What should I make for long term aging?

[Jorb]

I'd like to brew a few beers every now and then for commemorative purposes. What will store well for 10+ years? What gets better with age?

My first thought is a barleywine. What else should I be looking at?

 

[poptarts]

RIS are good for that too. Anything you can get up to 10% + abv and isn't dependant on hop aroma, aka IPAs, should be good. I vote Stout though personally

 

[Zamial]

10+ years is normally way out of prime for beer, BW or any other. If it has to be beer I say look into braggot and if it can be anything look into mead.

Brochet can take years to mellow out and come into it's own. I have one that is 3+ years and I still think it is young.

 

[Chillsner]

I vote mead

 

[clarksc4]

I had a 10 year old barleywine brew club member had made, it was quite good

 

[dannyjed]

Belgian Dark Strong

 

[Billy-Klubb]

you could do a number of brews. personally, a BW or RIS pushing the limits would be my choice.

 

[Nightshade]

Big and burly RIS I would personally shoot for between 12-18%
Bottle it and test the first one in 5 years.

 

[Calder]

A Lambic or Flanders style sour beer. It will continue to develop and change for years. I don't remember which brewery it is, but European regulations require best by dates on all products, so they elected to use 20 years from brew date for their sour beers.

Don't be intimidated by sours, they are some of the easiest beers to make, and hardest to screw up. The biggest problem is the time it takes; it requires a lot of patience. Sounds like you have plenty of time to work with.

 

[TNGabe]

Very few beers, including all of the varieties mentioned, will improve past the decade mark. Change, sure, but unless you've had some old beers and enjoy oxidization flavors and don't mind gambling on ending up with something you don't want to drink, it's not a terribly realistic goal. I've been lucky enough to drink (or at least open) quite a few old beers and although interesting, the really old ones are rarely still improving and frequently drainpours.

 

[IL1kebeer]

Easy. Make an Old Ale. Why would they call it an old ale if it wasn't suitable to be "Old" (aged)?

 

[cluckk]

I agree. Old Ale is one of my favorites and ages beautifully.

 

[Johnnyhitch1]

Most any complex beer over 8% will age well, but like others have said 10 years is a long time, even with properly celled beer.
Just remember that a beer can fade and age very poorly. Only beers that you think need time should be layed down, there are plenty of bottles i continue to pull out of my cellar that i wish i drank fresh.

If you really want to push a 10 year vert i would brew a sour.

 

[Jorb]

Thanks for the suggestions. I have a RIS on deck to brew so I'll have to put back a few bottles for future years.