Your Comments, Criticisms and Contributions - February 2003
Hello Stephen,
I was wondering if there is a general rule of thumb that I can follow when it comes to aging beer? Currently I have put aside a bottle of Niagara Eisbock, McAuslan Vintage Ale 2000, Bush de Noel, Corsendonk Christmas Ale and Unibroue's Terrible. Are these beers appropriate for aging or how can I tell? My assumption was that any beer of a higher alcohol content was fine.
In the past I have put aside Hair of the Dog's Fred, which turned out great, but my aging of Quelque Chose proved to be a bad move. So, what guidelines should I follow when choosing the beers I would like to age for a few years?
Thank you very much for your time.
-- Dave Neheli
Strength is important for aging beer, but also bottle-conditioning and hop intensity. (Alcohol yeast and hops all act as preservatives in beer.) A filtered beer, regardless of strength, will have only limited aging ability. Eisbock, for example, maxes out at about five years for the older editions and much less for the newer, thinner and less complex ones. Fruit beers will always loose at least some if not all of their fruitiness over time.
Of the beers you mention, I'd give Eisbock no more than a couple of years, McAuslan five or more, Bush petty much as much as you want and Corsendonk no more than a few years. (I'm not thrilled with the complexity of that beer, and if you don't have that to begin with, you certainly won't get it over time.) Terrible I'm not certain. I've only tasted it a few times and have not really thought about its aging potential. Certainly I think it's pretty excellent right now.
Hey Stephen!
Read your article on the '92 and '94 Thomas Hardy Ales with interest, as I too have a few vintage bottles from '91 to '95 stashed in my beer cellar. My 40th birthday comes this May, and I've been contemplating sampling a few of the bottles at that time, and leaving some for my 50th birthday! Your tasting notes got me excited for the glorious event! Thanks!
Yours in Beer,
Eric
An early Happy Birthday to you, Eric. Let me know how the beers turn out.
A couple of us were enjoying a Guinness recently (canned). It is still a very enjoyable beer, but we thought that it had less bitterness and a less intense roast flavour than it used to. My Michael Jackson's Beer Companion says that Guinness is brewed with 40-50 IBU's, and last week's can seemed much softer than that. Do you know if Diageo is dumbing down the flavour and messing with tradition?
-- Geoff Barley
My personal and very unsubstantiated opinion is that Diagio has been dumbing down Guinness for years. There are many other stouts I'll pick over Guinness these days.
I (also a fellow beerwriter and drinker) have read with delight many of your articles at worldofbeer.com. I saw that you mentioned the Chambly beer festival, which I have always heard is one of Canada's best (which you confirmed as well).
You mentioned the beer fest will be in Sept. this year (I think it was June last year.) The url you provided - http://www.festibiere.com is still under development. Do you know of any other sources of information? I was thinking about the GABF this year, but hey, why not be different?
Slainte
Kevin
I'm afraid that the Chambly fest no longer exists. The one I noted most recently in World of Beer is the Mondiale, which will definitely happen next year. Check out http://www.festivalmondialbiere.qc.ca/
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