Does beer get better with age?

[AHB_Admin]

Since aging is part of the winemaking process, we can safely say that all wines get better with age.

That being said, I wonder, does beer improve with age?

 

[MHB]

I'm not a wine maker, but have taken some interest and I would view the assertion that all wine improves with age with a great deal of care. It has a lot to do with the style and what’s in the wine that predicts how well it will improve and for how long. Many of the low cost mass market wines show little if any improvement with age. A very small number of wines develop over decades.

Pretty much the same with beer. There is a period of maturation - in the case of mega swill (wine too) - this is short and the product deteriorates fairly rapidly from the end of maturation. There are some beers that develop unique and interesting flavours over time. Best illustrated in big Belgian beers in my experience.

What is I believe true is that all beers change over time.
I organised a vertical tasting of Chime Grande Reserve 4 bottles spread over about 12 years, the best was around 9 years old, the oldest one a little dull...
No doubt that personal taste plays a role but the group of tasters, all industry pros agreed.
The fairest thing I can say is that beer changes and it’s up to the consumer to decide when is best.
Mark

This for German "Standard" Lager

 

[mcgarryb]

I think it depends on the style of beer. Some of the heavier stouts and dark beers I believe need aging and as mentioned earlier all beers change flavour as they age. It then remains up to the individuals taste. I generally do pale ales and mine are best when they are young but in saying that I have not reached the stage of doing complete oxygen free transfers yet so I expect I get some oxidation as it ages. I still love what I make though.

 

[Hangover68]

I think it depends on the style of beer. Some of the heavier stouts and dark beers I believe need aging and as mentioned earlier all beers change flavour as they age. It then remains up to the individuals taste. I generally do pale ales and mine are best when they are young but in saying that I have not reached the stage of doing complete oxygen free transfers yet so I expect I get some oxidation as it ages. I still love what I make though.

Stouts definitely get better with age, i brewed an oatmeal stout that i originally bottled but had gushing issues so emptied them into a keg then aged for 6 months and its so much smoother now.

 

[Luxo_Aussie]

Definitely the case, I've been making my 8% Christmas beers in March to allow at least 6 months before drinking. Everything mellows out nicely.

 

[Paleman]

You would have to say lagers improve with months of lagering.

 

[Roosterboy]

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

 

[JDW81]

Important to note that it is not just the type of beer that makes a difference when ageing, but also the care and skill it has been brewed with and how it is stored (much like wine).

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

 

[1_Harald]

In meinem Bierkeller lagern Biere die bis zu 10 Jahre gealtert sind. Insbesondere sind das Barley Wine, Imperial Stout und Eisbiere mit einem hohen Alkoholgehalt.
Mein selbstgebrautes Begian Dark Strong Ale, Jahrgang 2020, hatte ich 2 ,5 Jahre im Lager und ich muss sagen: " Die letzte Flasche war die Beste" .
Für dieses Jahr 2022 habe ich einen Teil mit einem Flaschensiegel versehen und werde versuchen es längere Zeit zu lagern.

Viele Grüsse aus Deutschland/Germany

 

[Dave Blackburn]

Since aging is part of the winemaking process, we can safely say that all wines get better with age.

That being said, I wonder, does beer improve with age?

Since aging is part of the winemaking process, we can safely say that all wines get better with age.

That being said, I wonder, does beer improve with age?

In my many years brewing experience I'd say it depends on the beer. My very general take is the heavier a beer the longer it will take to improve. For me lighter ales and pilsners about 3 months in the bottle and heavier stouts and porters about 6 months. Please note, this is based on the couple I try to keep a while, the rest are long gone!

 

[fermento_b]

In meinem Bierkeller lagern Biere die bis zu 10 Jahre gealtert sind. Insbesondere sind das Barley Wine, Imperial Stout und Eisbiere mit einem hohen Alkoholgehalt.
Mein selbstgebrautes Begian Dark Strong Ale, Jahrgang 2020, hatte ich 2 ,5 Jahre im Lager und ich muss sagen: " Die letzte Flasche war die Beste" .
Für dieses Jahr 2022 habe ich einen Teil mit einem Flaschensiegel versehen und werde versuchen es längere Zeit zu lagern.

Viele Grüsse aus Deutschland/Germany

For those who don't speak German, I offer my rough translation as an Aussie who studied the language in school decades ago. Hope this is OK. It's not an exacting "transliteration" but I tried to capture the vibe.


In my beer cellar, beer is lagered upto 10 years. Especially Barley Wine, Imperial Stout, and Ice-Beer with high alcohol content.
My personally [home]-brewed Belgian Dark Strong Ale, of 2020 was lagered 2.5 years, and I must say: "The last bottle was the best!".
For the year 2022, I have seen to wax-seal a portion of my bottles, and I'm intending to lager those for a longer time.
Many greetings from Germany
[- Harald]


Thanks a lot Harald, that is completely interesting, and lovely beer photos also! Cheers from Australia

Danke sehr Harald, dass its total interessant. Shöne Bierbilder. Ein Prozit/Viele Grüße aus Australien.

 

[Grmblz]

In meinem Bierkeller lagern Biere die bis zu 10 Jahre gealtert sind. Insbesondere sind das Barley Wine, Imperial Stout und Eisbiere mit einem hohen Alkoholgehalt.
Mein selbstgebrautes Begian Dark Strong Ale, Jahrgang 2020, hatte ich 2 ,5 Jahre im Lager und ich muss sagen: " Die letzte Flasche war die Beste" .
Für dieses Jahr 2022 habe ich einen Teil mit einem Flaschensiegel versehen und werde versuchen es längere Zeit zu lagern.

Viele Grüsse aus Deutschland/Germany

Nicht viele Mitglieder sprechen Deutsch, sind aber willkommen.

 

[Mooroolbark_Mick]

In meinem Bierkeller lagern Biere die bis zu 10 Jahre gealtert sind. Insbesondere sind das Barley Wine, Imperial Stout und Eisbiere mit einem hohen Alkoholgehalt.
Mein selbstgebrautes Begian Dark Strong Ale, Jahrgang 2020, hatte ich 2 ,5 Jahre im Lager und ich muss sagen: " Die letzte Flasche war die Beste" .
Für dieses Jahr 2022 habe ich einen Teil mit einem Flaschensiegel versehen und werde versuchen es längere Zeit zu lagern.

Viele Grüsse aus Deutschland/Germany

Grüße aus Melbourne, Australien. Vielen Dank für die Informationen

 

[1_Harald]

Vielen Dank für die Übersetzung, vielen Dank für das Feedback, vielen Dank für die Grüsse.
Leider sind meine Englischkenntnisse schlecht, ich nutze die automatischen Übersetzungsfunktionen am Rechner und Telefon.

In Deutschland gibt es sehr viele Hobbybrauer. Ein sehr gut geführtes deutschsprachiges Hobbybrauerforum mit 14000 Mitgliedern ist

https://hobbybrauer.de/forum/index.php
Eine Mitgliedschaft ist nach Registrierung dauerhaft kostenfrei, vielleicht habt ihr Interesse diese Seiten zu besuchen.

Persönlich bin ich an einem Erfahrungsaustausch interessiert.

Viele Grüsse aus Deutschland, Harald




Thank you very much for the translation, thank you very much for the feedback, thank you very much for the greetings.
Unfortunately, my English skills are poor, I use the automatic translation functions on the computer and telephone.

There are many hobby brewers in Germany. A very well-run German-speaking hobby brewers' forum with 14000 members is

hobbybrauer.de - Foren-Übersicht

A membership is permanently free of charge after registration, maybe you are interested in visiting these pages.

Personally, I am interested in an exchange of experiences.

Best regards from Germany, Harald

 

[DucatiBoyStu]

Basically, the answer to your question is

YES

 

[1_Harald]

Heute wieder einige Zeilen von mir.
2023 haben ein Braufreund und ich ein grosses Vorhaben gestartet.
Wir haben einen englischen Barley Wine eingebraut. Die Reifung des BW findet in einem vorbelegten Rum Fass statt. Das Fass beschafften wir von den Fidschi Inseln. Dann wurde es nach Frankreich geliefert, auf unsere gewünschte Grösse von 110 Liter zurückgebaut und nach Deutschland geliefert.
Eine weite Reise.
Im Februar haben wir 150 Liter BW mit 25,1 ° Plato und 12 % Vol. Alk. gebraut. Als Zutaten kamen Malze und Hopfe aus GB zum Einsatz. Mitte März konnten wir 110 Liter zur Reifung in das Fass geben, eine Restmenge hatten wir im KEG und die erste Verkostung fand statt.
Jetzt warten wir auf das Ergebniss der Fassreifung.

Ich werde weiter berichten.

Viele Grüsse aus Deutschland, Harald

 

[1_Harald]

Today again a few lines from me.
In 2023, a brewing spree and I started a big project. We brewed an English Barley Wine. The maturation of the BW takes place in a pre-filled rum barrel. We procured the barrel from the Fiji Islands. Then it was delivered to France, dismantled to our desired size of 110 liters and delivered to Germany.
A long journey.
In February we produced 150 litres of BW with 25.1 ° Plato and 12% vol. Alk. brewed. Malt and hops from the UK were used as ingredients. In mid-March we were able to put 110 liters into the barrel for maturation, we had a residual quantity in the KEG and the first tasting took place.
Now we are waiting for the result of the barrel maturation.

I will continue to report.

Best regards from Germany, Harald

 

[emmadale]

The aging potential and improvement of beer with age can vary depending on the style of beer. While some beers, such as certain high-alcohol, dark, and robust styles like barleywines, imperial stouts, or strong ales, can benefit from aging, the majority of beers are meant to be consumed fresh.

 

[Jack Goral]

My kegerator holds 4 kegs but it has only 3 taps. The 4th keg always lagers waiting for its turn to be tapped. And the beer in the 4th keg always gets better with time.

I call it a forced lagering by design.

 

[1_Harald]

Ich werde weiter berichten.

Update: Nach 210 Tagen zur Reifung unseres Barley Wines im Fass konnten wir endlich das Bier abfüllen. Es war schon eine Menge Arbeit. Auf Grund des hohen Alkoholgehaltes entschieden wir uns für 0,25 Liter Flaschen. Ein Etikett wurde gestaltet, die Flaschen wurden zur Langzeitlagerung versiegelt und im Keller gelagert. Im Zuammenhang zur Abfüllung fand ein kleines Foodparing mit französischen Edelschimmelkäse statt, das war fantastisch.

Im Juni 2024 konnten wir den BW beim "Mitteldeutschen Hobbybrauertreffen" präsentieren und erreichten den 1. Platz aller eingereichten Biere.

Die Reise unseres Fasses geht weiter. Zur Zweitbelegung wurde ein Russian Imperial Stout gebraut und zur Reifung in das Fass gegeben. Die ersten Verkostungen waren vielversprechend.

Viele Grüße aus Deutschland, Harald



Update: After 210 days of maturing our Barley Wine in the barrel, we were finally able to bottle the beer. It was quite a lot of work. Due to the high alcohol content, we opted for 0.25 liter bottles. A label was designed, the bottles were sealed for long-term storage and stored in the cellar. In connection with the bottling, a small food paring with French blue cheese took place, which was fantastic.


In June 2024, we were able to present the BW at the "Central German Hobby Brewers' Meeting" and achieved 1st place of all the beers submitted.


The journey of our cask continues. A Russian Imperial Stout was brewed for the second maturing process and placed in the barrel. The first tastings were very promising.


Many greetings from Germany, Harald.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)