The Official Beer Appreciation Thread

[spndnchz]

Yes for most beers you do want to consume them fresh, but as a general rule some of the higher alcohol styles like barleywine, imperial stout and belgian quads do benefit from aging.

 

So any beer that doesn't have a "freshness date" stamped on it? lol

[Claude_Verret]

What kind of aging time are we looking at? I've had a few high-alcohol beers over the years and haven't been impressed, but I can not attest to the quality or lineage of what I sampled. But aging a brew sounds, in theory, like something ideal in order to really bring out the flavors. Any low-cost brand, type suggestions for someone who likes hoppy, yeasty notes?

 

The styles that are conducive to aging usually aren't my cup of tea either so I'm no expert in this area. What I do know is that one of the first things to go in a beer with age is hop flavor and aroma, so ipa's and double ipa's probably would not improve with age. The styles I mentioned before along with lambics probably do the best with age. As a suggestion for one you can pick and try would be Sierra Nevada Bigfoot barleywine, I know a lot of people who purchase that and don't begin to consume it until the next years batch comes out.

 

So any beer that doesn't have a "freshness date" stamped on it? lol

 

Actually the bottle of Westy 12 I just received had a best by date of like 5/2015 stamped on the cap.

[plenzmd1]

The styles that are conducive to aging usually aren't my cup of tea either so I'm no expert in this area. What I do know is that one of the first things to go in a beer with age is hop flavor and aroma, so ipa's and double ipa's probably would not improve with age. The styles I mentioned before along with lambics probably do the best with age. As a suggestion for one you can pick and try would be Sierra Nevada Bigfoot barleywine, I know a lot of people who purchase that and don't begin to consume it until the next years batch comes out.

 

 

 

 

I can say I age my Mad Elf from year to year and do belive it taste better with the year aging. I am not sure if i even age it correctly, just standing up in the back of the beer fridge.

 

One must be careful with this beer, as i am no expert but it is certainly not what I would consider a "boozy" beer. One would never know it is somuch a higher ABV.

 

In terms of price, bout $16 a six i believe, i get t twelve every year and that is plenty as I tend to open one bottle and usually share with someone, or have one at most at any one time.

 

http://www.troegs.co...ad_elf_ale.aspx

Edited March 27, 2013 by plenzmd1

[LTS]

You can find information all over the net about aging beer. There are lots of great examples and styles. On my 40th a few weeks ago we had a 2006 Braggot, a 2008 Stock Ale, and a few other nicely aged beers.

 

You can age a Double IPA if you want. They begin to take on a barleywine like flavor as the floral aspects of the hops gives way to the bitterness.

 

Barleywines are some of the most notably aged beers, many of them being aged (if bottled properly) an easy 10 years. Imperial Stouts as mentioned above are also commonly aged. They'll lose carbonation over time and take on interesting characteristics. When beers have been aged on oak, or brewed with chocolate that will also tend to mature over time as well.

 

As long as you keep the beer out of light, at a constant temperature (preferably 55 degrees to 48 degrees) you should be okay. At one of the recent Belgium Comes to Cooperstown events Ommegang did a vertical tasting of Three Philosophers. I believe they had samples from 2002-2011 so you could taste each and see how they developed over time.

 

Stone brewed the 1.1.1 - 12.12.12 series specifically for the purpose of aging those beers until the 12.12.12. date. So if you think about the 1.1.1 brewed in 2001 was intended to be consumed 11 years later. JW Lees Harvest Ales routinely are aged for long years. I had a 1999 version last year. It was fantastic. it takes on a very liquor like characteristic at a lower alcohol rate of course.

 

The problem with aging is that any substandard conditions or even a bottling defect could mean you end up with vinegar or a number of interesting side effects from aging. It happens.

[plenzmd1]

Forgot o mention Oberon is out, picked some p the other day. Man, It will be awesome when Bells gets their canning line up. That beer screams for being in the can.

[Weave]

I got my hands on a bottle of Southern Tiers new beer, Live. Plan to open it today some time.

[Claude_Verret]

I got my hands on a bottle of Southern Tiers new beer, Live. Plan to open it today some time.

 

I'm going to stop by the craft beer store on my way home to see if they have any.

[Braedon]

I'm going to stop by the craft beer store on my way home to see if they have any.

 

Me too. Lets do a collective review.

[Claude_Verret]

Me too. Lets do a collective review.

 

I went at lunch time, but they didn't have any. Just Unearthly, 2X IPA and stout from Southern Tier. It takes a little longer for their new releases to make it south. They did have the Ballast Point Sculpin IPA mentioned up thread for $16.99 a six pack!

[Braedon]

Did you get it? I'm in the same boat as I'm in FL, so doubtful they have any either. We'll see...

[Claude_Verret]

Did you get it? I'm in the same boat as I'm in FL, so doubtful they have any either. We'll see...

 

No. I've had it before, and while it's damn good, I'm not sure if it's $17 a sixer damn good.

[LGR4GM]

Do y'all know of any good Irish Reds? I have been trying to find more of those but was hoping for some suggestions.

 

 

I have been trying to kill the last keg of PumKing at my favorite bar for 2 weeks... I get it for 2$ a pint. It is a good beer but not something that should be chugged... :sick:

[Claude_Verret]

Do y'all know of any good Irish Reds? I have been trying to find more of those but was hoping for some suggestions.

 

 

I have been trying to kill the last keg of PumKing at my favorite bar for 2 weeks... I get it for 2$ a pint. It is a good beer but not something that should be chugged... :sick:

 

Great Lakes makes a pretty good Irish Red, but I can't remember the name of it.

[MattPie]

Do y'all know of any good Irish Reds? I have been trying to find more of those but was hoping for some suggestions.

 

You probably missed your best shot, which would have been a St. Patrick's Day parade/party. I'm here all week, folks.

 

I have been trying to kill the last keg of PumKing at my favorite bar for 2 weeks... I get it for 2$ a pint. It is a good beer but not something that should be chugged... :sick:

 

That's a good beer, but trying to kill a keg of it would be rather brutal.

[biodork]

I'm not much of a beer drinker, but I do enjoy sampling new ones from time to time. We went to a local bar with dramatically improved draft options last night, and I had Spring House Brewing Co's Big Gruesome (a chocolate peanut butter stout) and Shock Top Honeycrisp Apple. The stout wasn't too sweet, and the flavor was predominantly chocolate with just a hint of peanut butter on the finish. The Honeycrisp Apple was great, very light and refreshing, and definitely similar to hard cider but with more body. That'd be a nice summer beer (especially for chicks like me who don't really like beer).

[Iron Crotch]

Pretty much all I drink these days are Rogue 22s. My favorites are the Hazelnut Brown, Chocolate Stout, and Dead Guy Ale. Had the Northwestern Ale (with a picture of Captain Sig on the bottle) yesterday while watching the Sabres lose.

[spndnchz]

Personally, I can't drink any flavored beer. Same goes for coffee. I do like that Hop Stooopid that was mentioned. Got a 12 of Sam Adams Hopology. It was the worst. Tasted like I was drinking one of those pine tree air fresheners you put in your car.

[LGR4GM]

Personally, I can't drink any flavored beer. Same goes for coffee. I do like that Hop Stooopid that was mentioned. Got a 12 of Sam Adams Hopology. It was the worst. Tasted like I was drinking one of those pine tree air fresheners you put in your car.

If you like hoppy beer and can find it, hopsecutioner is relatively good and does not taste like a pine tree.

[spndnchz]

If you like hoppy beer and can find it, hopsecutioner is relatively good and does not taste like a pine tree.

 

I like Harpoon too. They've got a mixed 12 of IPA's, Black, Rye, White, and regular Harpoon.

[Iron Crotch]

Personally, I can't drink any flavored beer. Same goes for coffee. I do like that Hop Stooopid that was mentioned. Got a 12 of Sam Adams Hopology. It was the worst. Tasted like I was drinking one of those pine tree air fresheners you put in your car.

 

My European friends always make fun of the American obsession with hops... for some reason, we seem to think more is always better...

 

My favorite "hoppy" beer that actually tastes good is Hazed & Infused: http://www.boulderbe...-dry-hopped-ale

[MattPie]

Yakima Glory. Evil beer. Malty enough that the big hops aren't overwhelming, and it completely hides the 8.5% so it's really easy to drink a bunch of. Done some really stupid things drinking this stuff. But I keep doing it. :)

[Braedon]

Pulling into the beer bar for happy hour as we speak. I've got chills.

[MattPie]

Pulling into the beer bar for happy hour as we speak. I've got chills.

 

Nice. Might stop at Victory or Station Taproom (a great local beer and fancy food pub nearby) in a bit. If not, I have some Hop Rod Rye, Yakima Glory, Pennsylvania Pale Ale, and Troegs Java Head in the fridge.

[darksabre]

Grabbed a six of Live. Let's do this.

[spndnchz]

First up Magic Hat Encore American wheat IPA 6.4% alcohol.