Wife and I just brewed a saison and it came out great. Been giving them away like crazy and still have 20-30 bombers left. Also the biggest batch we've ever done (about 12 gallons) Been in the bottle for almost 2 months now and someone told me they wouldn't last more than another month. Any input would be greatly appreciated. If you live in SE VA, PM me and I may have one for you.
Does this someone have extensive experience aging Saisons using the same recipe and storing under the same conditions you brewed? Otherwise you are probably good. Aging is dependent on sanitation, recipe, and aging environment, among other things. Generally saisons can go at least a year, or at least mine can. I had a 1yo kolsch that I brought to my brothers house and forgot in the fridge. It was fantastic. Keep the temps cold and steady. If your sanitation was sound, you should be fine.
The two enemies of aging are poor sanitation leading to infection and oxidation. Both can be suppressed by storing your beer cold after priming has occurred. My one incident with bottle infection first became apparent as beers seemed to get over-carbonated, leading to gushers when the bottle was opened. The recovered beer was thin-bodied and dull-tasting. This was apparently the result of undesirable bugs that were capable of breaking down dextrins that ordinary yeast do not digest. While most beers do not have this problem, cold temps reduce microbial activity in general and should help. As a general rule of thumb, oxidation has a Q10 of 2, meaning the rate doubles for every increase of temp by 10 degrees C. I'm sure the reality is more complicated, but the take home message is the same. Colder storage prolongs beer.
A gentleman in my club broke out with a five year old bottle of Pilsner a while back. It was drinkable surprisingly.
I have aged my bottled Saison beers for over a year and they still taste great. As has been mentioned by others there are factors which could impact beer stability: · Excess oxygen exposure which would lead to oxidation · Poor sanitation practices which could lead to infection Assuming that neither of the above is an issue, a higher gravity beer that is bottle conditioned will last a long time (> 1 year). I store my Saison beers non-refrigerated in my basement. Cheers!
Did this 'someone' offer to help you finish them before the expiration date? Assuming your technique was sound with respect to sanitation and protection from oxygen, it'll be good for a year or more.
