Bottle aging... can it age too long?

[Valkyrie-M1]

I've been brewing for just over a year now, so I'm getting a feel for the process and what I like and don't like. I've obviously still got lots of questions I come across and lots to learn, but one thing I've been curious about is this...

We all know that bottle conditioning is very important to allow the various flavors to meld, mellow, and become more defined. Is there such a thing as aging the beer too long? At some point does the beer go from getting better to getting worse? The reason I ask is that I've started entering beer into competitions (just got second place for my first entry, an IPA :rockin and would like to be able to brew well ahead of time and let the bottles condition for as long as possible. Any thoughts? I know the colored water "beers" such as Coors, Budweiser, etc., have a "drink by date", but didn't know if the same idea would apply to home brew.

THANKS!!

Bottled: "Black Dog" IPA
Bottled: Smoked black ale
Secondary: Raspberry pale ale

 

[dcp27]

depends on the beer. IPAs and hefe's (among others) get worse with age, bigger beers like barleywines & imperial stouts keep getting better

 

[EvilDeadAsh]

I'm a complete newbie to brewing, but from what I have read on this - the general consensus is the beer we are brewing at home will last for a long time in the bottle. I've read a number of posts where brewers have found lost beer bottles 6 months to a year later and it tastes great. I think the commercial brewers apply some additional processes to their finished product before / when it goes into the cans and bottles which is why they have that date on there. I'm sure someone with more than 10 posts will have a much better answer

 

[gr8shandini]

. . .
We all know that bottle conditioning is very important to allow the various flavors to meld, mellow, and become more defined. . . .

I wouldn't say that "we all" know that. There is a vocal minority here that really, really believes in aging beer. But, unless it's a big beer or something unusual like a spice beer, there's no reason to hold off from drinking it as soon as it's carbonated properly. To quote Michael Jackson, "If you see a beer, do it a favor, and drink it. Beer was not meant to age."

If you enjoy entering competitions this would be an interesting experiment: Enter the same batch in several competitions two or three weeks after bottling, and again at, say, 3 and 6 months later. Then average the scores for each round and see if it's actually improving.

 

[beergolf]

Some styles are best young. An IPA loses its hop freshness with age. Drink those up young.

On the other hand some brews like big Belgians do improve a lot with age. I have several BDSAs that are over a year old and continue to age and improve.

Simple answer... depends on the beer.

 

[adamjackson]

Aging is a science but there aren't too many of us who are experts in this let alone accredited scientists. There are beer lovers out there who buy beers with the expectation that it will develop over time for the better. Some breweries label their beers "Improves with age" and most of the time, they're right.

Others are right with certain styles, there's an expected ageability to them. Rule of thumb is a high ABV is a good starting point for aging but it's not always correct. 8%+ ABV you can theoretically sit on in a temperature controlled, light-free environment for 6 months to infinity and the beer could turn into something great.

In my experience and lurking on BeerAdvocate and RateBeer, here is the styles most accepted for aging:
Stouts
Lambics and wild beers commonly known as "sours"
Saisons
Belgian Strong / American Strong Ales
Barleywines

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Saisons and Lambics generally don't have a high ABV but they can develop some interesting characters over time. Ommegang's Hennepin Saison is stated by the brewery to develop for a year in the bottle. Lambic or wild beers with yeast like brett can do great things as well. I've had 20 year old Lambic Gueuze and friends have had 50 year Gueuze and it was still very drinkable and very enjoyable.

Russian Imperial Stouts at 5 but less than 10 years are still drinkable but things like Coffee and Chocolate will fade away with time.
Strong ales 12+ are fine to age but it's very hard to tell if the beers will improve at all or just simply remain the same.

Barleywines are great aging candidates. Sierra Nevada bigfoot will continue to improve. Buddies have had bottles from the 80s which are still very drinkable.

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The key to aging relies on a few key factors:
1. Zero light or as little light as possible should reach the bottles. Dark cellar or closet is best
2. Minimal temperature variations. 80 Degrees and higher for a sustained time can wreak havoc on a bottle. The younger the bottle, the less temp variations have any effect on the beer. 20 year Lambic should be more carefully kept at a certain temp than fresh lambic.
3. Storage is a concern with movement in mind. Bottle conditioned beers that have yeast in the bottle should not be disturbed too much. If you ship a bottle conditioned beer with lots of yeast on the bottom, don't open it at the other end for a month or so. Let that yeast settle back to the bottom. when I went to belgium and shipped lambics back to myself, I didn't open any of them for 30 days. The beer was cloudy with yeast in suspension from the shaky and disturbing trip across the ocean.

Most importantly, aging is a crapshoot. If you want to enjoy the beer, open it now. Beers are released ready to be consumed by the brewery. Spend $30 on a bottle and expect to try it in 10 years. Just know that investment may be great and it may taste terrible. Aging is a lottery of sorts but also something fun.

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This is what I've learned in my time as a hoarder of great beers. As my friends joke, "There goes more beer to adam's house...where fantastic whalez go to die"