Found some beer in my closet

[Homercidal]

Had to move a shelf in our closet down a bit so I could fit my new Grain storage units and try and clean up in there a bit. Whilst doing so I came across some old Barleywine bottles from '09. What the heck!

So I grabbed them out and poured one. Not bad! Probably as you would expect from a 6 yo Barleywine. Mostly flat, but surprisingly not as oxidized as I epxected. No hop flavor, aroma, or bitterness. Sweet with Toffee, Raisin, and barely a hint of any alcohol.

Only about 5 bottles left so I marked them and put them up on a shelf where I keep some Strong Ales for later.

Go back and find MORE Barleywine in some boxes I thought were empty! These were even older. They weren't marked with a date, but I'm guessing they were the last Extract batch I brewed, so it was prior to '09. Bottled in small Coke bottles.

Very similar to the other bottles, but a bit more oxidized and much higher carbonation. Probably about right for style. These had more sediment. Much more. Probably not as careful as I should have been when bottling. Some of the bottles were laying on their side and the whole side was coated with gunk. They were not very appealing, but the taste was not as bad as I expected.

I completely expect to want to dump these, but after sampling I think I'll give them a shot. I'd prefer them to have a bit of hop bitterness remaining, and maybe more alcohol heat, but I think they are drinkable.

It's surprising what you can find when you don't keep good records and never clean your closet.

 

[Build]

Nice find. I've always thought it interesting how malt and hops can age and change. What gets enhanced, mellows, oxidizes, intensifies. Last year I found a bottle from 1986, but hate to think what might come out of that one.

 

[Boleslaus]

Closet finds are the best! Glad yours are drinkable. I found some bottles a few years back, but they were only 2 years old. Was actually one of my better beers (boubon barrel aged imperial stout) and the 2 years did wonders to it.

 

[Homercidal]

Closet finds are the best! Glad yours are drinkable. I found some bottles a few years back, but they were only 2 years old. Was actually one of my better beers (boubon barrel aged imperial stout) and the 2 years did wonders to it.

Trust me, I'd have a few finds that weren't worth the effort to pop the caps! I didn't even keep the bottles on those.

 

[worlddivides]

Very cool. I've found that when I have a box of beer (or wine, mead, cider, etc.) in eyesight, I have trouble letting it age, but when it's out of sight (such as in a closet), I forget about it and it ages a lot more easily. I have some in my closet right now that are 9-10 months old. I haven't forgotten about them. I taste a bottle about once a month or two, but it's nice seeing how the taste changes over time.

 

[Homercidal]

Ok, so I bottled a small batch of British Golden Ale last night in preparation for submission into the first head-to-head competition for our Homebrewing League.

I didn't have quite enough bottles in my first box, so I set that aside and grabbed the box underneath. And I found a few bottles of an Imperial Chocolate Stout (Dark Helmet) I forgot I had. And under that were some Bourbon Chocolate Porters, some Dry Stouts, and under that were some Belgian Pale Ales...

I *REALLY* need to get more organized!

 

[Boleslaus]

This all sounds like a happy accident. One guy in our homebrew club brews exclusively aged beers/ciders/meads and nothing can recreate age. Count yourself lucky. If you do organize your system, organize it in a way that you always leave something to age out of sight...

 

[MaryB]

Small tea ball, a few pellet hops, pour over, swish, drink...

 

[TheDudeLebowski]

Funny you posted something like this. A couple of weekends ago I was cleaning out the basement. It's not hb but I had bought it kind of out of school and thought I'd save it. I always wondered where it had disappeared. Sitting with the college notebooks in my nice cool cellar. I remember there was a lil leakage and the reviews aren't that great. Maybe I'll just keep it as history. Utopia 1.0

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[Homercidal]

Sampled some beers last night:

Saison = Not very good. HIGHLY carbed. I was in no mood to pour slow enough, so I lost at least 1/3 glass to foaming. Phenols were a bit strong. Pretty dry, but overall drinkable. Not sure if I will keep the rest. The bottle had a very strange coating inside where the beer was. Like the beer had etched the glass. I'm sure it's probably just some strange deposit, and I'm still alive today, but it was kind of odd.

Lager = Ok. Better than when it was fresh. It seems to have aged pretty well. Still has a touch of alcohol flavor, which is odd for a beer that is as low gravity as it is.

Bourbon Chocolate Porter = The best one. Sticker on the side says it was bottled in Dec. of 2012. It's smoothed out. Roasty, with a nice sweetness and a hint of bourbon. I'm surprised at how little bourbon flavor there actually is, but all in all it's a nicely balanced beer and I can always add a few drops of fresh bourbon to liven it up if I desire.

Mudding drywall on the ceiling is thirsty work but I was half wondering if I had too much to drink by the end of it.

 

[GHBWNY]

Mudding drywall on the ceiling is thirsty work...

If you think mudding is thirsty work, wait til you get to sanding...

 

[Homercidal]

If you think mudding is thirsty work, wait til you get to sanding...

I hate it. Almost as much as I hate paying someone to do it!

At least I've learned to invest in a good dust mask, and wet sanding is useful in certain situations. And I'm more experienced in laying the mud in and not worrying about every coat being perfect.

Oh well, it's not tonight. Daughter has a band festival to play in, so sanding will have to wait until next time. Mushrooming on Friday, and Saturday morning is judging for a big homebrew competition. I don't think I can sand until Sunday!

 

[MaryB]

Get a sanding pad that goes on the end of a shop vac hose and use the drywall bags for your vac! Almost dust free sanding!

 

[MVKTR2]

I find it pretty easy to age bottles. I keg now and it's harder to make myself bottle just to set aside but I'm also usually bottling RIS, barleywines, etc. anyway.

I drank my last bottle of Scotch Ale from 2009 at Christmas 2015 and had one of 6 remaining bottles of RIS from New Years Eve 2009 on my birthday this March. Still tastes great but a little oxidized which isn't terrible, unami/soy notes are creeping in. Hopefully I can hold onto a bottle till NYE 2019 to see what 10 yr old homebrewed RIS taste like.