I was wondering which home brews tend to keep the longest ex. Ipa, Porters. I know that they are not neccesarily like wines but I know that some are able to retain their flavor longer. I was hoping to built up a small stockpile so I would always have some and possibly even different types. Currently I bottle everything I brew. I am getting ready to start kegging some and also was not sure if there is a difference in shelf life between the two.
Aging beer?
- Thread starter Maffew
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you'll want to brew a higher alcohol % beer for long storage, like 8% or over. strong belgians, barleywine, & imperial stouts come to mind. a strong IPA/IIPA will also age nicely - the hops will mellow out, and since hops are the dominant taste in these styles their characters will really change. if you're a hophead, you might be disappointed tho - you'd be better served drinking them fresh.
but regardless of style, you'll want to go strong.
but regardless of style, you'll want to go strong.
phuff7129
Well-Known Member
I have only brewed 2 belgians and just a few weeks in the bottle they were pretty good but 6 months they were amazing! 
Maffew said:
The theory is that bulk (keg or carboy) aging produces a more uniform end product, but I'm thinking most people can't sense the minute differences caused by slight differences in each bottle.
Keg aging is a bit harder from my experience. When you leave something in a keg, it is tied up for months at a time. Just put a shot of CO2 over the top and purge it a few times to get out the O2. Let it sit for however long you want, then carb it up a week or two before you're ready to drink it. As far as "aging" it in the keg...carbed up...on tap? That method is near impossible. With bottles you can regulate how much is imbibed by putting a certain number of bottles in the fridge. With a keg, it is far more accessible, and tends to go faster. If you really want to age it, you'll have to set the keg someplace and forget about it (if you can).
beergolf
Well-Known Member
Drink your IPA's and wheats fast. The flavors and aromas fade quickly. Stouts can go longer and bigger stouts like some age. Belgians are actually more like wine and improve with age and can go a long time. They actually improve with age.
Plan your brews so you do some to drink young, some to age.
Plan your brews so you do some to drink young, some to age.
I recently opened an IPA that I brewed in September. It was the first beer that I dry hopped and my first IPA. Hop scent and flavor was very subdued. Almost tasted more Malty than hoppy. Not bad, just no longer true to style. I now try to space out my Hoppy beers so that they don't sit too long. For Stouts and malty beers, I will brew several at once and try to age them a bit. Even my low gravity stouts, (Irish, etc....) seem to really increase in smoothness over the first 3-5 months.
spearko520
Well-Known Member
i drank a beer that i made with brett 11 years after i bottled it. i wished i could have made that ten gallons last more than those eleven years...
solbes
Well-Known Member
Higher alcohol content will generally age better. Hoppy beers I prefer to consume within 2 months of bottling as the dry hop aroma is usually gone by that point (for me at least). Belgians age great. Dopple bocks too. I plan on brewing my first RIS soon, and I will keep half of it for consumption after 1 year in bottle.
I guess it depends how you interpret the style. The original IPAs were shipped to India, and consumed with some good age on them, no doubt. It was designed as a style that aged well, on a long and warm boat ride. I think a good IPA and DIPA ages quite nicely, though there's no question the aged product is very different than the fresh product.
In general, though, barley wines and RISs tend to age the most gracefully. Most any big beer will, however. Beers with high levels of roasted malts or complex grainbills also benefit from some age, to allow the flavors to soften, meld, and round out a bit. Carboys work to age as well, and are generally cheaper than kegs, though allow more oxygen in.
Retain its flavor? Beers don't so much retain or lose their flavor so much as they change in flavor over time. Sometimes it's a change for the better, sometimes not. Porters ome in all shapes and sizes, so I could only say that the higher the alcohol and roasted grain percentages, and bitterness, the more it will tend to age well.
If you're looking for numbers, I occasionally make a 6.5% porter with a pretty high level of chocolate and black malts, hopped pretty well to balance, and I've found it's generally at its best around 3-6 months after brewing. None of the bottles have lasted past a year, so I can't comment on the long term potential.
If you're looking for numbers, I occasionally make a 6.5% porter with a pretty high level of chocolate and black malts, hopped pretty well to balance, and I've found it's generally at its best around 3-6 months after brewing. None of the bottles have lasted past a year, so I can't comment on the long term potential.
I'd say the general rules are darker, stronger, or sour will age the best. Like others have said, hoppier is better fresh (at least if you want the strongest hop aroma), wheats are better fresh, and I don't think most lagers age too well either.
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