Top 5 Beers to age!

Had a Duvel aged 5 years that was fantastic so I wouldn't say you have to drink after 2 years

 

Going to add Narwhal to my list. Had a 2014 the other day and it was unreal. The reason I aged it is I hated it fresh - found it way too hop forward for a stout, with age it turned into a toasty, coffee forward beast. Glad I have two more tucked away!

 

I had a 2012 Mad Elf (actually a couple) back in 2015 at a wedding and it may have been one of the best things I have ever tasted. I just started the aging thing this week since I finally have a basement and a nice shelf to use. Already put a 6 pack of Mad Elf down there and will probably add more Mad Elf. Also put down there 6 bottles of Mad Elf Grand Cru (will drink one fresh to give me an idea of what it's like before I age the other 5 bottles) along with some other heavy hitters. Should be fun to see what works and what doesn't.

 

I had a 2011 ABT 12 at the Porter in ATL last week. Tasted like warm raisins and a little syrupy but it was DELICIOUS. Sadly, it was their last 2011 bottle.

 

I love Narwhal fresh, but with even just a year on it it's a better beer. I have yet to see what longer does to it, but I only drank one from my six pack this year. The rest are waiting at least a year.

And while I'm at it, my five beers to age:

1. Bigfoot (hard to believe how much better this beer is with age)
2. Ten Fidy (mostly because it's in cans)
3. Double Bastard (love it equally fresh or with 2-3 years)
4. Smuttynose Barleywine (because I found a ton of it cheap a few years back)
5. Narwhal

When I finally get to 5 years on some of the stuff I'm aging, I'm sure the list will change. I've been doing it for 3 years and this list reflects that.

 

I like reading the lists being a newbie. Going to get some Big Foot and Narwhal to add to my collection since they should be easy to find.

 

I have mixed feelings about aging Narwhal. I did a 2013 next to a 2017 earlier this year. Tried the 2013 first and it was good, but I definitely got some wet cardboard. Then tried the 2017 and it was pretty easy to tell I preferred the fresh one.

Sometimes I think if we tried the fresh version next to the aged version of every beer, we would change our tunes about aging many beers. Yet even after experiencing this myself, I still end up aging beers and not drinking them next to the fresh version.

 

I don't know I had Narwhal fresh and only fresh and only once and wasn't a big fan. Aging 5 hoping for better results.

 

Bell's Expedition Stout
Deschutes Abyss
Sierra Nevada Bigfoot
DFH 120 Minute
Pelican MOAS

Generally speaking, IMHO, Belgian Quads and Barrel aged beers should be enjoyed within 2-3 years. With that said i am subjecting myself to some snarkism with MOAS but that beer is way too hot for my palette until about year 3 or 4. I have one MOAS left from my 2012 purchase and i am hoping/thinking/praying to the beer gods that it will have improved - the 2011 version i had in 2016 was sublime...unfortunately i did not update my review!

 

I don’t know - I personally hated it fresh as I am not keen on Stouts that have a big hop character - found the bitterness dropped off with age and let the coffee/roast/chocolate become more prevalent.

 

Probably won't find Bigfoot right now, but it usually hits in January. Narwhal is gone here, but may still be around some places, and arrives in September I believe.

There is definitely such a thing as aging too long, especially with stouts. Try aging it just a year or two.

A year makes a big difference. As the post below describes:

 

I’ve yet to have Adam at any age that wasn’t incredible. It only seems to get better though.

Also, Avery Beast (unfortunately discontinued) is fantastic with age. Worth grabbing a bottle and forgetting about it for a decade or so if you see any left out there.

 

I've seen this kind of question come up a number of times, and one thing that doesn't get mentioned is that the birthday boy is presumably going to be an inexperienced drinker when celebrating his 21st. Who knows what beer culture will be like in 20 years; I'll hope for the best, but the celebrant's primary experience with drinking at that point may still be keg parties and box wine.

As such, I'd be wary of usual long-term ageing favorites like gueuzes and lambics, since they may go totally unappreciated by your son. I'd be more inclined to recommend big English barleywines or old ales.

I agree with you on MOAS. I like it fresh, but it's definitely a hot, boozy beast. That said, I've never been able to try one any older than four years (which I do think was an improvement).

I think all four of those suggestions would be good ones for long-term ageing that would be more accessible to new drinkers than a lot of other posts.

 

hard to pick out a certain order, but here's my 5:

- Stone IRS
- Avery's Uncle Jacob
- Alaskan Smoked Porter
- DFH World Wide Stout
- Central Waters Brewer's Reserve Bourbon Barrel Quadruple Ale (prolly my favorite aged of all of those CW Brewer's Reserve series), but most of them age tremendously awesome!

Honorable mentions to me:

SN Narwhal - Barrel Aged
Bell's Expedition
Deschutes The Abyss
North Coast Old Stock
DDC Peche Mortel
DFH Palo Santo

 

Yo. I'd do some research on what was good this year - maybe its port, wine, beer, whateves. Single malt is solid. Some things are more interesting than others - you can get a bottle of vintage armagnac pretty easily, so thats boring to buy someone as you can get it at anytime. My dad bought me a case of 1977 port. Though he was a wine guy, 1977 was a great year for port. I've still got about 6 bottles.

 

Just picked up a special 4 pack of the DFH 120 that consists of bottles from 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2011. Cant wait to get sampling.

 

I'm hoping that happens with the two bottles of Black Note that I plan on aging a couple of years. This was my first year having it and I liked it a lot fresh but think it could be even better if some of the bitterness drops off with aging.

Incidentally the bottles say "No Expiration" but I imagine they'd start to drop off around the 5-year mark. Some gueuzes have crazy best by dates (20 years out) but I doubt that a bourbon barrel aged stout would be nearly as good at 10+ years old. Anyone have experience with this?

 

I've had some well over 5 years and its hit or miss. I had a 2008 BCBS recently and it was still awesome.

 

ITT: A bunch of people with Mother of All Storms and me sitting here like, "How do I get one "

 

As odd as it sounds, I had a few brown shuggas (lagunitas) that were old in a singles selection and they were actually pretty good. Idk about putting multiple years on em, but sit a couple aside for 6 months to a year and see what I'm talking about. They lose the hops, but the malty sweetness is nice.