Found a beer treasure

yesterday I got an amazing pressent. Over 200 beer from the 70's and 80,s Lots of Geuze and kriek beers. aged forever but still drinkable. Also a lot of dark stronger beers, some from brewery's witch stop't brewing even before i was born

I dronk a Chimay bleu from 1985 yesterday and it was amazing.

Congrats! That's really cool.

Wow!!! An amazing gift !

Nice! You're very lucky!

yep iam!! most of the non geuze and krieks are way past there prime and undrinkable but there must be a few real treasures somewhere between. I go and try them anyway

Wow very nice.

Where do you live, and what time are you least likely to be home during the day?

Just kidding. Seriously awesome find though. You must have some awesome friends, to receive such a gift! Where did they come from? They look like they were cellared somewhere.

If you would like to continue to rub this in our faces... I would like to see more pictures of the individual labels - and also some pics of the beer when you pour it.

I'm just curious who hooked you up?

dmoore714 said:

If you would like to continue to rub this in our faces... I would like to see more pictures of the individual labels - and also some pics of the beer when you pour it.

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I agree with this wholeheartedly.

A friend of mine owned a Belgium beer cafe back in the 80,s and 90's. In that time he was in to the hole aging beer thing. When he sold the cafe, he took some of the beers and all of the beer glasses home and put them in the cellar ( old house in the city of Amersfoort Holland) then he sort of forgot them. Now he is moving to an other house and was not willing to move the stuuf with him. So he gives me a call

I pickt it up yesterday. over 200 beers en ca 350 beer glasses. decades of beer history laying in my basement now.

yesterday i opened 2 small bottles of beer, to test.





Chimay blue (best before 1985) Stil carbonation going on, a strong smell of alcohol, fruits and Port. I finished the whole bottle, still amazing after 27 years.

After that i opened an other one Sierra Nevada Porter ( best before 1983) also a little carbonation left, Coffie, nuts and a lot of oxidation. Did it half way and then the oxidation taste gets to much to bare.


Today i bought some fresh Geuze and kriek to compare to the ones i have. Planning to go for the more funky **** tonight

I'd save'em as collector's items. More valuable that way. Could make yourself some money with those. The one bottle at the bottom of pic three reminds me of the ones they found in the antartic under a 19th century shed/cabin.

Quite the find! Some of those should be interesting after all that time, others more scary!

I will keep a few as collector items, special the one's with a label still in good shape and the ones in a stone printed bottle. First start sampling some of the one's i have more than one's. But he i am a beerlover and tasting this, is a one in a lifetime chance. So... enjoy some first and the look for the possibility to sell some of it later.

AND..... It is also a gift. My friend had the chance to sell it all, but choice to give it to me for free. He say'd that i just wanted to see the big smile on my face. So i going to enjoy and share with my friends and beerlovers and then in the end, well maybe, maybe i will give away or sell some to others.

and yep, there will be some scary **** in between as well, but you have to try first before you know

Oh my god, how Coool!!!!!

This is a ridiculous story. A beer-lovers dream! Thanks for the additional pics! Please keep them coming.

I really wish I had a basement or a cellar. I'd love to pick up a few bottles of my favorite beers - especially the sour ones - and forget about them for 25+ years.

Today i opened a bottle of Liefmans/ Mort Subite??? ( wrap says Liefmans, label says'Mort Subite) From 1987. Still a big POP when i pull the cork.

Smell: vinegar, Cherry's and Port. Colour: Much darker then a fresh one, due to oxidation. Still carbonation going on. taste : Vinegar, Cherry's, port, Alcohol. Very complex but fresh. Very different than a fresh one, but still very much a Kriek. I think i go and finisch the whole bottle and maybe look for another one. This one i have plenty!

Wow, incredible. Please take notes! What you have there is not only a feast but a treasure-trove of information most of us can never hope to compile.

I def agree on this point. Might be good to know for future reference.

yes indeed you can learn a lot about what time and oxidation can do to beer, and how the sour beers develop over time. I am one happy brewer with this treasure sitting in the basement!

This is amazing. You are a beer archeologist of sorts.

Please keep us updated with pics and notes.

side by side with a 2012 edition of the same beer. The fresh one is much lighter and more carbonated. Compared to the 1987 version also a lot less vinegar and more sweet cherry's. I say the 2012 version is more easy going and less complex. but i like the old one better

One more thread for Revvy's file of "Its old? So what? Drink it anyway! Aged beers won't kill you."

I like the others am very jealous. I would love to have any of these bottles to stare at a drool then pop open for a sample.

Oke, felt brave enough to open 2 more. First a Rauchenfels Steinbeer. Brewdate unknown. Opens with a big pop, heavy carbonation after all these years. looks a little cloudy. Smell: sour, smoky barley. taste : Vinegar, smoke, port. at first taste fine but aftertaste like leather and cardboard. Conclusion: way past prime and not good enough to finish the whole bottle, but again not spoiled or something. I had worst beers ( homebrew and commercial)








Second one for today: Lieffmans Goudeband 1986. Opens with pop and smoke, looks golden brown/copper and clear. nice head forming. Smell: funky, fresh sour, citrus and wet hay. taste : Amazing! i remember the taste of a fresh one i drunk a few weeks back and this one has almost the same character. Funky sour, but fresh with a touch of Citrus braking trough the vinegar. In the back some fruits, hay and other stuff going on. hell Ya, lets drink the whole Bottle! never had much with the Gueze, lambik and kriek beerstyle. But these old one's help me to discover and enjoy this unknown beerstyle. the older ones i dronk so far are much more mellow and balanced then the fresher ones. perfect beers for aging, the get better by time, even after 25 years or more.

Wow, that's amazing. And that he let you have these, when people trip over themselves for far newer vintages on BA and the like. Jealous!

Wow!! Great gift. Im sure every beer is an adventure. Very, very cool!

You should contact some of the breweries that are still brewing. I'm sure they would love to hear about this!

wowwww just saw this thread for the first time!! if you need help getting to the bottom of any of those bottles i can be there in 90 minutes!! enjoy that stuff!

Stinkmuis, what percentage has been good so far? Is it like 50% have been good and 50% have been bad?

It's like listening to wine connoisseurs prattle on about their recent vintage acquisitions, only more honest. I'm envious.

no its not 50/50, more 70/30. beer is brewed to drink fresh or to keep for a few years, not decade's. The geuze and krieks are doing fine. Some of them are truly amazing. The rest is heavy oxidation. some times for the good ( like Port) but most taste like cardboard/leather. But its cool to have them and give a try. You learn a lot about off flavours in beers.

I will post some more tasting and picture's after the weekend.

Just have to say as many others have that this is awesome. When I start doing some sours I will have to lay a couple bottles down for the long haul!

i wonder if any of the brett or other bugs in those bottles are still alive... throw some dregs in a starter!

thats a intresting experiment. i think i will do that!!

That is a fantastic treasure trove. I am very jealous.

about sour beers

This thread is awesome!!

Wow!

stinkmuis said:

beer is brewed to drink fresh or to keep for a few years, not decade's.

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I don't know. There's a reason this friend kept them all these years. Time does interesting things to beer. Some of them (as you're discovering) were never meant to be kept this long. But some of them are probably better now than when they were fresh.

I would be curious to hear what some of these are worth. Has anyone made you any offers?

dmoore714 said:

I don't know. There's a reason this friend kept them all these years. Time does interesting things to beer. Some of them (as you're discovering) were never meant to be kept this long. But some of them are probably better now than when they were fresh.
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For sure, some of these can go for decades for sure. Supposedly Cantillon has bottles in the cellar from the 70's. A bottle of Oude Beersel gueuze I just drank a couple of days ago had a best before date of 2031 :rockin:

As long as they're prepared and stored properly some of the lambics and gueuzes should be great in theory. I've had a Saison de Pipaix that was 16 years old and it was still great!

I have some bottles of cantillon out "79 I will taste one this weekend and let you guys know how it was. @dmoore714 i have no idea how much some of the bottles are worth. A guy i met at a beertasting was very interested in a 3 Fonteynen and was willing to pay for it. But i invited him over to show him the treasure, we drunk one together and i gave him a bottle for free. It was a gift from a friend to me, and i think its meant to be shared an enjoyd with beerlovers.