2002 Irish Coffee Stout

[EricS]

When I got home from work today I was going through our pantry and found hidden way in the back corner a bottle from an Irish Coffee Stout I made back in 2002.:rockin: Right away I put it in the fridge to cool because I knew there was no way that I would just dump it out thinking it was bad. This one happened to be in a Grolsch bottle. About 20 minutes ago I popped the top and to my amazement it popped with the CO2 haze. I poored it into a glass and the head was unbelievable. It smelled good so I started drinking. It is pretty dam good for being 5 years old. Is this typical? I can't believe I am drinking a beer from 5 years ago that I made. I took some pictures to share but my computer will not accept my camera card. I will post as soon as I can.

 

[EricS]

Not sure how to add pictures so you can view them at share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AcuGrZw3ctmLlw

 

[david_42]

Large, malty beers can age extremely well. Stouts almost always get better with time. Hoppy beers lose their nose and you end up with bitter being the main note.

 

[EricS]

What is the longest you can age a beer before you should start to worry about drinking it? My Father-in-Law use to brew beer. I was going through his old stuff and found a couple six packs. He hasn't brewed in at least 8-10 years.

 

[BlindLemonLars]

What is the longest you can age a beer before you should start to worry about drinking it? My Father-in-Law use to brew beer. I was going through his old stuff and found a couple six packs. He hasn't brewed in at least 8-10 years.

I say go for it! It won't hurt you...the worst outcome is that it doesn't taste good.

So open a bottle. As long as it doesn't smell evil, and nothing crawls out, have a taste.

 

[Danek]

What is the longest you can age a beer before you should start to worry about drinking it?

I don't know. But my neighbour gave a couple of bottles of homebrew to his uncle five years ago, and his uncle never drank them. So my neighbour took them back and drank them this past weekend, and said that they were the best home-brewed beer he'd ever had. And I read a piece by Michael Jackson in which he talked about having a bottle of Thomas Hardy Ale that had been aged for 18 years. It was, as I recall him saying, "slightly madeirised, but elegant".

So I don't think anyone knows if your father-in-law's beers will be good, but it's definitely worth trying them. Let us know how they are.