There are quite a few Bruery beers that they claim can be aged for "decades", including beers like: -Black Tuesday -Chocolate Rain -Fruet (and other Anniversary Old Ales) -Melange #3 As someone new into the cellar game and a RS member, I have been inclined to pick up multiples of these relatively expensive beers in hopes of seeing how they develop down the road. I love the thought of cracking open a beer I've been sitting on for 10+ years and tasting something unlike anything I've ever had before. Let's be honest though, I can't help but question The Bruery's claims of being able to age their beers for so long. As I am someone new to the world of aging, are they off the mark with such claims? Based on people's experience with similar styles, at what point would some of their beers peak? Wouldn't oxidation be a huge issue down the road? I know people have had 15+ year old bottles from Hair of the Dog with nothing but positive comments, isn't oxidation an issue with their beers too?
Oxidation isn't necessarily a bad thing, just a side affect. Bad things would be keeping beer in light and heat. Also, any beer could be aged for decades, but those beers with higher ABV's, 9% - 10%+, typically withstand the test of time the best. And when I say any beer could be aged for decades, I'm not saying it will necessarily be good
A lot of bottles of Trinity beer say "cellarable indefinitely", which makes me wonder the same thing. I suppose anything can be cellared for decades if you don't mind it tasting bad.
You never know if it will taste bad, but you can almost certainly guarantee that it will taste different than the original product. Now if the original product was bad then you can assume it can't get much better, but you never know.
It's all subjective. A few months ago I opened a 1999 Blanche De Charleroi I found at a place last year. Granted I didn't know it was that old when I bought it and wouldn't have thought it'd be good being over a decade old. I tried it anyway and enjoyed it. Sure it wasn't a huge Belgian Wit like I expected, but the flavors were still there, though a little muted, and it was still carbonated enough to form a small head. I've also opened a beer still in it's prime and been heavily disappointed, and poured it out. There's really no way to ever know for certain until you test it for yourself. Other people's experiences/opinions can't really be used as a rule because everyone's tastes and cellaring conditions differ, and every bottle has it's own characteristics too. Breweries are basing their findings solely on those as well, no one has documented data confirming anything about a beer's ability to age other than what those experiences. It's really just a big guessing game for us all, which is part of the fun.
since the bruery has only been around for 4 or 5 years, theres no realy way to know how long. however i do hear the 09 bt is tasting pretty incredible now
Hey All-- Our cellaring recommendations are based upon my tasting of my own homebrews and beers we've cellared with similar qualities and having a positive experience in cellaring them. We're almost five years old, so we certainly don't know for sure what these beers will taste like with decades of age, but we can make some educated guesses. For our beers that are above 14% ABV, the alcohol, residual sugar and melanoidins in the malt play a huge role in preserving the beer and flavor development as they age. Oxidation will take a sherry-like flavor (nutty, trecle, raisin) and alcohol will likely become less noticeable / more integrated. In lower alcohol beers, oxidation often takes a stale, cardboard flavor that is not pleasant. Our anniversary beers and Black Tuesday are very slow to change, so it may take 3-5 years before you notice a substantial difference in flavor. We feel confident that these beers are going to age gracefully if cellared properly. In bottle conditioned sour beers, the low pH preserves the beer so they are also suitable for aging. The brett / funk flavors may develop further, and the beer may become more sour or less sour with age. They are interesting to age for 1-3 years but I don't see much change in flavor after that point. Whether any beer improves with age is all about your personal preferences. That's my take on aging beers, hope it was helpful! Cheers, Patrick The Bruery
All their beers that say you can cellar them for decades are waxed on the top. So the only chance for oxidation I can see is with the small amount of headspace, not like there is any exchange through the glass or wax. I have a case of this years BT and a case of this years Parabola. I will be anxious to see how (or if) the oxidation changes them differently given that Parabola is not waxed.
