Does beer get better with age?

[TwoCrows]

 

[Spacman]

Even barrel aged beers have a limit, generally they are no longer at their best after 3 years.

Got redirected to this thread, not after any resurrection brownie points. I would ponder the point with BA beers regarding what is their actual best. I have had some of these of varying ages (never had the opportunity or thought to though), but havent made a point of holding multiple beers of the same vintage and then trying them over a number of years to try and compare taste. I saw the mad fermentationist did a batch of the original Courage RIS, tasting and taking notes over a number of years.

There are certainly going to be differences, as any such thing is going to change over time. But as to when was its best? Where faults are concerned, that would be pretty obvious. Some characteristics would certainly change as well, but not sure where 'at its best' would fit.

 

[Spacman]

When I last aged a few kegs of stout, they were kegged, pressurised and then stored in a friends cellar which held a relative constant temperature around 14C. Was Amazing after 6 months. Haven't aged anything longer than this (although I did have a cube sit in the garage for 2 years, and when I finally fermented it was excellent).

JD

I read recently that this was how Coopers first got the idea for their Special Old Stout. To quote:


"Special Old Stout (many people incorrectly called it Vintage Stout) was essentially the old recipe of Best Extra Stout - when it weighed in at 6.8%ABV - with a minimum of 6 mths bottle age prior to release for sale.
The idea popped into Glenn's head, back in the early 1990s, following a tasting of deliberately aged kegged Coopers stout at the Lord Nelson Hotel (Sydney). He said, "It displayed a smoothness I had not tasted in a Stout before."

I have been trying to work out a 'lectricity-free' way to cellar/stillage historical UK recipes, inspired by our old mate Edd's work. What you've described with your mate inspires me to use the method I am considering to play these sort of games with extra kegs that I don't have room for in my kegerator. Basically an insulated tub with a constant rotation of freezer blocks , amount needed worked out through trial and error.

 

[professional_drunk]

I recently made a decocted pilsner. Bottled and stored at ambient garage temp.
Always tasted quite average and was quite sure I wasn't interested in doing any more decoctions.
Just tasted it again and wow! I think I may be a convert to decoction. Checked my brew log, 3 months since brew day.