How long is too long to age home brew?

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penutbuttrdeath

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I have 3 home brews that have been in the back of the fridge for 3yrs now from my very first batch of beer i ever made... Black Oil from Lake Titicaca Porter. I cracked one open and it still tastes fantastic, but was it aged for too long? Whats the longest youve aged a beer for?
 
I have one left from my first brew almost 3 years ago.

as long as you take care of them and your sanitation practices are sound, the time you can keep a brew is directly related to the type of beer it is.

Lighter beers do not last very long, Darker heavier beers tend to get better with age !

A porter is not one that I would be afraid of being a few years old.
 
In the Dec 07 Zymurgy Charlie Papazian reviewed bottles of homebrew going back to the first AHC competition that he had stored, and none of them went bad, some had not held up but most of them he felt were awesome...We're talking over 20 years worth of beers.

Since nothing pathogenic can grow in beer, there's no worry needed about getting sick from them. All that can happen is that they may not have held up over time.

This is a great thread about one of our guys tasting 4-5 years of his stored brew.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/revisiting-my-classics-160672/

Beer's like wine, a lot of them improve with age....That's why stone has "vertical epic" with vintage, and people have vertical tasting parties...Our beer is really no different, it's not something "less than." Or isn't "real beer" it really is no different, just becuse you make it at home. High grav beers can last a long time...even lower or medium grav ones can, though they will loose some of their "oomph" over time. For example a really hoppy IPA might end up being a pretty tasty pale ale in a year or so. Still drinkable, still good, but not the same.

I'm looking at brewing a biiiiiiiig barleywine in a few weeks, to lay up til my 50th birthday. I turn 45 on friday, so I thought this would be a great thing to do.
 
IMO, wheat beers don't hold up too well, but a brew buddy of mine found some bottles of porter in the back of his basement that were probably 7 years old. Tasted great.
 
Generally the stronger the beer, the better it will hold up. Although a hoppy beer will lose it's hop flavor and aroma over time, so no point in keeping them on the shelf.

And, your diligence in keeping Oxygen out can play a part as well. Carelessness will not be beneficial to your beer.
 
This German pilsner in a ceramic swingtop was actually great, it was 10+ years old that we could verify, probably alot older than that,
Link here: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/what-yeast-would-these-dregs-137892/
It was still sealed on top of the swing top with a funky cap.:mug:

Edit; Actually just remembered it was just capped, and the swingtop was strapped to the neck with a paper label, it may have been corked too, don't remember though.
 
My oldest homebrew that is in cold storage is coming up on 8 years. I have others ranging from 4-7 years sitting in cellar temps, waiting patiently to be drunk. All are big beers (barleywine to Belgian strongs/tripels/etc), which help in storage.
 
In the Dec 07 Zymurgy Charlie Papazian reviewed bottles of homebrew going back to the first AHC competition that he had stored, and none of them went bad, some had not held up but most of them he felt were awesome...We're talking over 20 years worth of beers.

Hot damn 20 years is older than most scotch I drink. I bet that beer is tasty.
 
My oldest homebrew that is in cold storage is coming up on 8 years. I have others ranging from 4-7 years sitting in cellar temps, waiting patiently to be drunk. All are big beers (barleywine to Belgian strongs/tripels/etc), which help in storage.

That's pretty cool. I'd like to do that if I had the space.
 
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