Old ales to age

Hair of the Dog - Adam (or one of its variants). Great old ale. Easy enough to get on the west coast, not sure about OH though. You could easily trade for it.

But get a few, and have some fresh and as they age.

 

Founders Vintage for tha win!

 

Or Double Bastard is a great option.

 

A couple other that come to mind. Great Divide Hibernation, which to me is much different than than Curmudgeon and Third Coast. The Hibernation has a spicy characteristic to it.

Also try and get your hands on Kuhnhenn Forth Dementia. You should be able to trade fairly easily for it since it is produced in Michigan. I have a bottle sitting in the cellar just waiting to be drank.

 

My favorite fresh or aged Old is North Coast Old Stock Ale!

 

BB4D

/Thread

 

harviestoun's ola dubh barrel aged series

 

All bow to BB4D.

 

I assume you've looked here too?
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/style/79/?sort=avgD

 

I'm pretty sure Really Old Brown Dog from Smuttynose is an old ale. If you can get it local then do. It's only $7-$8 for a bomber and drinks great fresh or with age.

 

NC Old Stock is hands down the best readily available old ale to age. I had an '06 myself recently (alongside a '10 and a '13) and was absolutely blown away-one of the best beers I've ever had. I'd also suggest Fuller's Vintage Ale, JW Lees (classified as a BW, but the border between these styles is pretty vague), and, if you can find some old bottles, Thomas Hardy's.

I always see Adam mentioned in these threads and it kinda makes me cringe. Adam is classified as an old ale for lack of any style that fits this beer; but, even for a style as vague and nebulous as old ales, Adam comes nowhere near hitting the mark. I'm not criticizing this beer-in fact, it's one of my all time faves and does age incredibly well, but is nothing-NOTHING-like an old ale. Having said that, if you're not tied to the style and just want a great beer fresh or an even better beer aged, you really can't go wrong with Adam.

 

Eel River Triple Exultation

 

In terms of the big boozy American versions, I'll second the Kuhnhenn suggestions and add in the Bruery anniversary beers. No-go in Ohio for either, but they're not impossible to trade for. Third Coast is probably the best in terms of how well it improves with age, besides the English barleywines/strong ales like Thomas Hardy's and JW Lees.

The Ola Dubh series depends on what you like. They're not like the very strong US old ales, so aging won't be exactly the same. You should definitely try them fresh regardless of your aging plans, though, excellent beers.

 

Hibernation, Old Man Winter, Old Jubilation, all the Ola Dubhs, Fuller's Vintage Ales, Old Stock, Old Brown Dog, hell, ANY old ale is fine to age. That's the whole point in the style.

 

Fruet is also a good candidate.

 

I agree. Adam blew me away, such an amazing beer but didn't really seem like an old ale.

 

Another vote for the Fullers vintage ales. I've seriously enjoyed some of those.