Cycle Brewing - Simple

Discussion in 'Cellaring / Aging Beer' started by mgundy32, Feb 2, 2020.

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  1. mgundy32

    mgundy32 Pundit (878) Aug 21, 2019 Wisconsin
    Trader

    I was able to pick up a couple of bottles of Cycle Brewing's Simple today. Best I can tell from the bottles this is a 12% non adjunct BA stout. I noted the label indicated "Do not age, drink fresh."

    I have not been aging beer for long, or (at this time anyway) for any particular reason other than having more than I can drink fresh.

    Any thoughts on the drink fresh recommendation? Seems strange to me to put that on a BA stout. Searching here on BA I see many have pointed out that breweries release beers when they think they're ready to be consumed, and maybe it's no more than that.

    Also curious if this may be a brewery specific thing, though a couple of their bottles of Maple MW (a maple and lactose old ale) didn't have the same drink fresh recommendation.
     
    #1 mgundy32, Feb 2, 2020
  2. unlikelyspiderperson

    unlikelyspiderperson Grand Pooh-Bah (3,966) Mar 12, 2013 California
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I've seen this same thing on their 'rare dos' bottles.

    My guess is that their belief is that they barrel age their stouts to the point when they believe they are best and they want you to drink it then.

    What drives me crazy is that there wasn't a date on the rare dos bottle I came across. How can I drink fresh if I don't even know when it was bottled?
     
    #2 unlikelyspiderperson, Feb 5, 2020
  3. mgundy32

    mgundy32 Pundit (878) Aug 21, 2019 Wisconsin
    Trader

    That's a good point. Definitely no bottle date on these bottles either.
     
    #3 mgundy32, Feb 5, 2020
  4. JrGtr

    JrGtr Pooh-Bah (1,775) Apr 13, 2006 Massachusetts
    Pooh-Bah

    I would say to drink one now, take some good notes on it, and drink the other in 6 month, a year, whatever time frame you feel comfortable. You can tell then if it ages well or not, so you can plan for the next time you get it.
     
    #4 JrGtr, Feb 18, 2020
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  5. DIM

    DIM Grand Pooh-Bah (4,788) Sep 28, 2006 Pennsylvania
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    In my experience BA stouts may hold up well, that is to say quality does not drop off much for the first year or so. But I don't recall ever noticing any improvement over time with a BA stout. The base beer has already been aging for some time, perhaps over a year. I say heed the breweries words and enjoy them at your leisure, but sooner rather than later.
     
    #5 DIM, Feb 18, 2020
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  6. Luscious_Malfoy

    Luscious_Malfoy Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,068) Oct 5, 2016 Illinois
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    all Cycle BA stouts say that on the label. at least every bottle i’ve ever consumed. i will say, i’ve always heeded the brewery’s advice and drank fresh but i also don’t think BA stouts benefit that much from aging (with the exception of maybe BCBS). that said, since it is no adjuncts i would think it would be fine for 6-12 months.
     
    #6 Luscious_Malfoy, Mar 8, 2020
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  7. Davl22

    Davl22 Maven (1,341) Sep 27, 2011 New Hampshire
    Trader

    I'll second this. I had it fresh on draft and thought it was killer, but since it doesn't have adjuncts I'm not rushing to drink my bottle.
     
    #7 Davl22, Mar 20, 2020
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