Tag Archives: old cellar dweller

Stale Beer and the Beer Cellar

Brasserie Cantillon Brouwerij  Celler - Brussels

Brasserie Cantillon Brouwerij Celler – Brussels

A number of years ago I put together a post about ageing beer. This post grew, as did our cellars, and eventually the post turned into a dedicated cellar page. At the time, Chris and I were each starting to develop our own cellars and we didn’t know what to expect as our collections grew older. Not being a patient person makes stocking a beer cellar a challenge, but a number of bottles remained untouched in a cool dark location for a number of years. Having raided most of my cellar, I have come to a realization – ageing beer may not be all it is cracked up to be

The idea of ageing beer was exciting when we first started, and it still is to some extent. It is a gratifying feeling to have the patience to let organic chemistry change and develop a bottle of Old Cellar Dweller, prior to consuming it years later.  Over the past year I watched my cellar peak and decline. And let me tell you, the decline of a beer cellar is the better of the two slopes.  Sure, the way up is filled with excitement and mystery, but the way down is alcohol fuelled.

The most enjoyable aged ale experience was a vertical tasting of Fuller’s Vintage Ale.  I managed to stow away a bottle of Fuller Vintage Ale each year starting with 2007.  Chris was gifted a bottle of Fuller’s 2006 to finish off the collection from 2006 to 2012.  My patience got the best of me, an the impending sale of my current residence rushed the tasting from what should have been during the cold of winter to the heat of summer.  The group of tasters, Gavin, Chris, Me, and the women that come attached to us, got together to work our way through the Fullers collection last August.  The tasting itself was a great experience, but I would be hard pressed to say that the 2007 was better than the 2012.  Not that the bottle of ’07 was off, in fact it was very enjoyable, but it also wasn’t stand-out-excellent.  Age didn’t seem to make the beer any better, it just made it different.

Does old beer taste better?  No one really knows this, but I do not believe beer gets better with time, it just changes.  The effect time has on beer still remains somewhat a mystery as the idea of laying down a bottle of beer (or sitting upright on a shelf) for an extended period of time is new.   The market for old beer is small, but growing, and very little research on the topic is available.  Most research is focused on how to slow the ageing process in an attempt to keep beer fresh longer.  As beer ages it goes stale and it turns out some of these stale flavours are enjoyable.

When beer ages, existing molecules and flavour compounds that give beer its fresh taste degrade and other new compounds are created.  With time, organic compounds within a bottle of beer slowly react with one another, changing the beer’s overall flavour profile and to some extent mouth feel.  Many of these reactions are oxidative, and the general consensus is that too much oxidation will result in the development of cardboard like flavours.  Keeping a bottle cool slows the development of assertive off flavours, such as the previously mentioned wet cardboard taste.  While many stale beer flavours can be nasty, age does have the potential to improve the overall beer experience.

Organic molecules within beer are developed during the brewing and malting process.  Poorly brewed beer will stale prematurely and is not a great cellar candidate.  The off flavours found in poorly made beer will age-out, but during the ageing process many of these unwanted tastes will convert into an even more unpleasant off-flavour.  Well made beer will fair much better as it ages, as will beer with a higher alcohol content and an assertive flavour profile.  Big beers are typically cellared for two reasons: their bold flavour profile will help hide the inevitable development of off-flavours during a lengthy maturation period, and the intense, often imbalanced young flavours will dissipate as the flavour compounds degrade.  The degradation of key flavour compounds is why aged beer is often times described as mellow or smooth.  As beer ages, big flavours will fade away and subtle flavours, both pre-existing and newly created, will shine that much more.

My cellar is now very small and my mindset on ageing beer is far more short-term than before.  I like fresh, hoppy, and assertive beer, all of which are not characteristics of matured beer.  Aside from bottles with Brettanomyces, which is yeast that remains active for years, my cellar is quite small.  A few bottles of big beer will sit for a few months in my cellar, but anything beyond this and I find the flavour degrades more than it improves.

There is a certain romance behind ageing beer that appeals to many dedicated craft beer drinkers. The mystery, uncertainty and the required patience makes many beer drinkers overly positive when it comes time to crack open a bottle.  After a hard day of physical labour, even a poorly made sandwich will taste like heaven – effort makes the reward that much sweeter.  The same may be true of aged beer.  I believe that age kills most good beer.  Very few bottles, even when stored correctly, benefit from an extended maturation period.  However, this is the opinion of just one beer drinker.  Ageing beer is still a mystery, it’s a new thing.  So please, continue to age beer and see if you enjoy the outcome.  Drinking beer should be fun, and if ageing beer is just that, please carry on.

Cheers,

Erik

Driftwood Old Cellar Dweller 2008 vs 2009

Driftwood’s Old Cellar Dweller Barley Wine is one of my favorite seasonal release BC beers and definitely my favorite barley wine.  It’s an American style barley wine that uses three times the grain and five times the hops than you’d use to make a normal beer.  If you aren’t a hophead you needn’t worry; the higher levels of malt, and the resulting higher alcohol content (12% ABV), balance out the hops nicely.

Last year was the first year Driftwood made their barley wine, coincidentally it was also the first year they existed.  I bought two bottles, drank one, and put the other in the cellar. When the 2009 version came out this year I thought it would be cool to try the 2008 version aged a year in the cellar and compare it with the fresh 2009 version.  As far as I know, the recipe didn’t change at all.

I recalled the 2008 version, consumed fresh last year, as having a wonderful hoppy aroma of citrus and floral notes.  The same aroma was only faintly present in the aged version.  We found the aged version to be much more subdued than we recalled.  All of its younger and harsher characteristics had mellowed over time.  The bite of the alcohol and the sweetness of the malt had blended into a deeper caramel and molasses like richness.  We liked the aged beer, but we were reminded of why we loved this beer last year when we tried the fresh 2009 vintage.  Powerful aromas, potent hops on the tonggue right after a sip, then a lingering and complex sweetness for the finish.

While our experiment was fun, we learned that Old Cellar Dweller, despite its name, doesn’t belong in the cellar.  The hops in this barley wine make drinking it relatively young an experience you can’t pass up.

Cheers,

Chris

Cellar Update: Bush de Noel

I was delighted when my wife surprised me with a Brasserie Dubuisson Bush de Noel for my cellar.  I mean really, how often does that happen?  I believe she may have originally been attracted to the bottle by its shiny, colorful label, but then decided to purchase one upon hearing that Erik found it cellar worthy.  This is an epic addition to my cellar, Scaldis Noel being the first beer added (of four total) that I haven’t consumer prior, only to buy another for ageing.  I have finally learned my lesson, that strong beers develop more complex and interesting flavors with age.  I’ve also found of late that I enjoy high alcohol content beers more once they’ve aged for a good while, which I find helps take the edge off the alcoholic taste.  Bush de Noel (or Scaldis Noel) is a strong Belgian Amber Ale (12% ABV) that I look forward to drinking in a year or so.  Reviews I’ve read indicate that this one will have a sweet, spicy, fruity taste.  I can’t wait.

I also recently added a Driftwood Old Cellar Dweller Barley Wine to my cellar, after drinking one of course.  This Northwest style Barley Wine was sweet, hoppy, and full of flavor.  I recommend that you immediately buy at least two, one for now and one for later.

Cheers,

Chris