Shelf life of homebrew?
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m_c_zero
Well-Known Member
Depends on the ABV and the temp it is being stored at.
As noted above...
Some beers like Hefewisens are to be consumed young and don't age well.
Others like IPAs and Triples can last for years.
Hops and Alcohol are natural preservitives so high measurments of both will extend the life of a beer.
Some beers like Hefewisens are to be consumed young and don't age well.
Others like IPAs and Triples can last for years.
Hops and Alcohol are natural preservitives so high measurments of both will extend the life of a beer.
And the type of beer. And the brewers process. And how it is stored.
The Bigger higher ABV more complex beers like a RIS/Barleywine, etc will last much much longer and usually be better for an extended aging. Other things that rely on Hop aromas and fresh flavors like a Wit are best consumed quickly.
Process, well, to an extent aging can clean up some less than stellar beers, but time can only do so much.
Temperature and UV will speed the aging of the beer(warmer temps) or skunk the heck out of it (UV)
Here are some of the beers that seem to cellar (hold up to longer storage) well.
Baltic Porter
Barleywine
Belgian Golden Strong
Belgian Strong Dark Ale
Belgian Tripel
Berliner Weisse
Doppelbock (above 8% ABV)
Eisbock (above 8% ABV)
Flanders Red Ale
Gueuze
Lambic (despite a low ABV)
Old Ale
Russian Imperial Stout
Scotch Ale
Wood-Aged Beer
This isnt a bad article to explain it
http://www.kegworks.com/company/kegworks-community/beer-cellaring-basics-a-guide-to-aging
The Bigger higher ABV more complex beers like a RIS/Barleywine, etc will last much much longer and usually be better for an extended aging. Other things that rely on Hop aromas and fresh flavors like a Wit are best consumed quickly.
Process, well, to an extent aging can clean up some less than stellar beers, but time can only do so much.
Temperature and UV will speed the aging of the beer(warmer temps) or skunk the heck out of it (UV)
Here are some of the beers that seem to cellar (hold up to longer storage) well.
Baltic Porter
Barleywine
Belgian Golden Strong
Belgian Strong Dark Ale
Belgian Tripel
Berliner Weisse
Doppelbock (above 8% ABV)
Eisbock (above 8% ABV)
Flanders Red Ale
Gueuze
Lambic (despite a low ABV)
Old Ale
Russian Imperial Stout
Scotch Ale
Wood-Aged Beer
This isnt a bad article to explain it
http://www.kegworks.com/company/kegworks-community/beer-cellaring-basics-a-guide-to-aging
IPAs may last a while, but you really should drink them young for best aroma/flavor. The aroma will dissipate over time leaving you with just a really bitter beer.
I have not found that to be true...
I age my hoppest IPAs for four months and they develop an amazing complexity.
And the original IPAs were aged over a year before shipping, in some cases, to India.
I saw Mitch Steele speak recently and then bought his book
http://www.brewerspublications.com/...-recipes-and-the-evolution-of-india-pale-ale/
It just confirmed what I already knew
I already have poured out the grain for an IPA that I plan to age a year based on what he learned while doing his research.
NOW IF:
If you are talking about those IPAs that take the skin of your teeth and for people with no tastebuds that is a different story.
Oh and one of my best stouts started out as a Christmas Stout that was about 10 months old...
By the time I served it the spices had just about disapated but there was a "hint" of something that added additional complex-a-ty to the beer...
I think I will brew up two kegs of it around the begining of October and drink one when Winter hits and save the other for later next year to see if I can reproduce it...
Nod. Big stouts, tripels, barleywines, etc... Generally speaking the higher the OG the better it gets with age. I'm just talking from my own IPA experiences re aroma, and also quoting the warning that Vinne Cilurzo smothers all over his Pliny labels:
arborman
Well-Known Member
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Hmmm... Ive brewed a few IPAs so far, and I have really noticed a big drop in hop aroma on most of them. One is a Bells Two Hearted clone, about 2 months old... The other, a Pliny clone, has been kegged for about a month, and it has really dropped the hop aroma. And, I would say that I have pretty on point taste buds when it comes to quality hoppy beer. I am getting ready to keg another batch of IPA, the Kern River Citra 2IPA, so I will see how this one holds up to age. But, I have always been under the impression that IPAs are meant to drink young, and so far, the ones I have brewed have made me realize that they do drop out pretty quickly.
I actually found some of the real deal Pliny this past weekend, and bought a bottle.. The brew date was March 13th, and I could really tell a huge change in that beer. Not anything like the fresh ones I had recently.
My guess is you are a hophead and like the strong bite, I am not and there are a lot of West Coast/American IPAs I will not drink.
I had a case of Dogfish Head 90 IPA (bombers) that was a year old and it was amazing but at the local Dogfish Head Pub here in Virginia I can't drink it...
I like complex deep flavors (what you get from aging some beers) and not that HOP-IN-YOUR-FACE style of beers.
SO: Belgian Triples YES, Burton Ales YES, Stouts YES.
BUT: Serra Nevada, Anchor Steam, and a whole host of over-hopped beer NO!
OH... and you can drink your IPA young or anyway you want to but they were once aged for a year and then put on ships for India... My guess is you would not consider an 18 month old beer "young"...
My Cirta-Warrior IPA (from the last post) might taste good to you after 2 months but for me I need the Four (4) and like I think I said... I am planning on brewing a 6.5 ABV very hoppy IPA and let in age for a year (if I can wait that long" and when I keggeg it I am going to add a bit of BRETT...
Happy Brewing.
chickypad
lupulin shift victim
Wow, thanks for the sermon 
I do appreciate a well aged Belgian or stout, but I don't think it's fair to say I have no tastebuds because I also like being hit in the face with the aroma of a good West coast IPA. If Anchor steam is over-hopped to you at 35 IBU it sounds like it's the hop aroma that you don't care for. I'm like pfgonzo, I find some of the big IPA's to taste exceedingly bitter to me as they age. I know the history and that they were once aged out of necessity, glad mine don't have to be!
I do appreciate a well aged Belgian or stout, but I don't think it's fair to say I have no tastebuds because I also like being hit in the face with the aroma of a good West coast IPA. If Anchor steam is over-hopped to you at 35 IBU it sounds like it's the hop aroma that you don't care for. I'm like pfgonzo, I find some of the big IPA's to taste exceedingly bitter to me as they age. I know the history and that they were once aged out of necessity, glad mine don't have to be!
Varmintman
Well-Known Member
Depends on how good the batch was. I got a six pack somewhere from a batch I did not enjoy still somewhere but the good batches for some reason do not age much at all before they are gone
:smack:
The one difference being, those barrels still had hops in them the entire trip, though whether or not that would keep them as fragrant I have no idea. Drinking one after an 18-month dry hop would probably be pretty grassy. I'd actually be curious to know how that tastes. Anyone ever accidentally or intentionally left their dry hop addition for 6+ months? How'd it taste?
