Aging/Celleraing Victory at Sea

I have no experience with it personally, but I wouldn't. I feel like all of that awesome vanilla and coffee would totally fade out.

 

Exactly.

 

Oh geeez! I better drink mine!!!!

 

I wouldn't hang on to mine for an excessive amount of time for the reasons posted above, but in all honesty how could you hang on to them for very long without drinking them unless you forgot about them?

 

In my experience, don't hang onto this one. I've had it fresh and at a one year and the difference in flavors was pretty impressive. Fresh was so much more vibrant, while the year-old brew seemed flat and dull while missing the coffee almost completely.

 

You buy a case, then you go on a seven month deployment with the Navy before you drink them all. Then you get home, buy another case, because you forgot about the first one, and leave again for another six months ahead of schedule.

That is how I now have six bottles of 2010 and a case of 2011 waiting for me upon my return. I did send one of the 2010s to my buddy before I left and he thought it was still really good. We shall see whenever I finally get home.

 

Well I was being facetious, heh. I've definitely done the same thing when I've been away from home for months. With that much Victory at Sea it would be difficult to drink all of it before it became 'aged'.

The year old version is still sure to be good, though different than fresh obviously. I brought a '10 to a tasting a few months ago and the consensus was that it was still delicious.

 

My preference is to drink them around the 6 month mark. I like my coffee beers a little more mellow with the coffee flavor, but not totally faded. I would not age it more than a year.

 

From my experiences I'd say drink sooner rather than later.I found out too that this brew fades in flavor as time goes by.I aged one way over a year a while back and told myself,never again.

Cheers......

 

came in to say this exact thing. have had 'em fresh, 3, 6, 9, and 12 month. ALL were great beers. 6 months seemed to be the nicest spot where the overpowering vanilla faded just enough to compliment the coffee flavors and great base of this beer. Fresh-3month was just a touch too vanilla-ey for me and it seemed the coffee was overly bitter to offset this sweetness. 6-9month was well balanced across all the flavors in this beer. 1 year+ and the coffee/vanilla flavors were still there, but quite muted and obviously not what BP intended in this beer.

 

I had one at about 9 months and I'd say that's the sweet spot where the coffee is less evident and the vanilla has become a bit more integrated with the chocolate roast flavors. Now I want another!

 

I had a couple 2010's a few months ago and thought they were excellent. I have had it fresh as well and enjoy both. It's an all around great beer.

 

Glad to hear the 2010 is still holding up. I should be home to start drinking it, and the 2011, in a couple of months. Given that the wife just moved us into a new house in Point Loma with a view of the Pacific, Mission Bay, La Jolla, and Sea World I foresee my stockpile going down rapidly while watching sunsets and fireworks every night this summer. Cheers.

 

Gonna try this beer for the first time this weekend. Pumped!

 

Had a 2010 not about 2 weeks ago and the coffee was definitely faded and the vanilla because too over powering making the beer way to sweet for me to finish it. In my opinion there is absolutely no reason to age this beer

 

A trading partner sent me a 2009 which I opened this week and ended up drain-pouring. The coffee and vanilla, which are this beer, were all but gone leaving just an astringency in their place. The 2011 I received at the same time will be consumed in the next couple of months...

 

I'm gonna chime in here and say drink this one sooner than later. Had it fresh and another a year old and if you like vanilla, it vanishes pretty quickly as this beer ages. The older bottle was a bit of a disappointment in that the vanilla and coffee notes had diminished greatly.