How long do YOU cellar beers?

[johnmac22]

Being that this is a homebrew website I am assuming everyone here indulges in commercial beers every now and again (when they aren't drinking homebrew of course!). I picked up a 2014 Bourbon Barrel Aged Old Rasputin and a 2013 Abyss tonight. I am going to age the Raspy for a year or two but I am thinking about cracking the Abyss open.

So...how long do you cellar your beers whether its homebrew or commercial?

 

[Teromous]

It depends. Some beers I buy or make with the intent of keeping them for as long as I can. The oldest I have are about six years old. Sometimes beer and cider that I age will turn out great and other times it will turn out hideous. Sometimes it passes along uneventfully, having no marked improvement or degradation. Aging a beer can be a fun experience if you have the space for it. It's great to look back at bottles that you've either purchased or created and (hopefully) remember something from that year.

 

[johnmac22]

The oldest I have are about six years old.

Props!! I doubt I could hold on to any beer for that long!! I'm hoping to get two years out of the Raspy...but I think I will likely hit 1.

 

[TallDan]

Props!! I doubt I could hold on to any beer for that long!! I'm hoping to get two years out of the Raspy...but I think I will likely hit 1.

I have four beers that are over 10 years old.

2001 Fuller's Vintage Ale
2003 Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA
Stone Vertical Epic 03.03.03
Stone Vertical Epic 04.04.04

I also have some Old Rasputin:
2009 Old Rasputin XII
2012 Old Rasputin XV
2013 Old Rasputin (regular 12oz bottles)

I haven't tasted any of those recently, so I can't tell you how they're doing. Trick to cellaring beer is to always have lots of beer on hand. That way you're not tempted to break into the bottles you're intending to age when you're running low.

It also helps if you're a hoarder.

 

[johnmac22]

I have four beers that are over 10 years old.

2001 Fuller's Vintage Ale
2003 Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA
Stone Vertical Epic 03.03.03
Stone Vertical Epic 04.04.04

I also have some Old Rasputin:
2009 Old Rasputin XII
2012 Old Rasputin XV
2013 Old Rasputin (regular 12oz bottles)

I haven't tasted any of those recently, so I can't tell you how they're doing. Trick to cellaring beer is to always have lots of beer on hand. That way you're not tempted to break into the bottles you're intending to age when you're running low.

It also helps if you're a hoarder.

Wow, that is a long time! I guess I should go buy more beers to age...it will give me an excuse to brew more

 

[Qhrumphf]

"As long as they need" would be the official answer. But I don't have much space for cellaring so I don't hold on to much. I have bottles as far back as 2011, which was when I really started holding on to them.

 

[broncosmoker]

I think it depends on the beer, style and development. I think good high ABV stouts are better aged to drop the fusels and calm the roastiness, but not all are like that. I have a case of Abyss for the last 4 years and will get this years next week. We do side by side flight of it each year. The same with some other stouts. Have done the same with barley wines and it seems to be hit or miss after a couple years. Quad Belgium's have been the same. Heavy hops in some beers like IPA's are usually not that good after a few months. Really depends on what you want and why you want to cellar. Some of ours are just to see what they are like and what is peaked. Example this year we will flight years of Firestone Anniversary of 11-18. I know from the last two years 14 seems to be ehh and well as 11 has dwindled past its peak.

On a personal side I find that my Oatmeal stout peaks at 4-6 months and is still decent after a year, but is starting to mellow to much and lose complexity. But my cream stout was much bette at a year than it was at 4-6 months.

Really look into what may last or tastes green than can be set aside for a while

I have a ton of sours that I have set aside for this.

Cellaring is fun, both for taste and experimenting. My cellar project has now topped over 250 bottles with most bottles in the 3-5 year range, some older, and some newer as they have just been released. If you are going to cellar remember that temperature control long term seems to make a difference.

 

[johnmac22]

I think it depends on the beer, style and development. I think good high ABV stouts are better aged to drop the fusels and calm the roastiness, but not all are like that. I have a case of Abyss for the last 4 years and will get this years next week. We do side by side flight of it each year. The same with some other stouts. Have done the same with barley wines and it seems to be hit or miss after a couple years. Quad Belgium's have been the same. Heavy hops in some beers like IPA's are usually not that good after a few months. Really depends on what you want and why you want to cellar. Some of ours are just to see what they are like and what is peaked. Example this year we will flight years of Firestone Anniversary of 11-18. I know from the last two years 14 seems to be ehh and well as 11 has dwindled past its peak.

On a personal side I find that my Oatmeal stout peaks at 4-6 months and is still decent after a year, but is starting to mellow to much and lose complexity. But my cream stout was much bette at a year than it was at 4-6 months.

Really look into what may last or tastes green than can be set aside for a while

I have a ton of sours that I have set aside for this.

Cellaring is fun, both for taste and experimenting. My cellar project has now topped over 250 bottles with most bottles in the 3-5 year range, some older, and some newer as they have just been released. If you are going to cellar remember that temperature control long term seems to make a difference.

Thanks for the insight! I really like the idea of sampling them in a flight side by side. I bet that is a lot of fun. I really just want to cellar them to see how they change. I have yet to brew my own stout as I dont have bottle space but I hope to brew one soon and sample a few bottles every few months to really see how it changes. Sampling more than a bottle or two of Raspy can be damaging to the wallet haha!

 

[Billy-Klubb]

...

 

[OHIOSTEVE]

I have a batch of barleywine that I brewed back in 2010. It will be opened 8-8-2015( my 50th birthday)

 

[Coff]

You should never age a beer that you havent had fresh, how will you know how it has changed over the aging? There are some exceptions to the rule but if you only have one bottle why age it at all?

I have a klove hate with my cellar, I have about 75-100 bottles of commericial and far too much homebrew bottles aging. Its tough to know when is the right time.

Keep in mind you need to ensure optimal storage conditions to get the most out of aging.

 

[johnmac22]

...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93nD67fX274&list=UU4uw3zjZji-l28Sy_yTjI1A

HAHA! This gave me a good laugh. By far...THE BEST review I have seen yet! I guess I won't be able to drink either beer until 2028...that will be 14 years!

 

[Zekk]

I have a magnum of last years Anchor Christmas Ale, probably will buy another this year and see how long I can hold off on drinking them. Probably after another few years I'll start trying them.

 

[Billy-Klubb]

HAHA! This gave me a good laugh. By far...THE BEST review I have seen yet! I guess I won't be able to drink either beer until 2028...that will be 14 years!

I have bunch on Youtube. you should check them out, subscribe & like them. hahaha!!


on a serious note, it really depends on what I get my hands on (sent to me). Imperial Stouts & big BW and the such I like to let age a year at least (if I only have one). If I get a 4 or 6 pack of something like that, I like to taste one and let my better judgement decide how long before I try another.

 

[johnmac22]

I have bunch on Youtube. you should check them out, subscribe & like them. hahaha!!


on a serious note, it really depends on what I get my hands on (sent to me). Imperial Stouts & big BW and the such I like to let age a year at least (if I only have one). If I get a 4 or 6 pack of something like that, I like to taste one and let my better judgement decide how long before I try another.

Ill have to check them out! Ill have to grab another bottle of the Old Rasputin so I can drink one now and one later on. Thanks for the insight...and the laughs! haha

 

[MaddBaggins]

I don't have a lot of space for cellaring beers, but I do have a few that are stashed. I have a Firestone Walker XV, so I guess thats 3yr old now. I have some Green Flash, Stone, Great Divide and Mikeller barleywines that are a couple years old. Every year, I buy a magnum of Anchor Holiday Ale and store it until the next year.
My homebrews have never made it past 1yr in the bottle. Someday, I might break that record. The problem with the amount of homebrew bottles is space. I have to keep them in my fermentation room (mid 60's) so I don't want them to get too old.

 

[Bucky_Brewer]

I cellar mine just long enough to get it carbonated.

 

[johnmac22]

My homebrews have never made it past 1yr in the bottle. Someday, I might break that record. The problem with the amount of homebrew bottles is space. I have to keep them in my fermentation room (mid 60's) so I don't want them to get too old.

I feel your pain there. My hope is to keep the commercial beers on hand and drink homebrew...should make things a little easier...at least i hope!

 

[Totes]

1-3 years average.
I cellar Bigfoot the most, because of it's affordability, and how much I appreciate it with a year on it.
I also cellar Abyss and Jubelale every year and do flights when we have parties. Jubelale gets super weird after 2 years. There are some old old ones lingering I just keep for bragging rights. I like my ol'raspy fresh though.

 

[Calichusetts]

5-10 years usually. Since I might by a 6-pack of a commercial brew, I'll drink one per year usually. And yes, this is done with the big beers and belgians, but I've done this with smaller ABV beers...most recently with Celebration ale (which ages nicely by the way, especially after 3 years.)

I got a few Avery's approaching 10 years but I usually drink them before hand. Bragging rights are nice and all but I like at least some carbonation/head in my beers. Bigfoot holds real well in this category.

 

[DaNewf]

I don't have a cellar. I have a basement. If I buy a beer it's because I intend to drink it (usually that evening). When I brew beer I start drinking it at about a month. Sometimes I will try to stretch out how long it takes me to finish a batch but so far the longest I've got out of one is a year. My production is only slightly higher than my consumption.

 

[Black Island Brewer]

I had been cellaring several bottles of some of my favorites - Old Crustacean, Foghorn, Rasputin, Bigfoot, and several years of Snow Cap. Then in 2008 I divorced, sold my house, and moved into an apartment with no storage. So my future 2nd wife and I drank them all up over a few weeks. Heavenly. Now I don't have a basement, and am too cheap to buy any kind of cellaring refrigeration. I have a (tiny) wine "closet" where I have a bottle of Old Crusty I'll save for a few years, along with my favorite red wines and ports.

As far as aging my own beer goes, I "aged" an Apricot Cream Ale, and won a second in the fruit beer category after it was more than 5 months old! But when I make my next barleywine and RIS, I'll cellar some and taste them over time, with the cellar being my one and only beer fridge (in the garage) where I also have to store my annual hop purchases.

 

[OHIOSTEVE]

my wife was in the attic today and found several bottles... some I have NO IDEA what they even are. from back when I started brewing.. some barleywines I had forgotten about...we will se if they are drinkable given the temp fluctuations up there

 

[smccarter]

...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93nD67fX274&list=UU4uw3zjZji-l28Sy_yTjI1A

So funny. This guy is my new hero. He puts beer-snobbery in it's rightful place.

 

[Billy-Klubb]

So funny. This guy is my new hero. He puts beer-snobbery in it's rightful place.

I have a bunch on youtube.:rockin:

 

[OHIOSTEVE]

yuck.. just tasted the beers she found.. one was an apfelwein.. that was drinkable.. two were barleywines that were sickeningly sweet.

 

[BrewinBromanite]

I usually drink all my homebrew batches within a few months. My brother in law/brew-buddy on the other hand, whom I split all batches with, I'd say unintentionally "cellars" (more random uncontrolled aging in whatever closet they end up in) his beers. The first 2 brews we ever made were (don't remember the brand) pre-hopped extract kits - a bock and a nut brown. Some kind of unknown dry yeast. They were pretty much horrible. Found about 12 bottles close to 2 years later, put them in his fridge for a month or so, and they ended up tasting like crisp lagers (not great, but markedly improved). We also recently found a handful of year+ old Yooper's house pale ales. Mine were long gone. Surprisingly not bad after a year, albeit, much less hop aroma. So, I guess my bro-in-law is my cellar. I get some interesting unintentional aging experiments with his forgetfulness!


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[BrewinBromanite]

We also found a handful after over a year that did not improve and we're pretty much disgusting... All from batches before we knew what the hell we were doing. The ones that clearly were under-attenuated to begin with - just seem to get sweeter with time. Time does not fix everything.


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[sburnt]

Just drank my last bottle of an American Pale ale from 2008. It lost most of its hoppiness but was otherwise delicious and perfectly quaffable.

 

[brewbama]

I drink the beers I brew. I rarely buy commercial beers though I do drink at brew pubs on occasion.

So... my beers are ready when I need them. I have a keg tapped, a keg conditioning, a brew in the secondary and one in the primary. I'll brew this weekend for a beer in my other primary. I move these these thru the pipeline as one keg kicks usually on a two week rotation.


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[ubnserved]

I have some 3 year old Scottish in the fridge. When I ready to test them I should send them to Billy Klubb to review so he can punch them in the berries and make another video.
Didn't mean to keep them so long this thread made me realize how old they are.