Brick Westvleteren 12

No brick, but based on the few I've had a chance to try both here and in Belgium, for my tastes this beer is best between about 6 mos out to about 2-2 1/2 years out. After two years it holds up reasonably well for a least another year but doesn't seem to me to improve, and I've chatted with people who've had it a lot more than I have and who think its fine out to about 5 years. However, if that were my beer I'd target drinking it this coming month and compare notes with what I got and liked out of the first two you had.

 

I agree with drtth- I've heared tell of bottles going around at a decade or two, but those were rarities at best and the theme of the reviews was "way past prime". I've been fortunate to trade for 2 six packs with a fellow that only asked for Big Sky (floored me and he knew, best trade ever). Those beers were good fresh, great at 6 months, still good at a year- but I didn't see much long term potential as the sugars and alcohol simply weren't there.

Not sure on the new westy 12 pack, I want to say I've heard it is a different beer (dare I say lesser?) on these forums.

 

I've only had it a few times (no brick here either sorry to say) but I actually like it better with years on it. I just recently had an almost 6 year old bottle and it was sublime.

 

This is almost all I've heard about this beer, and quads in general. That it gets better with age. I have a few in my cellar that I haven't drank quite yet (waiting to drink this beer when I finish my CPA, only 1 section left!) but they've been sitting in my cellar for about a year and half.

I was under the impression that most belgian beers are good for aging because they don't have a lot of superficial additives and flavors.

 

My best experiences with laying down a beer have been quads, but not every single bottle was a success. I can't imagine Westvleteren falling off so young, but there's no way to know the bottle's life before you either.

 

I had an eight year old bottle a few days ago. No idea how it had been stored. It tasted somewhat porty, but nowhere near as strong as the seven year old Chimay blue I had this summer. Still very carbonated. Seemed easier to pick up the alcohol. Nice complexity, but I think I prefer the fresh to the eight year old, as some of the plum character had disappeared.

 

Good luck on that last part of the exam, I was a CPA years ago and remember how much of a bitch that test was.

Back to topic, I have no idea if anything has to do with the additives, but I'll tell you there was no oxidation at all, not even a little bit. That's what made the beer so elegant and silky with the age. Damn it was good and I'm not even the hugest quad fan.