how long to cellar a beer?

Not sure about the two specific beers you mentioned (although it seems folks like aged double bastard) but in general, 10 years seems to be a bit beyond the enjoyable life span of the vast majority of beers.
Some generally agreed upon principles include:
Hops fade fast
Darker malts and higher abv stands up longer
Flavorings (especially coffee) can fade precipitously and make the added original expense a waste
Slow sours (lambic, geuze, Flanders, etc..) can age well but do tend to develop extreme flavors after a while
The general stable of beers to age intentionally is big stouts, barley wine, quad/trippel, strong ale, slow sours
BA stouts are often better fresh as they've already been aged
Have fun, find your own sweet spot for various beers, don't expect anything to really improve.but rather expect changes, some you will enjoy

 

I've always found Vintage Fuller's to be hit or miss.
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Bell's Expedition Stout has on its label, no best by date but says...unlimited. I believe that to be true with my limited experience.

One of the best beers to cellar is Alaskan Smoked Porter. It NEVER tastes bad no matter how long you let it sit.

 

Every beer is different, but generally all stouts and barleywines are still very good with a year or 2. I’ve gone much longer on some successfully but beyond that you have a greater risk of degradation. Also be careful aging anything with adjuncts, coffee stouts will lose a lot. Kbs for example turns more chocolatey with any age, I still love it up to 3 years old.

 

In general from my experience, English Barleywines, Imperial Stouts, and Belgian Quads are the styles, but it is also very beer specific. Searching this forum for specific beer names is a great source of input from people's experiences.

 

I think so much of this comes down to personal preference, as do most things beer-related. My general rule is coffee beers, regardless of the ABV/barrel aged component, are best when fresh. I've noticed that some big coffee stouts take on a green chili pepper flavour when aged, and this has turned me off enough to never age them. Vanilla beans have a tendency to fade quickly, and often brighter ingredients added to stouts can entirely disappear. "Slow sours" tend to hold up very well, but any fruit additions tend to noticeably fade after about two years, and depending on the offering, some lambic/gueuze can become significantly more sour (in an acetic sense - think vinegar) after years. I find English-style barleywines to be one of my favourite candidates for extended cellaring, as well as some wild and spontaneously fermented ales.

Hops are the first thing to fade in any beer. Any added ingredients, or "adjuncts", if you prefer, will degrade/fade next, regardless of the beer. Even good candidates for cellaring like big BA stouts and barleywine can become oxidised after a while, and can often take on a metallic or wet cardboard flavour. Fruit holds up well, but will also fade, given enough time.

Something to consider is that over time, even caps can warp, allowing oxygen to slowly infiltrate and degrade the beer - or even just the little bit of air at the top of the bottle can do it. Corks are even less secure, and are susceptible to drying out, becoming porous, and letting air in.

Of course, it helps to try the beer fresh, and ask yourself, "do I think age (ie. mellowed alcohol bite, less intense fruit, less hop profile, faded "flavours") could significantly improve this beer? Not all beer will get "better" or "worse" with age, but they'll certainly change. I say don't be afraid to put something away for a year or two, but consider pulling from the cellar stock now and then to enjoy bottles at their prime. Assume right now is the best something will ever be!

 

I think this is the key piece of advise. For me at least, the fun of cellaring beer is going on the ride with the beer and learning about where it sits best for me. I currently have a beer that I know is passed it's prime but it was only made once and is one of my favorites of all time and the best by date is late 2021 so i promised myself I would save the last bottle for near the end of the brewers advice since I have already followed it past my personal prime. Few beers that I haven't actually consumed have ever brought me as much pleasure as that bottle, it's like a little christmas present sitting waiting for me.

 

My personal problem is waiting for "special occasions" or other beer geeks to share special beers with, but that never really happens, so I inadvertently age some of the nicer bottles I have.

You have me incredibly curious about this beer now. I get it though. Every time I see my Cable Car, I get all warm and fuzzy. Never had it before.

 

It's SpontanBasil, collaboration between Mikeller and Lindemann's. A golden sour ale with basil. It had such an amazing bright basil note when relatively fresh I just couldn't get enough of it. Within 2 years that had faded and it was just a decent slow sour, but it lost that little spark that set it apart and made it stand out to me. It's still a nice beer if you like those belgian wild ales.

BA page lists as 'rotating' as opposed to 'one off' so I might have to ask down at the shop and see if it ever actually has been rebrewed

But ya, special occasion beers are tricky. I don't have many beer nerd friends in real life so I definitely just end up doming big bottles more than I should (luckily I'm a large person of northern european descent so a 750 of 15% isn't too unwieldy). My lady likes lambics and I've recently turned her on to cantillon but she's good for maybe 500 ml once or twice a month so I just pick a time I wanna feel fancy. Make some nice dinner and pop a nice bottle open. It's just beer after all

 

I was SO curious about that when I first heard about it. Initially skeptical, but then the reviews made it seem so much more fresh, bright, and floral than I pictured, and then I really wanted it. I'm glad you got to try that one.

I would think that is an excellent example of a beer that wouldn't "improve" with age. It just sounds so delicate and fresh. If it's rotational, I'll definitely have to keep an eye out for it.


How good would that be with a pasta dish or pizza!

 

Within the first 8 or 9 months it was absolutely divine with a lighter pasta/pizza meal.

But ya, in general I would say that you can expect light/bright/sharp flavors to fade quickest. The dark/heavy/full flavors tend to hang around a bit and come to prominence as others fade.

I would absolutely love to get to tour some of the barrel rooms/houses/caves of the older european brewers and taste some beers that have been resting in barrels for years and even decades.
These fellas' barrel cave is probably my highest beer bucket list item

 

Having attended a vertical tasting of Expedition Stout at a local watering hole, the Bell's people are very enthusiastic about its virtually unlimited aging potential but I've also interacted with someone who complains about a soy taste which I've not noticed. So it depends on individual tastes but, as my comments in this forum illustrate, I'm a big fan of aging.

Vintage Beer: A Taster's Guide to Brews That Improve Over Time by Patrick Dawson is my most consulted book on the topic, and probably any other beer matter.