What beers to age?

Maharajah, that beer tastes more like a barley-Wine than an IPA!

 

I've learned also that it's all down to personal taste. I age most every beer I buy, but I also try them all fresh. There's limits to a beer with age and there's limits to your tastes buds, and each person will see a different result with every beer they age or don't. No one has done the full scientific research to every beer under the Sun in every possible situation, so no one ever really knows the outcome. The guy who loves a Solstice D'Hiver with three years on it at 55 degree temps might disagree with the guy who has a five year bottle sitting in 40 degree temp. There is no right/wrong here, but I always suggest to try fresh before you age anything to know the baseline.
The only beers I've seen really 'change' usually turn sour, from an infection or what have you, the rest either mellow, lose hops, or die down altogether. And all those points can be viewed as good or bad depending on the person drinking.
I had a 1999 Belgian Wit recently and loved it. I don't think many people would think that'd be a candidate for 13 years of aging. To each his own.

 

There really are three things I consider when deciding whether to age a brew or not:

• The recommendations from the brewery
• Historical precedent pertaining to that style (or a very similar style)
• Feedback from others who share results of their experiences

There was a statement made earlier regarding lambic being the only style that is unarguably worth aging. However, there is a very long history in the countries that now make up the U.K. of brewing strong abv old ales and barleywines that were intended to be aged, some for over two decades, before they were enjoyed.

This historical precedent is a good starting point. For example, The Bruery's Fruet is a high abv BA Old Ale. Although traditional high abv old ales weren't bourbon barrel-aged, Fruet should be a good candidate for aging. Plus, it will be interesting to see what an aged old ale with an American twist is like. As far as similar styles, American wheatwines are a fairly new style and exhibit some of the same qualities as barleywines. Although there is not much history to go on, it seems reasonable they should age well. The same goes for American Wild Ales that are sours (not all AWA's are sours) when compared to Belgian lambics etc.

Another great place to check for information is the bottle label. Both Boulevard and The Bruery come to mind immediately as breweries that provide information regarding aging that brew right on the label. On the label of Deschutes Abyss, an imperial stout, there is actually a best after date instructing people to age this brew before drinking. There might even be more sources of information available from the brewery. Above everything else, I most heavily consider any recommendations from the brewery.