Drinking 1 Year Old - Moderate ABV Beer?

[Jiffster]

Anybody do this?

I have some that's been in my kegerator for a year+.

 

[RocketBrewer]

If it tastes good, Drink it!
I've had many beers last in my keggerator for a year or longer. As long as I use good kegging practice keeping oxygen at bay, most beers stay very drinkable. Some may loose some hop character over time, but otherwise should be fine.

 

[kh54s10]

It really depends on style. A dark, low hopped beer could still be at peak. An IPA on the other hand will have little hop presence left. The ones that I had that long were higher ABV beers. One I was drinking over 3 years, another for about 2 years.

Taste it, if you like it, it doesn't matter how old it is.

 

[GilSwillBasementBrews]

Regardless of the abv, you shouldn't be letting a one year old drink from your keg. Just kidding. Start em out young.

 

[catdaddy66]

I have recently finished off a stout that I brewed in May 2015.

Smooth... Fizzy but smoooooooth!

 

[audioa84]

I concur with RocketBrewer. Try some! I've never had a keg last that long but I once tried a bottled wheat beer that was well over a year old and it was great. An average wheat beer isn't a style that should have aged well but it was still very drinkable.

 

[Jiffster]

Awesome, trying now.

 

[Jiffster]

Still tasting good! My cream ale actually got a little darker and bolder. Watermelon wheat still tastes watermelony but has a slight sourness to it.

 

[mitchard]

I have several bottled beers that are well over a year old and still drinking fine. Anything that was originally hop forward probably won't be great, but as long as they don't oxidize, most styles will be ok assuming they were stored at cellar temps or in a fridge.

I have a 7.5% double IPA that was pretty malt forward that is around 3 years old now. Drinks more like a "session barleywine", and is pretty enjoyable.

 

[day_trippr]

Since I stopped bottling years ago I haven't had even a trace of a batch hang around for a full year.
I do currently have an ESB down to the last few pours that I brewed in early October, so (counts fingers) almost 10 months from its Born On date.
The style has great legs, however - I'm drinking it right now and it is still very good indeed...

Cheers!

 

[3gbrew]

Two years ago, the guy that lived across the street from me found in his refrigerator 3 bottles I had given him a long time ago. According to the cap code I use they were brewed in 2004. November. 14. Christmas present batch. I figured 11 years old. I didn't remember the brew, but it drank quite well.

 

[Calder]

I'm still drinking most of my beers at 1 year, often at 2. IPAs and PAs usually get drunk within a couple of months, but everything else takes a while.

I rarely make a beer less than 6%, so that helps. For the most part, I find the beers keep well, obviously changing over time. I wouldn't say they necessarily get better or worse, they just change, and that is Ok for me.

In the last 150 beers I've brewed, I've only had one that has been a drain pour after a year or so. It was an 8% Belgian, brewed with a large percentage of grape juice. It was a fantastic beer when initially brewed. I recently discovered 2 Bombers hiding away that were about 18 months old, and they tasted awful. I'm suspecting it had something to do with the grape juice.

Never dump a beer until you have tried it.

... That reminds me, I think I have a 10 year old case of 13% Barley Wine hiding among my sours that I will have to dig out.

 

[Jiffster]

Very helpful folks, appreciate it.