Just bottled an IPA that was in fermentor for 2.5 years

[PrinceOfThePoint]

i don't need to unwrap my head. My goal is to produce good tasting beer that i enjoy drinking. This doesn't go along those lines. Also this isn't an experiment, it was an accident.

I just posted my opinion, it seems like you and some others are offended by what i said. Sorry im not as optimistic as everyone else in this thread. you may think im being negative, but to me, im just being realistic. sorry if that offends you.

No one's offended, it's just your posts don't make sense in this context. This guy is telling us about his super old beer. You can have an opinion, but this thread is not about opinion, or making awesome fresh beer, it's just fun and informative observation

Also, you seem to think that circumstances occurring by accident cannot be called experiments, and that is a unique level of wrong and crazy. I can collect some serious examples of accidents that revealed some of civilization's greatest scientific discoveries.

 

[BillySpivitz]

Penicillin.

��

 

[tarmenel]

Sub'd. This is interesting. Now thinking of a place to "forget" a brew. Maybe one of the server rooms at work

 

[davidg410]

I've got a bottle of each of the first 6 beers I ever brewed stashed in a fridge outside. That makes them about 5 1\2 years old.

They were stored improperly (60 - 80 degrees) for the first 4 1\2 years.

I can't even remember what styles they are... American Wheat, Saison, Chocolate Stout, Red Ale, ? , ?.

This thread has made me very tempted to crack them open and try not to vomit.

 

[VegasBrew1]

I've got a bottle of each of the first 6 beers I ever brewed stashed in a fridge outside. That makes them about 5 1\2 years old.

You my friend, have foresight. I wish I had done this, and I've only been brewing since last November. Cheers.

 

[RM-MN]

I've got a bottle of each of the first 6 beers I ever brewed stashed in a fridge outside. That makes them about 5 1\2 years old.

They were stored improperly (60 - 80 degrees) for the first 4 1\2 years.

I can't even remember what styles they are... American Wheat, Saison, Chocolate Stout, Red Ale, ? , ?.

This thread has made me very tempted to crack them open and try not to vomit.

Why should the beer make you want to vomit. If it wasn't infected when you bottled it, it shouldn't be infected now. Improper storage might have degraded the quality of the beer but not to the point of making you sick.

 

[Paradigm]

I've been slowly working my way through 5 gallons of Russian Imperial Stout I bottled in ...


1997.

There is yeast sediment in the bottles. I should have left it in secondary longer to let more yeast settle.

But back to the point. This has developed NO off flavors over 18 years. It's still got the original bitterness.

My bet is your 900 Day IPA will at least be drinkable.

All the Best,
D. White

Not to make you feel old, but I was 8 when you bottled that.

 

[HumulusHead]

Not to make you feel old, but I was 8 when you bottled that.

Haha me too!!!

 

[SnakeRidge]

Not to make you feel old, but I was 8 when you bottled that.

That was when I brewed my first batch. Freshman year of college!

 

[Homercidal]

I'm interested in seeing what happens. My oldest beer is a Barleywine that I think I bottled in 2008. It's no good. Way too much oxidation and off flavors now. I really need to pull the box out and dump them. I think I could brew a longer-lasting beer these days, but those things are rough right now. Syrupy, sherry, soy-like. LOTS of sediment.

I'm surprised your beer did not grow mold in a bucket that long, but if it were sealed, it's probably just old. Judging by the color, I'd say it looks oxidized. Beers turn dark from age.

 

[FortMillBrew]

Interested in the tasting...
I can't get homebrew to last 2.5 weeks in my house...

 

[m00ps]

Yeah, my first 10 or so brews did not hold up well against time...I'm guessing a combination of oxidation and improper yeast handling has made them undrinkable at this point. I had to toss them from my "brewer's reserve" I keep in my closet. I take one 6pack from each batch I brew for a rainy day or a special occasion where I wish I had a few bottles of some random brew left. I've now stopped doing this for IPAs though....

 

[Cincyfan78]

Have you guys seen this - BeerMumbo.com chugs 25 year old beer, hilarity ensues

te-wa, I would not recommend drinking that beer

As for the OP, add me to the list of people saying you will probably have to add some yeast to get these to carb.

So, the guy in the video...I know him. Good guy. Can't believe he did that.

Also, this is super cool. Can't wait to see how this turns out.

 

[Mustard]

Cant wait to hear how it came out. Wouldn't have high hopes but its a good experiment!

 

[jinghcd]

Was it on the original yeast cake this whole time or was it ever transferred to secondary? Looking forward to you tasting it!

 

[solafide]

Following!

 

[rocketsan]

Anyone else skeptical of this story?

 

[slym2none]

No reason to be.

 

[dwhite60]

Not to make you feel old, but I was 8 when you bottled that.

Sad thing is, to make another batch and age it for 18 years I'll be 73 when it's ready.

I've been hitting these over the years. Sometimes three or four a year, sometimes none. Been interesting to taste the flavor changes it's been through.

All the Best,
D. White

 

[lazarwolf]

Interesting thread

 

[davidg410]

Why should the beer make you want to vomit. If it wasn't infected when you bottled it, it shouldn't be infected now. Improper storage might have degraded the quality of the beer but not to the point of making you sick.

It was sarcasm. Im just guessing they'll taste pretty terrible.

 

[fanch75]

Was it on the original yeast cake this whole time or was it ever transferred to secondary? Looking forward to you tasting it!

After pitching the yeast that came with the Coopers kit, the beer sat in the primary for the full 2.5 years from Nov 2012 until April 2015.

This weekend (Saturday 5/9) will be 14 days. I will be cracking one open! I expect no to little carbonation. If there's at least some sign of fizz (a hiss at opening, something, anything!), I am going to let the rest condition longer before drinking more.

 

[Opiate42]

I've got a bottle of each of the first 6 beers I ever brewed stashed in a fridge outside. That makes them about 5 1\2 years old.

You my friend, have foresight. I wish I had done this, and I've only been brewing since last November. Cheers.

It was everything I could do to let about 8 bottles of my experiments sit in the fridge for a few months until I could get them to the buddy who started me on this path for his enjoyment and opinion.... All those beers staring me in the face.

'Twas a challenge

Every bottle of every batch up until the most recent bottlings is now looooooooooong gone

Not to make you feel old, but I was 8 when you bottled that.

17!!! *and already a beer snob

Interested in the tasting...
I can't get homebrew to last 2.5 weeks in my house...

Max a month. MAX

After pitching the yeast that came with the Coopers kit, the beer sat in the primary for the full 2.5 years from Nov 2012 until April 2015.

This weekend (Saturday 5/9) will be 14 days. I will be cracking one open! I expect no to little carbonation. If there's at least some sign of fizz (a hiss at opening, something, anything!), I am going to let the rest condition longer before drinking more.

Sub'd, looking forward to your thoughts on this!

 

[RM-MN]

Idk.... i would have dumped it. IPAs are only good when fresh. Only beer i would want thats that old is either a barely wine or sour.

This isn't necessarily so. A good IPA should be smooth but with good hop aroma. Dry hopping this one for a few days might make one of the best IPA's ever because it has had the time to fully mature. We tend to drink IPA's fresh because nobody wants to wait for the beer to mature before they dry hop and bottle.

 

[peterj]

Idk.... i would have dumped it. IPAs are only good when fresh. Only beer i would want thats that old is either a barely wine or sour.

This was a spam post. It was copied from #6 of this thread. They've been doing this a lot lately, not sure what the deal is.

 

[Psylocide]

This was a spam post. It was copied from #6 of this thread. They've been doing this a lot lately, not sure what the deal is.

I believe it's an effort to build up a post count, then start putting links in their sigs and what-not.

I've seen it a lot lately too... that's the only thing I can think of.

 

[hunter_le five]

This was a spam post. It was copied from #6 of this thread. They've been doing this a lot lately, not sure what the deal is.

Yup all four of that user's posts are copy-pastes of other people's posts. Reported.

 

[peterj]

I believe it's an effort to build up a post count, then start putting links in their sigs and what-not.

I've seen it a lot lately too... that's the only thing I can think of.

Yeah they're always different names though and they all only have 4 posts (all spam). When you quote them some web addresses that look spammy show up in the quoted text, but I guess maybe they are being blocked from showing up in their original posts by the website or something.

Oh well, looking forward to hearing about this beer!

 

[Psylocide]

Yup all four of that user's posts are copy-pastes of other people's posts. Reported.

Reported for excessive use of signature.

 

[ProfessorWoland]

I really want to hear how this turns out. I think 8 weeks is the longest I've left something in a fermentor and it got infected :'(