Im trying to build up a nice little cellar. Can anyone tell me if these beers were meant to be aged. By aged I mean 4-5 years. Please note I do not have these beers, but planning on doing some big trades to acquire them. Lost Abbey - Duck Duck Gooze Bourbon Vanilla Dark Lord Cigar City - DB Huna Cigar City - Life is Like Hill Farmstead - BG&E Assassin BA Abraxas Coffee Abraxas Your insight is always appreciated. Thank you.
You can go either way with this, if you havent had any of these beers before it is usually suggested that you drink them fresh. Aging a beer that you never had before you wont be able to tell what the aging has done.
I think that DDG can hold up for a few years. But since it is fruited probably not more than 3 before it starts to change significantly. BVDL is getting some mixed reviews from the 2013 release so I think that it may be beginning to fall off depending on how it's been stored, etc. So I think 2 years is probably about it's best by date. As far as DB huna goes, it's still kickin! Just as good as it was fresh and I think it will probably hold up for another several months depending on how it is stored. Last year's assassin and kbbs are reportedly still tasting excellent. No idea about abraxas or BG&E but I think a good rule for flavored stouts is two years max. And that's only if it is stored in a temperature controlled environment. But as @Iamjeff6 said, when you get one of those, drink it fresh to see if you even like the beer and if you do then trade for another one and age it a little bit. Or you can hold onto it for a month if you don't want to drink it right away and admire it everyday in your cellar before you drink it. If you want some beers that are good for aging long term, get some non fruited sours, cantillon, 3f, or non flavored old ales, strong ales, quads, dubbels, stuff like that.
Has anyone tried these specific beers: BA Old Rasputin 15,16 North Coast Old Stock Ale 2011, 2012 North Coast Grand Cru 2011 Unibroue 17 Grand Reserve 2011 If so, what would you say regarding aging them longer vs. drinking them now.
