Does Praire Bomb! benefit from aging?

No, I don't think Bomb! benefits from aging. When it is fresher all of the various flavors are in balance. As it ages some of them fade at different rates and the results get weirder. Some of the older ones I tasted had a pronounced vegetable flavor that was not appealing (maybe some aspect of the chili that was no longer hidden by the other more faded flavors).

Most beers involving coffee or vanilla are not going to get better with age.

 

Doesn't really age that well. Had a bottle of Bomb! w/ Orange Wax (Batch 5), with about 18 months age on it, back in December and it was not remotely close to what a fresh Bomb! tastes like. All the flavors were very muted and the chili had disappeared entirely.

 

Drank an orange wax tonight! was wonderful. chili was very tempered down but overall flavor was great

 

"nuisances" rather than "nuances"......... Was that a Freudian slip reflecting your dislike of the spices?

 

I've had fresh and with 6 months on it. Not huge into pepper beers, so I enjoyed the 6 month one. Had just enough pepper to know it was there, but not too much.

 

I drank Bomb! with about 2 years on it last week. I didn't intend to age it for a long time, but it got overlooked in the shuffle for awhile.

I found the peppers still to be somewhat lively, although not as pronounced as a fresh one. I thought both the coffee and chocolate aspects became noticeably acrid with time. I remember the fresh Bomb(s)! I've had before was very smooth at any temperature.

I'll likely be buying some more Bomb! in the future, but I won't be cellaring any.

 

I would have to agree with the other posters - I had a few that were forgotten for under a year (guessing a couple at 3 months and one at 9 months) and they were both nowhere near as "lively," for lack of a better term, as the fresh BOMB! is. Didn't pick up much vanilla at all in those.

 

No, the spices fade. I wouldn't go beyond a year. It is fun to see what spices go back and forth throughout months 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, etc 11-12

 

I noticed the chilli chill out but the vanilla really shines after a few months.

 

On a related note, I did a side by side with fresh, and 1 year aged Christmas bomb. Fresh was far, far better

 

Was this last years and this years? Many posts indicating this years version was much better than last years was when it was fresh too (different recipe). So may not be a good comparison of aged vs fresh.

 

Had an orange wax, batch 5, January 2014 Bomb this weekend and it tasted nothing like fresh. I actually didn't get any of the additives at all. Just tasted like a nice imperial stout.

 

Fresh is so nice this year, especially when it's on the warmer side. Seems like one that's ready to go now.

 

Wow glad I read this I bought 10 bottles and was going to drink one per month and see how it changed, may just drink them all before summer!!

 

Drank one tonight with probably 6-9 months age on it and the pepper overshadowed all other flavors. Not that there's anything wrong with that....

 

I have one in my cellar, if the chili calms down or gets lost I will keep it there a little longer!

 

In general I don't think many stouts with adjuncts such as coffee, chocolate, etc. get any better.