Does Chimay Grande Reserved tend to age well? I have two bottles that are roughly 7 years old. They were not really cellered properly so that aspect is questionable as they were just stored in a wine rack in a kitchen.
Aged Chimay Grande Reserve (Blue)
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archthered
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I believe it should be fine.
Pontiac_Guy
Well-Known Member
My hat is off to you. I "aged" mine for two years (hardly anything for a quad) and they were great! With the high abv you should be fine. Mine were smooth with absolutely no alcohol presence. Let us know what they're like.
Ship me the other one. I've never been able to keep a bottle that long to find out what it is like.
......... it should be fine. That beer is bottled with live yeast, so it will continue to evolve over time.
......... it should be fine. That beer is bottled with live yeast, so it will continue to evolve over time.
Topher79
Well-Known Member
This is good to know...I've got a bottle from 2007 that I've yet to drink. I really need to stop neglecting the cellar and get to drinking (that Doghish 120 minute has been calling my name). As far as the OP's post goes; I have a couple of suggestions:
First: From what I have read, it's best not to leave the beers laying on their side, as this causes more of the beer to be exposed to the oxygen in the bottle. It's best to store them upright.
Second: keep the bottles out of light and as cool as possible. Possibly a closet in the coolest room of your house, or your basement if you have one.
Even if they haven't been stored in the best conditions so far, I'd move them upright and to a dark place if you plan on cellaring them further. Let us know how it is if you pop the cork on one! If you do...get a fresh bottle; that way you can compare the aged versus the fresh (also known as a vertical tasting)
First: From what I have read, it's best not to leave the beers laying on their side, as this causes more of the beer to be exposed to the oxygen in the bottle. It's best to store them upright.
Second: keep the bottles out of light and as cool as possible. Possibly a closet in the coolest room of your house, or your basement if you have one.
Even if they haven't been stored in the best conditions so far, I'd move them upright and to a dark place if you plan on cellaring them further. Let us know how it is if you pop the cork on one! If you do...get a fresh bottle; that way you can compare the aged versus the fresh (also known as a vertical tasting)
I brought some aged Chimay Blues that I found in a beer store in Belgium back home, and sat on them. I believe it was also 7 years old if I remember correctly. I wouldn't say it had gone bad, but it was definitely past its peak. I didn't cellar it perfectly either.
My advice to anyone from now on who know they're going to age something for more than a year or two (and does not have the luxury of a climate controlled cellar), is just throw it in the fridge and forget about it. Cold storage will absolutely NOT harm your beer in any way or cause it to age incorrectly. I've wasted so much good beer by failing to age it properly (nor drink it soon enough), I don't wish that on anyone else. Case in point are my last few bottles of '07 Dark Lord that I aged in a closet instead of a fridge.. Don't make the same mistake I made!
My advice to anyone from now on who know they're going to age something for more than a year or two (and does not have the luxury of a climate controlled cellar), is just throw it in the fridge and forget about it. Cold storage will absolutely NOT harm your beer in any way or cause it to age incorrectly. I've wasted so much good beer by failing to age it properly (nor drink it soon enough), I don't wish that on anyone else. Case in point are my last few bottles of '07 Dark Lord that I aged in a closet instead of a fridge.. Don't make the same mistake I made!
Topher79
Well-Known Member
I was under the impression that if you placed beers you intended to cellar in the fridge, that this would cause beers that were bottle conditioned to not age as intended. I keep my beer fridge at around 40 degrees and, from what I've read that is too cold for the yeast in the bottles to do the job intended, as the yeast can go into dormancy. Granted, keeping them in the house at 70+ degrees in the summer isn't ideal either, but the bottle is still "conditioning"...it might not be optimal, but it's what I do.
I think the main key is keeping the beer from light, and if it bottle conditioned with yeast, as close to 55-65 degrees as possible. I did a tasting of a Smuttynose "Really Old Brown Dog Ale" with 3 bottles and some friends. Bottle 1: 2012 Aged in fridge; Bottle 2: 2012 Cellared in my basement with temps from 55-75 during the year; Bottle 3: 2013 Bottle left in fridge for a couple of weeks. The results: a definite flavor change for the better in the basement beer vs. the fridge and fresh beer.
That's just my 2 cents; and I'm sure different beers react in different ways. I'm not claiming to be an expert, nor do I play one on tv, but based on my experience, I'll cellar over fridge with all of my beers that I buy to age.
I think the main key is keeping the beer from light, and if it bottle conditioned with yeast, as close to 55-65 degrees as possible. I did a tasting of a Smuttynose "Really Old Brown Dog Ale" with 3 bottles and some friends. Bottle 1: 2012 Aged in fridge; Bottle 2: 2012 Cellared in my basement with temps from 55-75 during the year; Bottle 3: 2013 Bottle left in fridge for a couple of weeks. The results: a definite flavor change for the better in the basement beer vs. the fridge and fresh beer.
That's just my 2 cents; and I'm sure different beers react in different ways. I'm not claiming to be an expert, nor do I play one on tv, but based on my experience, I'll cellar over fridge with all of my beers that I buy to age.
