As a general rule, if I haven't had a beer before I try to drink it as fresh as possible. Why? Because if you age it, how do you know if it got better or worse or stayed the same? You need a frame of reference. Having said that, MOST beers either stay roughly the same or go downhill when aged. So if you're unsure about it, it's never a bad idea to drink something fresh. For example, I've never had a beer fresh that was disgusting yet ended up sublime after a few years on it. Just my experience, anyway. Dope
My personal experience is that a bit of time does Black Ops plenty of good. I've consistently enjoyed bottles that were 1-2 years old a bit more than relatively fresh bottles.
Great beer with age. I had a 2008 on my birthday this year and I thought it was fantastic. Really fine and soft carbonation with dusty cocoa and a touch of rounded caramel.
I like it best with roughly 1.5-2 years on it. I still like it fresh but it's a bit hot. Personally if I hadn't had it before I'd pick up 2 and drink one now and one next winter. Or if you open it and like it go back out and get another bottle or two.
