Cellaring Sours

Discussion in 'Cellaring / Aging Beer' started by alysmith4, Apr 5, 2013.

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  1. alysmith4

    alysmith4 Pooh-Bah (1,738) Feb 11, 2005 District of Columbia
    Pooh-Bah

    Better to cellar a sour or drink "fresh?" I know they're generally low(er) in alcohol, so I wasn't sure.
     
    #1 alysmith4, Apr 5, 2013
  2. hooliganlife

    hooliganlife Pooh-Bah (1,759) Apr 12, 2007 Missouri
    Pooh-Bah

    Depends

    American, usually better fresh or within 3 years. I find most American sours fall after 3 years. Again, this varies greatly.

    Belgian lambic / gueuze - as long as you can wait, they will age.
     
    #2 hooliganlife, Apr 5, 2013
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  3. cLin

    cLin Initiate (0) Jul 21, 2010 California

    I think it is totally up to your personal taste preference. Sure, many sours can hold up and change over a long period of time, but does it get better? It's entirely up to you.

    I would suggest you to try a beer both fresh and aged and then see which you prefer. This could vary by beer, as well.
     
    #3 cLin, Apr 5, 2013
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  4. stupac2

    stupac2 Pooh-Bah (2,031) Feb 22, 2011 California
    Pooh-Bah

    One thing that neither of the above guys mentioned is if the sour is fruited the fruit flavors will fade fairly fast. You'll pretty much always be able to taste some fruit, but if you really want it to sing you want to drink fresh.
     
    #4 stupac2, Apr 5, 2013
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  5. alysmith4

    alysmith4 Pooh-Bah (1,738) Feb 11, 2005 District of Columbia
    Pooh-Bah

    Thanks for the info. I picked up a couple of Weyerbacher 2012 Riserva (not technically a sour, and high abv) and that's what got me thinking. If I don't drink 'em relatively soonish, I didn't know if I should try to trade them off while they're still good. And all that got me to thinking about cellaring sours in general.

    Thanks again!
     
    #5 alysmith4, Apr 5, 2013
  6. Pahn

    Pahn Initiate (0) Dec 2, 2009 New York

    +

    with the addendum that i think 3 years is pushing it. most american wild ales that i've had get released right when they're tasting perfect, then they don't so much "develop" as "get more muddled / muted". purely my opinion, with limited experience (all the major russian rivers, brute, lebleu, easier to get lost abbeys, a few captain lawrence, the cisco sours, 4~5 cascade variations, avery, 2~3 allagash sours, riserva, a few others over the years).
     
    #6 Pahn, Apr 5, 2013
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