Ageing (or is it aging?) hop-heavy stouts?

I've been known to do this. I generally try to taste fresh, when I can, but I feel the best of the best will retain what they need to, regardless of aging.

 

Hops are a natural preservative...so I'd guess it's no coincidence that big stouts are loaded with copious amounts, keeping in mind the potential for aging.

 

Drink a one, age one. Problem solved.

 

This. And take notes when you taste it fresh! That way you have a baseline when you crack one a year (or two, etc.) later.

 

Depends on what you like. If you don't mind hoppy stouts, drink them fresh. I like them a bit smoother, so I let them sit for a couple of years. I love 3 year old Expedition stout.

 

FIS is hop heavy? I guess some might think so because of the 90 IBUs. The early addition hops bring out the bitterness to cut the malt sweetness. I actually love FIS and feel it shits on all their other "limited" stouts that they produce. I'm a fan of aging, or experimenting with brews. Like @VelvetExtract said, drink one fresh then age it, drink it again. See how you like it.

 

Drink one, age some. This has worked good for me.

 

Victory Storm King is a fun one to experiment with I hear. I had some fresh and some 1,2,3,4 years old is my current experiment.

 

I might be wrong, but the 90 IBUs could also be by the roasted malt used. I know my coffee is hella bitter yet no Hops were harmed in my morning cup of Joe.

 

Being the Founders fan I am, I bought a case of '13 Imperial Stout in December and have been drinking a bottle per month over the past 6 months to detect how they age. They definitely get smoother and (albeit slowly) less hoppy as they age. I am also sitting on a bottle of Founders IS that is now 1 1/2 years old which I will try soon. Anyone out there try one of these at this age or older? What did you think?

 

One year old is divine. Never got passed that age though.

 

It's standard that I buy my SK three years old. I used to be all about hops, then I started to like my Stouts to be a Stout and not a Black IPA. But I agree Storm King is fun to experiment with.

 

I am sitting on the remainder of the full case, about 1/2 case of FIS from the January 2014 time frame, and I have been weekend sipping it, 1 a week. It is definitely mellowing out the more I go. 1.5 years? wow. That's gunna be a SMOOOTH mutha!

 

I enjoy both Founder's and Bell's Expedition much more with a couple years on them (Technically I had a 1yr and 7 months FIS). I actually don't care for fresh Expedition. As @VelvetExtract and @Kinger86 mentioned, always try something you haven't had before putting it on the shelf.

 

I never thought Bomb! had any noticeable hop character.

Stouts, especially Imperial stouts, typically utilize hops mostly for bittering purposes. Some stouts, like Foreign Export Stout or American Stout will have a more noticeable bittering bite or hop character to them.

In general, all beer recipes through all styles are made with BU:GU as a consideration. This is Bittering Units : Gravity Units. And, as in all things, balance is typically sought after, Imperial Stouts included. The matching level of bitterness balances the significant amount of malt presence in styles like Imperial Stout & Barleywine, whereas styles like Strong Scotch Ale lack the balancing bitterness and become malt centric. Imperial Stouts are actually one of the most heavily bittered styles.

For instance, I brew an Imperial Stout that measured 1.090 original gravity, to balance this recipe I would select a hop bill that gives me about 90 IBU to have a BU:GU ratio of 1.0. Some brewers may formulate their recipe to be less bitter, perhaps 60 IBU in a 1.090 gravity wort at a BU:GU of 0.67, which will shift more weight to the sweet malts in such a high gravity beer.

Hope this helps somewhat.

 

Completely agree. I have had a good bit of success aging hop forward imperial stouts. I agree with a previous poster that victory storm king is a great hop forward imperial stout to play with. I find 4 years the money spot on storm king but that is just my opinion. I will start my experiment with founders imperial stout next year as I have always tried but failed to keep any in reserve.

 

I totally get the feeling that it's a waste to let all those valuable hops fade out, but it's not for nothing. They are still in there and they are still doing work for the overall greater good of the beer - just as more of a background role.

In other words, just like barleywines, hell yes they are worth aging despite the IBU rating.