beer hauls

[OLS]

Grassy-a$$, Al-b...Now one more question before I totally threadjack. I see here and there, "put some away for
a few years, you'll be glad you did." At the risk of starting a fight over 'aging' I come from the bourbon community,
where once it's in glass, time stops. Besides the analogy to Cuban Cigars, i.e., the price will never be going DOWN,
so when you see the good stuff, grab it, what could one logically expect a beer like that to do over time?
Or maybe, which beers seem to benefit from time in the cool and dark.

[Bill86]

Originally Posted by OLS

Grassy-a$$, Al-b...Now one more question before I totally threadjack. I see here and there, "put some away for
a few years, you'll be glad you did." At the risk of starting a fight over 'aging' I come from the bourbon community,
where once it's in glass, time stops. Besides the analogy to Cuban Cigars, i.e., the price will never be going DOWN,
so when you see the good stuff, grab it, what could one logically expect a beer like that to do over time?
Or maybe, which beers seem to benefit from time in the cool and dark.

I've personally never been able to age beers, even in cases. I just drink them all.

Cigars are easier for me to set aside.....easier to horde tons in coolers then to have a ton of beers lying around. I just don't have the space for it.

In general though Imperial stouts are ones to age. IPA's in general you wouldn't want to age.

[awsmith4]

Originally Posted by OLS

Grassy-a$$, Al-b...Now one more question before I totally threadjack. I see here and there, "put some away for
a few years, you'll be glad you did." At the risk of starting a fight over 'aging' I come from the bourbon community,
where once it's in glass, time stops. Besides the analogy to Cuban Cigars, i.e., the price will never be going DOWN,
so when you see the good stuff, grab it, what could one logically expect a beer like that to do over time?
Or maybe, which beers seem to benefit from time in the cool and dark.

Others here will have far more sound advice but here is my try at advice:

Start here

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/101/

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/101/store.php


This is merely a starter article but it helped me. I started a year or so ago aging beers and its been more of an experiment than anything. Some I have held onto longer tasted better within months but lost something within a year, others sucked totally after aging and some have been better every time I try them. IPAs and other hoppy beers lose hoppiness as they age but very complex beers can benefit from time as flavors meld, as cigars. And just as stronger Cubans tend to fair longer in aging, stronger beers do as well. Some beers I've had that had a strong 'alcohol' taste became less harsh as they aged while some beers that were tasty to begin with became boring as they aged.

[kaisersozei]

Originally Posted by OLS

Grassy-a$$, Al-b...Now one more question before I totally threadjack. I see here and there, "put some away for
a few years, you'll be glad you did." At the risk of starting a fight over 'aging' I come from the bourbon community,
where once it's in glass, time stops. Besides the analogy to Cuban Cigars, i.e., the price will never be going DOWN,
so when you see the good stuff, grab it, what could one logically expect a beer like that to do over time?
Or maybe, which beers seem to benefit from time in the cool and dark.

The best beers to age are high ABV, bottle conditioned ales. This includes the Imperial stouts Bill mentioned, but also barleywines, double IPAs, Christmas ales, and many Belgians. The reason is that the yeast in these bad boys will continue to work on the beer, causing changes over time.

If you have the patience, it can pay off. Most of the beers I age are homebrews, some go back to the mid-90s. I shared a 1996 (I think) "mystery stout" at a herf a few months ago, and it was like a smooth sherry.