Expedition stout

I have some bottles from October 2012 that are absolutely delicious. So at least that long.

 

expedition ages wonderfully!

 

I'm drinking some tomorrow it's the 2 year birthday on my expedition, this is my favorite stout and the one that got me into stouts keep aging them as long as you can and taste one every six months or so.

 

I have had this as old as 7 years and it was still great, crazy smooth

 

In 2011, *16* year old Expedition won gold at GABF in aged beer category.
Bell's says that it has a shelf life of "unlimited." I'd believe it.
Oldest I've personally had is 6 year & I regret opening it (not because it was bad.. just curious about having older).

 

Reading the last two posts on this thread make me kind of regret that I opened a 4 year old bottle today, it was great. Think I will be buying more just to age.

 

Age it for as long as you can keep your hands off of it. It just gets better and better.

 

Ive Had up to 8years. Got a 6 year 6 pack vert going right now. The beer is great fresh. But 3 years and on its just smooth goodness! DEF pick some up each year to put away. No doubt one of the best cellaring beers IMO

 

I had 2010 and 2012 earlier this year. Fantastic Beer. Seems to get better with age..

 

Anything with high alpha acid hops develops cardboard flavour very quickly. Minimizing dissolved oxygen greatly slows the process. High beta acid content is necessary for aging.

I think 2 years max.

 

In theory you may be right but this is a beer that defies theory . Lots of folks including myself have had great success aging this one for 3 years or more . The 5 year old Expedition I had was excellent . Try one with at least 3 years on it if you can .

 

I'll give it a shot. I have 3 left from Fall 2014. I'll have one a year from here on. I can always buy another 6 pack!

 

I went to a tasting where some brought a vert from 2005 to 2014. I thought 2005 and 2006 were oxidized and had a sort of medical liqueur flavor. 3-4 years seemed the be the sweet spot where the beer became really smooth and the had some nice dark fruit notes.

 

I opened up a 2009 a couple weeks ago. Carbonation had faded a little. I thought the sweet fruit/berry flavors that are still present in 3-4 year bottles had faded a lot. I prefer it with 3 years on it.

 

Kevin? @kzoobrew

 

I was at the MI Winter Beer fest early this year and they had bottles that were something like 10 years old. It was too cold to really taste anything but the beers I had didn't seem like they had really degraded too much. I think it's safe to assume Bells cellars their beer properly...

 

Every year for Christmas I buy a six pack for myself, drink two and age four for a vertical. Every year, the oldest vintage I try is the best...

 

In 2012, I review fresh 2012 Expedition on draft, as well as aged bottles of 2007 and 2008. The bottles of 2007 and 2008 Expedition were given to me by the kind gentleman who actually brewed those two batches of Expedition Stout at Bells! He was kind enough to gift them to me from his personal beer cellar. He also mentioned that these are two of the better vintages of Expedition stout as far as aging is concerned due to the high residual sugars when he brewed those two batches(the 07 and 08 vintages). The cliff notes of my reviews say that aged Expedition is awesome and fresh is a bit too harsh for my tastes; Expedition stout should age for a long time. I wold not be surprised if 10 years in the bottle that Expedition would still be a pretty tasty stout. Here are my notes:

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/287/1444/?ba=4DAloveofSTOUT

 

Last year, I stumbled across a store that didn't look like they moved a lot of craft beer. They had Expedition on the shelf from 2011. I should have bought more, but I grabbed a sixer. Those bottles have been sitting on a dusty shelf under florescent lights for years ... and that beer is still so goddamn delicious. I've got a few left sitting in my darkest, coldest closet. I'm trying to forget about them, but every once in a while I remember they're in there. It's not easy to resist!