How old is your oldest beer? (And is it drinkable)

[Manzier]

I had a flood at mine and lost my kegging gear but not the kegs. Too me 4 years before I bought another fridge and tap. I tried one of the old kegs and it was fine. Tasted great actually. Was a strong dark ale.


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[Meadiator]

Holy ####! This stuff is incredible! Why did I only save one bottle for this long??

I remember this being fairly mediocre when it was made. Now, it has a nice aroma of molasses and a good toasty malty flavor. And smooooth... I'm going to have to make some more and forget about it.

View attachment 187702

Oh man, that looks incredible! Was it still pretty well carbed?

 

[atoughram]

I've got a SNPA clone that has been in the bottle for about nine months - maybe I'll crack it open today...

 

[abeasst]

I have brewdog TNP that brewdog aged for a year and then I aged for another year that was better than fresh as the alcohol flavor mellowed.

 

[Dynachrome]

Well my oldest beers? I have 6 kegs from when I stopped brewing about 20 yrs ago. Anyone want to do a test? Think there’s an oatmeal stout, double Bock I iced, and not sure of the others. I’ll be opening them soon to clean them out and get them ready for new beers from my new 3 keg system I’m building.

Besides that I have some beers from 1982 to 1992 Thomas Hardy's. Last one I open was about 10 yrs ago. Tasted like scotch.

What state are you located in? I'd be interested.

 

[Dynachrome]

Holy ####! This stuff is incredible! Why did I only save one bottle for this long??

I remember this being fairly mediocre when it was made. Now, it has a nice aroma of molasses and a good toasty malty flavor. And smooooth... I'm going to have to make some more and forget about it.

View attachment 187702

Must be the RIS?

 

[ChefRex]

what state are you located in? I'd be interested.

+1

 

[stbnj]

A 2011 Belgian Dark Strong Ale. Its drinking pretty well. I think this was maybe my 5th all grain batch and I lost about a gallon going into the bottling bucket because I left the spigot open. Which explains why it is a little flattish since I most likely lost some of the priming sugar.

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[calebstringer]

2 year old bourbon barleywine (15%), a couple left for my birthday and next new years

Can I get that recipe please?

 

[Codfishhead]

What state are you located in? I'd be interested.

I'm in Middlebury CT.

I'm going to buy some new lines n see if there's gas in my old tank this week.

 

[Dynachrome]

Wisconsin - here.

 

[GuldTuborg]

The oldest I've been drinking lately has been just over 3 years. It's still getting better.

The oldest I have in my basement is well over 4 years. It's my last bottle of an RIS made in Jan 2010. I haven't had a bottle since last spring, so I can't say how it's doing for sure. That last one was good, though.

 

[mozart4898]

I have an old ale/barleywine that I brewed back in December of 2008 before I'd gotten out of brewing for a while. There's quite a few still left at this point and they're definitely drinkable. Somewhere in the 9-10% range although I'm not sure exactly what. It actually seemed to be at its best about a year or so ago but still is quite good. Certainly has oxidized/sherry notes but I don't feel they detract at all.

Planning to keep bottles of my New Year's Day bourbon barrel RIS around for a while - it's well north of 12% and doing awesome. I plan to make brewing a big beer every new year's a tradition. May not always be a RIS but some sort of barleywine, old ale, or RIS so the aging potential is there.

 

[Agate]

Oh man, that looks incredible! Was it still pretty well carbed?

Surprisingly well, considering the age. The head didn't last, but that's fine with me. I wish I could buy beer like that... I guess I'll have to try to find the recipe again.

 

[coyote68]

I have a barleywine that a friend and i brewed together back in 1998. the recipe said to age 25 years plus. our plan was to sample 1 bottle every year, (bottled in 187 ml green bottles so we had lots) and see how they are changing. My friend passed away 7 years ago, so now i sample 1 every year with his son.
the beer seems to improve with each year.

 

[TrustyOlJohnson]

Well my oldest beers? I have 6 kegs from when I stopped brewing about 20 yrs ago. Anyone want to do a test? Think there’s an oatmeal stout, double Bock I iced, and not sure of the others. I’ll be opening them soon to clean them out and get them ready for new beers from my new 3 keg system I’m building.

Besides that I have some beers from 1982 to 1992 Thomas Hardy's. Last one I open was about 10 yrs ago. Tasted like scotch.

Can I be invitedto the "Kick the keg Extravaganza!!"??


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[Calichusetts]

Can I get that recipe please?

I can post it when I get home...I just took a recipe that was a little over 12% and boiled off 20% extra.

 

[mtnagel]

I have a ~20 month old imperial stout. It was an extract batch when I had no idea what I was doing. It wasn't so great in the beginning, but it keeps getting better.

I have several other beers that are up to a year old. Not all are getting better. Some are just changing, which is cool to see.

 

[EthanH]

I have a Stone Ruination clone from last February. I let it sit on the dry hops too long, and while the age has mellowed it a bit, it's still not very good (which is why I have ~12 bombers left).

 

[david_42]

I had a kegged barley wine that gushered at 3 1/2 years. It was great up to that point and I learned a lesson: bottle beers you plan on aging. Lost about 2.5 gallons.

 

[TrustyOlJohnson]

I drank a few bottles of 1 year old cream ale and it has lost alot of its goodness


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[Zamial]

I just had a AHS pale ale extract kit that was my 1st brew ever on St. Patrick's day. It is 5 years old. I waxed the caps shortly after bottling it. It does not taste like a pale ale it now tastes much like an old ale. I have 12 left and plan to open 1 every year.

 

[Scooby_Brew]

I got a 4 year old Double Imperial Porter 11%AA brewed 4 years ago for my son's Birthday. Although it was hopped like an IPA, today the hops are gone and the beer tastes more like a Cognac or a Port, then a beer. It is an excellent tasting beer. I only open it once a year on my son's Birthdays.

 

[mtnagel]

I had a kegged barley wine that gushered at 3 1/2 years. It was great up to that point and I learned a lesson: bottle beers you plan on aging. Lost about 2.5 gallons.

What do you mean it gushered? Out of the keg?

 

[beaksnbeer]

I have 2 bottles of RIS that I brewed back in 08 rolls out like Cognac very little carbonation soft creamy mouth feel then a alcohol finish more inline with a Barleywine without the spice and sweetness many have


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[Codfishhead]

Can I be invitedto the "Kick the keg Extravaganza!!"??


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You got it John.

Anyone and everyone that wants to drink beers and or fill their growlers will be invited soon enough. I only have 6 kegs. Already plan on brewing several beers at say 12 gals batches. Stick them into 3 diff fermenters to play with adjusting the recipes so that’s 3 kegs needed for each batch. Hell I’ll need another 2 dozen more kegs or a bunch of beer drinkers to help me clean kegs out to make room for more beers regularly.

 

[darrenbrews]

Red ale is just over one year old, and my Kolsch and EPA are coming up on one year ... the reason they've lasted is because I've decided they suck.

And I once thought my red ale was my WOW! beer.

 

[corkybstewart]

I drank my last batch of Imperial stout over a 3 year period, one small glass at a time, and it stayed delicious. I also had an Flander's Red that lasted about that long. Both of theses were kegged. Right now I have a sour porter that has been kegged since December 2012 I think, it's still very good.
I have a few bottles of prickly pear mead from 1996, and a bunch of cider and PP mead from 2006 that are even better than when young.

 

[BBBF]

Last week I drank a 4 year old IPA. I have a few meads that predate that.

 

[atoughram]

My 9mo SNPA is still REALLY good...