I have been drinking craft beer for over a decade now. But have just started aging/collecting beer within the last year, as I am now receiving a paycheck having finished grad school and am able to buy more beer than I drink. I have done research and know the basics of aging, but have a few questions on specific beers. In celebration of my 3rd kid and 1st daughter being born, I bought a pair of Love Child No 3's. I drank the first on the night of her birth and plan on drinking the second on her birthday in the future. The bottle recommends drinking within two years but I was wondering how BA sours usually hold up for longer periods. I was hoping to drink the other on a more significant birthday such as 10 or possibly even 16 or 21. I know its difficult to determine since the 1st edition is only 2 years old now. I have a couple Big Sky beers in the cellar. A 2010 kriek, which I have heard terrible things about, and a 2012 All Souls Dark Tripel. Is the Kriek a lost cause and should I just open soon and try, or will it ever have a chance of improving? What would be a good timeline on the tripel? Thanks in advance for any advice.
As a basic rule of thumb, American sour ales don't really tend to do well with more than a few years on them. Add in that it's bourbon barrel aged and you're gonna lose that aspect after a significant amount of time as well. I did drink a Love Child #2 a couple months ago and I think it was about as good as I remember it being fresh, but that certainly wasn't after 10+ years. I just wouldn't do it with that particular beer. If you want it to be a sour beer, grab some Hannsens Gueuze or Tilquin, or see if you can get your hands on some Cantillon or Drie Fonteinen beers since they have been known to hold up over a very long time period. If it doesn't have to be sour, collect about a case of Sierra Nevada Bigfoot and completely forget about it for 10 years and you can thank me then. Onto the Big Sky Kriek. Open it right now. Take a sip. Pour the rest out into your least favorite drain. How that beer ever made it into a bottle and sold is absolutely beyond my realm of comprehension.
Thanks for the info. My beer to open on one of her birthdays definitely doesn't have to be a sour, I just thought it was perfect that I saw these on the shelves the week before she was born and it was their 3rd incarnation, as well as my own. I will probably pop it on her 1st or 2nd bday then. I am going to try finding another style to age for the long haul. Barley wines are one of my favorite styles and have trouble not drinking them all. I have made many attempts to cellar Bigfoot, but get too tempted and end up drinking my supply. The 2012 didn't last, but I have a couple 2013 that are in the basement and I plan on picking up a couple more 4 packs before they disappear.
