Aging Lambic

Asked Jean-Pierre Van Roy this question when I went there last year. He said 40-50+ years should be doable given proper storage

 

I don't think there is an answer. To me it is mostly a question of how well the seal on the bottle holds. For 3F, since they cork and cage, I have high confidence in their seal both upright and laid down.

Cantillon on the other hand, I hav had some experience with corks drying out. If I am short term aging them, I stand them up, but for any length of time I try to lay them down and make sure they aren't in a dry environment. What drives me nuts though is when moisture gets under the crown and makes a rusty soup on top of the cork.

 

I would say a long time. When Brew Dogs went to Cantillon they drank a lambic from the early 60's, so it was over 50 years old.

 

Honestly, it's probably like bourbon with an infinite life. However, they all have a best by date of 10 years after bottling listed on their label. And after that, honestly, I think they lose a lot of their funk and bite they have when fresh. I recently had a series of bottles that were 13-17 years old and honestly, mid age 5-10 years is best.

 

No one knows for certainty because very few people have tried a 100+ yr old bottle or lived long enough to try something they sat on for that long. Factoring in storage, temp, and all the other variables, there is no definitive answer. And there never will be.

It's like asking how long your engine is going to run or how big a tree is going to grow.

 

De Cam labels their beer with "best buy" dates that are either 25 or 30 years from bottle date (can't remember which). Either way, it's a significant period of time.

 

Lambic is already "technically" spoiled beer. When you sour any food or beverage it has become very very stable. It doesnt become more spoiled. It just changes aroma / flavor profile and you will probably loose carbonation the longer that you hold onto a bottle of lambic. You can probably get some oxidation if you hold onto a bottle of lambic for too long, but I dont know how long that maybe.

 

The last Cantillon bottle I had showed a 25 year "best by" date, but your point is well taken. It's probably best to listen to the brewer if they take the time to label the bottle.

 

The best by date on Lambics is due to European law saying there must be an expiration date. As long as there are active yeasts and bacteria in the bottle, it will continue to develop.

 

As mentioned by others, there is no way a lambic can "spoil". No beer can spoil really, but some which incorporate aggressive wild yeasts or bacteria can become totally overwhelmed by the flavors of those specific organisms. Orval is an example, as the brettanomyces yeast continues to be active in the bottle and eventually produces flavors that eclipse almost everything else in the beer. It doesn't "spoil", but it does change in a way that most people find less than ideal.