Aging "Your Precious"
Question: "So, how do I go
about aging beer?" Huh? Who ages
beer? You buy it and drink it, isn’t that
how it works? Well, not so much
anymore. I get this question quite
frequently and if you have not heard
by now, there is this thing called Craft
Beer and with it comes many crazy
ideas. One of which, is aging these
rare, limited release and one of a kind beers, that Micro and Craft brewers have been producing. There are an
overwhelming number of these rare brews and many people have taken to (hoarding?) aging these beers, and like Gollum
in Lord of the Rings, when acquired, a “My Precious” is uttered.
Why age? Well, I have been aging beers for quite some time now and even I don't have a good answer to that. My
goal has been to try and ascertain whether this makes sense or is senseless and partially because I'm a sheep, I like to
follow others behavior. The following are some reasons people why age these beers, of course taste is the main issue
here but, I think there are others. Such as, many of these rare beers are quite difficult to obtain (including, sleeping outside
overnight in the rain in a parking lot. Seriously, no joke) and with the travel, time and money invested, this makes some
people (me included) reluctant to open them. As they say, the thrill is in the hunt.
These beers usually cost around 20 plus bucks for a bomber bottle and when you do get one, you want to save them
for a special occasion and that time almost never seems to come. The reason being, you don't really want to open them
and if you do drink it, then you don't have it anymore. I also think there is a certain hoarding mentality that goes along with
this, probably a lot of hoarding. You get this precious bottle of beer and want to guard it with your life. Like Gollum. I have
had a few beers that I have aged too long and the taste was very disappointing. I have learned my lessons from
experience and now I "force" myself and Teri to drink them fairly soon after we purchase them. Tough job but, you know
how it goes.
I have been in deep discussions over this aging and cellaring quandary with others and like Alice in Wonderland we go
down the rabbit hole or cellaring hole of debate. So, I thought I'd share my trials, errors and views with you. These tips and
observations are by no means dogma or doctrine, you can get that at other venues. This is just my experience on the
growing hobby of aging beer. First of all, let me say, beer, simply does NOT need to be aged, this aging idea is just the
"after birth" from the craft beer craze being born.
There are those who feel that the character of beer changes for the better after aging. I'm not so sure about this
anymore, in fact I quite doubt it. I bought into this "better" idea at first but, I think it's a narrative (tastes better after aging)
that the more you say it, the more you believe it. So this is why I conduct my own experiments and research. I think this
aging issue, is more about accumulating a large cellar of rare beers and the prestige that goes with it, then a beer
becoming something that blows your mind. It's like having a rare wine cellar to impress your friends and make others
jealous.
If I drink a new release beer today and cellar a couple bottles for a year from today, how can my brain remember
exactly what that beer tasted like a year ago? Sure I can make tasting notes but, really that's just baloney. The only way to
truly compare which is better, is to go back and forth using a time machine to one year ago and then fast forward a year.
Yes, beer does change but, for the better? I don't think so. See our own antique beer tasting event. Yes, those are old, old
beers but, there is a point of diminishing returns.
Well, let's move on from opinion to some actual facts of MY test aging. So, if you do age your beer, how long do you
age it? There are many variables to this, such as temperature. I would say store your beer at 45 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit,
warmer temps will age it faster and seems to lead to undesirable flavors. Use cooler temps that slow the aging process,
hence you can hoard your beer longer. The other issue is alcohol content, the higher the alcohol the better for aging, I
would say at least 10 per cent and higher. You can age lower alcohol beers but, not for a "long" time. Also