered subtleties will become prominent and the undesirable flavors will fade.

Unfortunately, most beers are cellared so the owner can boast about their cellar. It is more about ego or ignorance than it is about appreciation of the final product. I will readily admit that experimentation is an important part of gaining a knowledge base when it comes to cellaring. Wise or not, we all need to experiment to some extent. I believe the more knowledge one gains, the fewer beers one will put forth the effort to obtain for the purposes of aging. There are probably 5-10 beers readily available to me that I would ever honestly put forth the effort to cellar, and half of those I may only cellar up to 3-5 years tops.

Give me Third Coast Old Ale and Expedition Stout as long as I can hold on to them. Samichlaus at 5+ years, still need further experimentation. Ommegang Three Philosophers and Chimay Grande Reserve between 3-4 years.

I pour nearly all beers, if sediment is excessive I will decant more carefully. If the beer has a fair amount of yeast in suspension by nature, I will be more likely to swirl and pour.

 

Outside of opinions, I'm curious about the actual chemistry at work here. This really does seem like an area where more rigor would be valuable. I'm thinking in particular of the thread on "Old IPAs" where folks from Victory and In-Bev chimed in to debunk myths about cans / bottles and discuss oxygen more rigorously.

A few comments and questions:

1. Yeast based processes seem like a real reason to age beers. As far as I can tell, some (many? all?) of these processes are anaerobic. This was cursory - I looked at brett and anaerobic and found references to anaerobic processes.

2. A lot of the "changes" in beer that people refer to seem to be oxidation ... changes to old stouts, barleywines, old ales, etc.

3. Are there other non-yeast based processes that are anaerobic? If so, what are they ... how do they work? In other words, if you were to seal your beer in a completely oxygen free environment and age it, how would it change?

The reason I find this interesting is it hints at what a perfect way to age a beer would be - in some sort of oxygen free and oxygen impervious non-reactive vessel.

Given that both cans and bottles have liners (bottle caps are lined) could cans be a better way to age than bottles?

 

Well, the descriptions of wine and beer that have been found in shipwrecks suggests that the best way to age a beer a really long time would be to age it in a near freezing, high pressure, low oxygen (maybe even air tight) environment:
http://io9.com/5695539/worlds-oldest-wine-and-beer-finally-gets-drunk-after-200-years

 

A bit of Googling unearthed an intense food science paper on beer staling ... which is kinda beer aging from a cynics perspective.

The paper isn't free but a synopsis is here:

http://beersensoryscience.wordpress.com/2010/11/15/chemistry-of-beer-aging/

A few summary points:

• Bitterness decreases linearly, harshness of bitterness and astringency increase
• Sweet aroma increases linearly
• Ribes aroma (catty, blackcurrant) increases to a maximum before falling
• Cardboard flavor increases gradually
• Increase in caramel, burnt, toffee-like, wine, whiskey, and leathery aromas
• Decrease in fruity, estery, floral, and fresh flavors

And:

"Beer staling is often regarded as only result of oxidation, but non-oxidative processes may be just as important, especially at the low oxygen levels reached in modern breweries.
Non-oxidative reactions causing flavor detorioration are esterifications, etherifications, Maillard reactions, glycoside and ester hydrolysis. Even (E)-2-nonenal, a compound long suspected to be the main cause of oxidized flavour, paradoxically appears to arise by non-oxidative mechanisms in beer."

So it looks like oxygen is a big culprit, but beers stale even without oxygen. They article, interestingly, doesn't address beers like wild / sour stuff that's still "living" / changing.

 

Cellaring to improve beer is beyond me. I dont know enough about the beer to do that. If I get lucky and like the 2012 beer more than the 2014 fresh version, it was just luck, but I will certainly tell you how smart I am.

Basically I store beer so I can drink it when I want to. So many beers are limited or seasonal or one offs that you just buy them when you can and drink them when you want. I have setup a controlled place to store my beer because I want the beer to be as good as it can be when i decide to drink it.

 

That was a great article. My favorite part: "We can only hope this starts off a craze of storing wine inside shipwrecks. If you really care about your wine, I don't see any alternative."

 

Fresh BCBS to me is too hot. With a year or two on it the alcohol tones down, smooths out and becomes more drinkable to me.
Some people have a hoarding problem and let their beer sit in the cellar/closet and lose flavor etc. There is the rarity factor as well which holds people back from opening "whales". I recently traded for a 2012 BVDL and was very disappointed. Vanilla was all but gone. Lesson here: Storage conditions can mean the difference between beatifully developing flavors vs. falling off a cliff

 

My theory is the people do it to feel more involved in their hobby, and like they are somehow contributing to the final product. A subconcious thought process that goes something like "Brewer X made a very good beer, but its not quite complete. I, however, am capable of improving this product."

 

Just to pile on another anecdote...

I bought a few bottles of New Glarus's Strawberry Rhubarb, and the first bottle was simply awful, IMO. But I though, "if let this sit for a few more months, it will probably tart-up a bit and may have a chance at tasting ok. Well, I wasn't going to throw them out so I did. Holy smokes, 9 months later, it was an entirely different beer! Well worth the wait.