When planning to let a bottle age . . .

Discussion in 'Cellaring / Aging Beer' started by Hop-Droppen-Roll, Dec 6, 2013.

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  1. Hop-Droppen-Roll

    Hop-Droppen-Roll Initiate (0) Nov 5, 2013 Minnesota

    I know a lot of 'How long shoud I age XBEER?' threads exist, but I'm looking for a broader discussion about what attributes of a beer you use as a gauge when attempting to decide how long you want to hang onto a bottle before cracking it open? I know ABV is a good stat to look at, but I've got a couple bottles of Rogue mocha porter that I know are lower ABV that I can't help but wonder whether or not they'd be great after a couple years (in case you can't tell, I am pretty new to the cellaring thing). Say you've got a stout, an imp stout, a barrel aged, different types of porters, what have you - what factors do you look at? I've also got a couple of ABC smoked porters that I've been told will last and LAST, so I know porters can be up to the task.

    Please no snarky 'buy a case and try one each year' responses. That's not practical.
     
    #1 Hop-Droppen-Roll, Dec 6, 2013
  2. tjensen3618

    tjensen3618 Maven (1,391) Mar 23, 2008 California

    If there is a flavor in the beer that I think should be mellowed out, booze, coffee, smoke, licorice, hops etc... I'll let it sit around and hope it smooths out and gets better.

    With a couple of exceptions I'm not really into aging beers that I like for the sake of experimentation.
     
    #2 tjensen3618, Dec 6, 2013
  3. BiereBlanche

    BiereBlanche Initiate (0) Nov 15, 2007 Colorado

    But you don't know that a lot of general 'what makes a beer cellarable' threads also exist? You'll hear the same things...
    dark, high abv, malt forward, sours might hold up or improve. barrel, fruit, coffee, smoke, etc. might fade. is it hot, is it unbalanced, maybe age will help. There are lists of 'sure bets'.The science is scant, there's no guarantees, and everyone's palate is different.

    If you don't want to buy beers and try them out- fresh first then at increments (as you surely know is suggested all over this board)- then you can search through the many threads of cellar reviews and find beers that closely match what you have.

    Rogue mocha doesn't do nice things after ~6 months in a box. ymmv
     
    #3 BiereBlanche, Dec 6, 2013
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  4. TheEvilOnionKnight

    TheEvilOnionKnight Initiate (0) Oct 8, 2013 California

    heres how you pick when to drink a beer.

    1. get friends that actually enjoy a good craft beer
    2. drink rare craft beers together
    3. $$$

    my and 2 other workers are actually planning a quad night pretty soon here. it will consist of a year old bbq, a year old bernardus 12, and a couple westy 12's cuz one of us has that. i might even throw in a black tuesday to help balance the price of those westys. enjoying beers like that is so much more rewarding and fun than cellaring them for yourself

    ps, sour night is going to be bad fuking ass. we all have cantillons, drie fonteinens, and cascades ready to go
     
    #4 TheEvilOnionKnight, Dec 7, 2013
  5. HighWine

    HighWine Initiate (0) Dec 11, 2010 Illinois

    For beers I haven't already tried or bottles I've been sitting on a while, I'll consult reviews to hear what people are saying. I always appreciate when raters list the bottle date in their reviews so I can learn about the beer's characteristics at different ages. For example, I'm waiting to hear that some of the alcohol heat dies down a bit more before opening my bottle of Stone Belgo Old Guardian.

    I've got too many beers and have actually started lists of bottles that I need to open very soon or in the not-too-distant-future so I lessen the risk of over aging. I tend to buy a lot of impy stouts and Barleywines so when I don't drink them right away, they tend to hold up alright.
     
    #5 HighWine, Dec 7, 2013
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