To age or not to age?

If that's the case, why don't you age the BBA stuff for longer, and the not BBA stuff for less? Personally, I like to let the bigguns sit for a year, but its all up to you. If I were you, I'd hold on to the Abyss, Sucaba, Parabola, Black Butte for longer (1+ years), but that's just me, and that Black Butte was just a gnarly beer this year... big and syrupy, sweey and figgy.

 

I age most of those beers

 

try them fresh before you put anything away.

Enjoy

 

Bourbon flavours will generally mellow out with time, yes. Anything aged in bourbon barrels you'd probably do best to sit on for 6-18 months if you don't like big bourbon flavour.

As mentioned, the generally accepted rule is to try fresh, and then base your aging plans for a given beer on your findings. When you only have one of something, this luxury isn't available. Many will tell you to just drink it fresh if you only have one. I wouldn't go that far - you can base your decision on feedback you read online (always, of course, keeping in mind that it is a guideline only), and age conservatively. For an imperial stout or porter, 12-18 months is a good range to allow alcohol notes to mellow out without excessive oxidization.

Every beer is a different story but on average, if you stick to aging 2 years or less you won't have too many bad experiences. Base your aging time on what you read on BA reviews (ie "too hot" kind of notes). Never be afraid to pop open a bottle right after buying, but use common sense - if it's 11.5% ABV, chances are it wouldn't hurt to put a year on it. If it's 7%, jump right in.

I generally put a year on my barleywines right off the bat. It's a safe age that will typically have good results. I wouldn't put 5 years on a barleywine without a lot more research. I think stouts are almost always best to drink fresh (6 mo. or less) if you only have one, but there's of course no hurry.