vertical tasting, start with youngest or oldest first?

I prefer oldest - youngest, but I don't think there's a wrong or right way.

 

Oldest first. But, if possible have enough glasses to line them all up so you can go back and forth

 

Open up the freshest so you get a calibration of how it tastes, the go oldest to youngest.

 

Oldest to youngest, that way your palate isn't ruined by the hotter alcohol brew.

 

I absolutely agree with the conclusion here with wine and beer. However, in my opinion it's not the alcohol that's the culprit at all (since the alcohol content never changes despite aging). The culprit is that the newest is usually more intense, forward and aggressive in just about all respects and influences your palate for the older and generally more refined, elegant and softer beer/wine.

Aging will never make a beer more assertive or bolder. Aging began with wines as a means to "soften" and "integrate" flavors; i.e., refine. Same test with beer seems to apply, although I remain a proponant that most beer (and especially barrel aged beer) should be consumed fresher and "sooner" rather than later.*

*yes, lots of exceptions, primarily sours**

**fruit sours should be tried fresh if you want the fruit! Aging these is fun and they soften but you lose the fruit the longer you age.

 

OK lets just say come 2020 when I can crack all 12 years worth of Bruery's ode to Christmas I should start with PiaPT ? These are all different styles of beers and I was thinking save the oldest for last. I may be wrong tho.

 

My personal preference would be new to old. That way you know how it's supposed to taste fresh and how it's changed over time.

 

I prefer new to old also. Assuming the older beers have been cellared properly, those are the ones that you should be looking forward to the most, so why not save the best for last? Otherwise it's like eating dessert before the meal.

That said, I'm also open to the idea of having all of them in front of you at once, if you have enough glasses.

 

All at once. Plastic tasters are cheap and if you attend enough beer fests you'll have a collection of glass tasters. Plus you can get the little snifters for like a buck a piece. It's worth doing all them together.

 

O2N