BCBCS aging

the coffee will die off a bit

 

I had a year old BCBCS and it definitely had a good not too strong coffee flavor to it. Age will take off that alcohol burn and lessen some of the coffee flavor - but it will still be there. Thats my experience.

 

If you're looking for coffee flavor primarily, I think you're better off with Speedway Stout or Peche Mortel.

 

I had the same question about the Proprietors. I'm assuming the coconut will die off too?

 

The coffee faded significantly a year later on the 2012 BCBCS. With that said, it was still fantastic.

In my opinion there is a bit less coffee present in the current fresh batch compared to fresh last year. Personally though, I prefer the 2013. With all that said, I guess you will get even less coffee presence down the road.

Overall, drink it fresh if you like the coffee taste, but toy won't be disappointed with age either!

 

age the BCBS and Barleywine for sure BCBCS i like my BA coffee stouts fresher than aged but thats just IMO

 

general rule of thumb is treat anything coffee like hops. Hops and Coffee profiles diminish at comparable rates.

 

I would not age the Coffee more than a year, and I would drink most of what you have fresh (in terms of coffee).

The Backyard might mellow out a bit which could possible make it better, but if you age it too long the fruit will start to fade too.

Proprietors will likely fade the fastest based on what I have heard from GI brewers and other home-brewers who have used coconut.

Regular and Barleywine I would guess will both age nicely.

 

I personally wouldn't age the coffee more than 6 months. I have had 7+ year old Bourbon County Stout and it was still good, but I think 5 years is the max I would age it.

 

IMO the quality of coffee flavor can diminish faster than hop flavor. I will not say that coffee beers are not enjoyable with age but if you are drinking the beer for the coffee you best be drinking it fresh.

In terms of the BCS standard, fresh or aged its all delicious. Feel free to do what you wish with minimal concern regarding the outcome.

 

In the spring of this year, a group of us did a Bourbon County tasting, which included 2010, 2011, and 2012 coffee. I believe the group consensus was that 2011 was the best, and some placed 2010 ahead of 2012 and others placed 2012 ahead of 2010. In both the 2010 and 2011 bottles, there was definitely still coffee present.

 

My experience also.

 

This year's Coffee has so much coffee flavor that I have trouble believing it will fade into oblivion in one year. It's also not particularly boozy by Bourbon County ____ standards in my opinion, but whatever floats your boat.

 

This is good news! I have a 2011 Coffee bomber that I was getting to, but was worried it was going to be almost gone. I will, however, drink this in the next couple of weeks. Thanks for the update!

 

I see that as a win-win. I personally felt the Backyard was a bit too bright and fruit forward.

 

Same here. I placed the 2010 Coffee the best of the bunch when we did this earlier in the year.

 

Just one man's opinion, but for me Coffee Stouts have a "weird" period if you age them. Fresh, great. Fairly old, great. but there's a period from like years 1-2.5 or 3 where the coffee just tastes stale. Fresh you get everything the coffee is supposed to be; big flavor profile, nice little nuances. Aged you get those hints of "coffee" flavor, but not a ton of nuance or character from the coffee. and in the middle, to me at least, it tastes like someone poured week-old folgers into your beer.

I noticed this most on KBS. The coffee on that on seems to get "weird" quicker (after 4-6 months). Had a 2011, and it was still weird. Had a 2009 and it was okay. Had a 2008, and it was solid.

Again, all personal preference tho.

Gonna do the BCS Coffee 2010-13 in a couple weeks; glad to hear the 2010 is still getting some love.

 

Personally, I would not age this beer. You age English Barleywines, Russian Imperial Stouts, Lambics, Quads, Coins, Stamps, Art, Stock Portfolios, and Comic Books.

Not BCBCS.