Aging Quads

Quads are great, so are Stouts (though if you age a coffee stout some of the coffee flavor will fade)

Barleywines are also great for this (i love aged Doggie Claws), as well as Old Ales (get some Adam and put a few aside)

 

If you've already had some aged St. Bernardus 12, then you're not going to get much better.

Cuvée Van De Keizer Blauw and Rochefort 10 are up there too.

 

I like Pannepot with some age on it too

 

I think the best beer I have ever had was a 5 year old Chimay blue. I have about 25 quads aging now and I think there is no better style to age. A good barleywine comes in a close second though.

 

Cuvee Van De Keizer Blauw does it for me. Then St Bernardus Abt 12 and Christmas and Rochefort 10 are probably my favorites, also probably the favorites of many people.

 

[qn, post: 2097436, member: 670785"]I like Pannepot with some age on it too[/quote]
I got some 2010 and 2011 pannepots that are really trying my patience. Never had one before. Are they really that good?

 

The only problem I have with all of those (which I have as well) is keeping them to age...sooooo tasty.

 

I've had a couple great 2-3 year old Malheur 12s in the past year. That's a reasonably priced beer that is a great quad with age. These were the 11.2 oz bottles. I've only seen the 750s lately. Either way, that's my experience with aged quads.

 

I let a Chimay Blue (I consider it a quad) age for just a year, and it made a huge difference. I have a special 2012 reserve that's not being opened until at least 2017.

 

Rochefort 10 and Chimay blue are the two best readily available quads for aging (IMO).

Rochefort 10 is in its prime at 3-5 years, but you can experiment beyond that also. Great price point for experimenting too.

My personal (overly general) rules of thumb:

Quads: 3-6 years
Stouts: 1-3 years
Barleywines: 2-5 years
Old Ales: Sky is the limit
Lambics: Sky is the limit

 

I must've had dozens of different Belgian quads get a year or more in my cellar over the past decade, and I struggle to think of any that haven't at least held up well, if not improved. I'm a binge-buyer and one-off drinker, rather than the other way around, so that has given me more experience with aging than intended ... As I have the benefit of proximity, I will grab a case of St. Bernie 12 or Rochie 10 or something every year or so, and hide it in a corner. The big Westy, for me, peaks around 5 years, but after that remains a special experience, with a forgivingly gentle decline and interesting changes along the way. I actually don't think I've aged a Chimay Blue; I had a red foisted on my once, and it smelled great but tasted like nothing. Quite a number of the Belgian Christmas beers fall into this category, like De Dolle's Stille Nacht, St. Bernie, Bush -- often discounted at end of the season, but they drink great the next year.

 

For pretty much all practical purposes, you should consider "Belgian Strong Dark Ale" (BSDA) and "Quadruple" synonymous. There's very few BSDA's that can't be considered quads. So definitely take into account BSDA's when you look for cellar-worthy quads.

Gouden Carolus Cuvee Van de Kaizer Blue is great between 2 and 4 years old, beyond that I can't vouch for it. Allagash Odyssey is great around 2 years.

 

Talking about the Belgian strong darks- one of the best I've had was the Unibroue (yes Unibroue- people hardly ever mention their awesome brews) Grand Reserve 17 bottled 12/12/11. Had 4 of them this fall and they blew me away. Still have 2 more that will ripen for another year or 2. Oh and have you tried their Trois Pistoles with a couple of years on it??

 

Yeah they brew some quality Belgian styles.

La Terrible was pretty tasty at about 2 years old.

 

Unibroue also makes the Trader Joe's Vintage Ales......They age awesome AND are only $6!!! I have '11, '12' and '13 vintages and do a vertical every year with them and I'm never disappointed

 

And one more thing about Unibroue... have you checked out their prices? 9 bucks for a bomber? With all this extra money in my pocket I could buy a whole country!

 

I heard- wish I had a Trader Joe's that sells booze near me

 

Just drank a 2 year old Ovila. Relatively easy to find and an approachable price point, highly recommend!