AmandaK

Recipes 

I didn't pose the question like that to say that you were stupid or that you can't, I have just noticed a shift towards the 'not so fresh' side when I actually did keep a Tripel around for that long.

I brewed one back in Sept 2010 and around July of the next year (after starting to drink it in December), it wasn't so good anymore. It lost it's estery/phenolic/perfumy nose and just kind of fell flat in the aroma department. So I did what anyone would do: I brewed another and drank it quickly after bottling.

YMMV, but in my own experiences, darker beers (ones with more complex flavors that need time to meld & develop - think RIS or BDSA) benefit from aging. Lighter beers (like Tripels, Blondes, or Saisons - ones with more delicate flavors) don't really benefit that much from aging, or in my case, aging degraded the beer.

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On deck: Dopplebock, Pliny, Smoked Munich Helles, Rauchbier
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Conditioning: #38 Golden Sour, #58 Hooch Cider, #67 Schwarzbier, #71 Kolsch, #76 West Coast Bitter
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SteelString_Will

Recipes 

Yeah, according to Brew Like a Monk, most triples go through a primary fermentation of 10-15 days, then are aged at around 0-2 degrees Celsius For 3-4 weeks. Then re pitched with yeast and bottle conditioned. But if you are going to age as long as you want to, definitely do it in the bottle unless you are aging on wood. Otherwise, it will be sitting on dead yeast for a long long time.

Not sure that I would recommend bottle aging this beer that long either, because you are risking oxidation by working with homebrewer equipment, and you will see those great Belgian yeast aromas fade as it ages.

bknifefight

Recipes 

High alcohol Belgians age phenomenally, in my opinion. If brewed properly, the beer will be great upon bottling, but I dont think referring to it as it ages as "falling off" is appropriate. Sure, a beer will change over time but the only way I could see it being no good after a year is if you had something wrong with it.

AmandaK

Recipes 

To each their own.

However, I didn't say it was "no good". It changed in a way that I didn't want - the delicate aromas were nearly gone. Was it infected/papery/sour/disgusting? No.

__________________
BJCP Certified Beer Judge
On deck: Dopplebock, Pliny, Smoked Munich Helles, Rauchbier
Fermenting: #72 3711 Cider Two
Souring: #32 Lambic 2.0, #49 Lambic 3.0, #60 3763 Flanders Brown, #61 WLP665 Flanders Brown
Conditioning: #38 Golden Sour, #58 Hooch Cider, #67 Schwarzbier, #71 Kolsch, #76 West Coast Bitter
Drinkin': #16 Lambic 1.0 (Drunk Monk BOS), #52 Rye Saison, #56 Saison-Brett, #57 BGSA, GUEUZE!, #69 Nelson Saison, #70 3711 Cider

aubiecat

Recipes 

Just did the same with a Belgian Dark Strong with the same results. The good thing is it will get better and better as time goes by.

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Electric BIAB Build | BIAB Mesh False Bottom | Controller/Fermentation Chest

igotsand

Recipes 

Really? That's a first for me.....
As long as you do things right, you shouldn't have any oxidation issues..


I vote to bottle now and age in bottle...
I've done both, and theres no difference...plus it frees up a carboy!
Igotsand

crazyirishman34

Recipes 

I would agree that the Duval aging model is the best for a tripple but the Dark Strong Belgian can benifit from a long bottle ageing. I just got a Chimey Blue with an 2009 date on the cork. Very tasty

homebrewdad

Recipes 

I recently started drinking an imperial nut brown that I let bulk age in secondary for about four months, then bottle age for another 4 plus. For what it's worth, I have seen zero issues with carbonation, and this is a better than 8% ABV brew.

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Homebrew Dad - blogging about making my own beer and raising a lot of kids.
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Fermenting: Yorkshire square brown ale
Bottled: Belgian golden strong ale, Yorkshire square brown ale, Leffe Blonde clone, imperial nut brown ale

Polboy

Recipes 

I agree with this statement, I can keep RIS, BDSA and Dubbels for very long time and they benefit from long aging, i have 9 months old tripel and it was better two months ago than it is now.

AmandaK

Recipes 

Agreed. I have a BDSA from February of 2011 that is aging magnificently. The version aged on Brett Lambicus is really just awesome - my how it has changed for the better!

__________________
BJCP Certified Beer Judge
On deck: Dopplebock, Pliny, Smoked Munich Helles, Rauchbier
Fermenting: #72 3711 Cider Two
Souring: #32 Lambic 2.0, #49 Lambic 3.0, #60 3763 Flanders Brown, #61 WLP665 Flanders Brown
Conditioning: #38 Golden Sour, #58 Hooch Cider, #67 Schwarzbier, #71 Kolsch, #76 West Coast Bitter
Drinkin': #16 Lambic 1.0 (Drunk Monk BOS), #52 Rye Saison, #56 Saison-Brett, #57 BGSA, GUEUZE!, #69 Nelson Saison, #70 3711 Cider