My wife and I have been brewing about a year and a half now and have done somewhere around 38 batches in that time. I've got a goodly amount of beer on hand from last year (we kind of went crazy brewing nearly every weekend last summer!) and have been finding that some are tasting really nice and others have not weathered the time as well.
So I wanted to kind of poll the group on what has been your experience as to what beers stand up well to aging and which should be consumed as fresh as possible.
Here's a few of my own personal observations:
1. The obvious one that most people are aware of is hop flavors tend to dissipate over time and so IPAs and such should be drank fresh. I found this out first hand the other day when I pulled out a Black IPA we brewed about a year ago and found it to be pretty weak and lifeless. I'll probably be dumping the 2 or 3 bottles I have left of that.
2. I think it's also fairly common knowledge that a lot of bigger, heavier beers (I'm thinking Scotch Ales, Doppelbocks, etc.) tend to mellow and meld more with age. My experience has generally supported that idea.
3. This one is a little less common knowledge (and is probably more personal opinion than anything else). I find that for ales brewed at higher temperatures I prefer them a bit aged. My wife made an excellent Saison for instance last year and we re-brewed it this year and I actually like the old one better. A lot of the spicey/estery notes seem to have mellowed in the old one.
4. One more - right now I'm drinking a Wit that I brewed last summer or fall. It's still really nice but I'm finding a lot of the flavor doesn't *pop* like it used to - like some of the edges have been rounded off a bit.
Anybody have any input on this topic? Whether it be personal opinion/experience or cold hard science, I welcome any info.
So I wanted to kind of poll the group on what has been your experience as to what beers stand up well to aging and which should be consumed as fresh as possible.
Here's a few of my own personal observations:
1. The obvious one that most people are aware of is hop flavors tend to dissipate over time and so IPAs and such should be drank fresh. I found this out first hand the other day when I pulled out a Black IPA we brewed about a year ago and found it to be pretty weak and lifeless. I'll probably be dumping the 2 or 3 bottles I have left of that.
2. I think it's also fairly common knowledge that a lot of bigger, heavier beers (I'm thinking Scotch Ales, Doppelbocks, etc.) tend to mellow and meld more with age. My experience has generally supported that idea.
3. This one is a little less common knowledge (and is probably more personal opinion than anything else). I find that for ales brewed at higher temperatures I prefer them a bit aged. My wife made an excellent Saison for instance last year and we re-brewed it this year and I actually like the old one better. A lot of the spicey/estery notes seem to have mellowed in the old one.
4. One more - right now I'm drinking a Wit that I brewed last summer or fall. It's still really nice but I'm finding a lot of the flavor doesn't *pop* like it used to - like some of the edges have been rounded off a bit.
Anybody have any input on this topic? Whether it be personal opinion/experience or cold hard science, I welcome any info.
