posh beers and ales and stuff thread

Pre-note: though I'm working on sobriety I still enjoy a beer here and there lol.

Any of you beer geeks know how long you can cellar beer that has a lid (vs a cork?).... I don't know if there's a difference but I can't find any information on it.

You can cellar corked beers for a long, long time but not sure how long if it has a lid (properly sealed, not a twist off lid...).

I ask because I managed to snag a case of this (enlarged for full lushness lol). Amazing smoked russian imperial stout (or dark norse ale or whatever lol) that's surprisingly hard to find around here.

I got a bit of a laugh because the brewer says "The beer was originally meant to be a Strong Ale, but the brewers decided to focus on making great beer without extreme alcohol."

It's 11%, how much stronger does it need to be?

you can definitely cellar any beer at 11%abv. That might lose some of its smoke flavor, but I could be wrong.

  On 10/9/2014 at 4:30 AM, Candiru said:

you can definitely cellar any beer at 11%abv. That might lose some of its smoke flavor, but I could be wrong.

So it should be alright for a year or so?

I'm a massive red duck fanboy; they do a lot of excellent "extreme" ales, but not gimmicky or cloyingly sweet - always nicely balanced. This one had a touch of cocoa and had all kinds of chilli goop in it. quality

  On 10/9/2014 at 1:16 PM, StephenG said:

 

  On 10/9/2014 at 4:30 AM, Candiru said:

you can definitely cellar any beer at 11%abv. That might lose some of its smoke flavor, but I could be wrong.

 

So it should be alright for a year or so?

 

It'll definitely be ok for a year. Some minor modification of flavour to be expected.

  On 10/9/2014 at 1:21 PM, jhonny said:

 

  On 10/9/2014 at 1:16 PM, StephenG said:

 

  On 10/9/2014 at 4:30 AM, Candiru said:

you can definitely cellar any beer at 11%abv. That might lose some of its smoke flavor, but I could be wrong.

 

So it should be alright for a year or so?

 

It'll definitely be ok for a year. Some minor modification of flavour to be expected.

 

2nded. Do not cellar high ABV DIPAs though. You lose the hop bitterness/flavor over extended cellaring. Tastes more like a strong ale. But, I've done it & sometimes enjoy the change in flavor profile.

I've been cellaring Dark Lord, Imperial Biscotti Bourbon Break & The Bruery's Sucre for awhile. Definitely cracking all those soon.

thanks for the advice guys =)

anybody here a member of CAMRA?

years ago it was full of Catweasel beardy-weirdy types, I presume now real ale is trendy it's full of achingly cool hipsters. Either way I'm thinking of joining up as my social group is depleted somewhat (after the arrival of various newborns).

  On 10/9/2014 at 4:59 PM, beerwolf said:

anybody here a member of CAMRA?

 

years ago it was full of Catweasel beardy-weirdy types, I presume now real ale is trendy it's full of achingly cool hipsters. Either way I'm thinking of joining up as my social group is depleted somewhat (after the arrival of various newborns).

the weasel beer was good though.

you're talking about the mikeller kopi luwak (sp?) beer I presume?

very good stuff

  On 10/9/2014 at 5:00 PM, StephenG said:

 

  On 10/9/2014 at 4:59 PM, beerwolf said:

anybody here a member of CAMRA?

 

years ago it was full of Catweasel beardy-weirdy types, I presume now real ale is trendy it's full of achingly cool hipsters. Either way I'm thinking of joining up as my social group is depleted somewhat (after the arrival of various newborns).

 

the weasel beer was good though.

 

you're talking about the mikeller kopi luwak (sp?) beer I presume?

 

very good stuff

 

you've lost me....

are you on drugs stephen?

CAMRA is the Campaign for Real Ale, a group of beer drinkers who get together to quaff ale. I have no idea what you're talking about lol

what's Catweasel beardy types?

there's an expensive beer by mikeller $25ish a bottle that I thought you were taking a dig at me for haha figured catweasel referred to that.

cats and weasels ingest coffee beans which are broken down by enzymes in their stomach and the result is an expensive coffee that was used to brew the beer....

lol, okay mate, thanks for clearing that up, though to be honest I'm still confused lol

once upon a time I knew almost every beer brewed in the United Kingdom, nowadays there can be a dozen pumps and I might recognize 2 if I'm lucky, fookin' mental.

=(

lol

Yeah there are a million micro-breweries now

oh right, have you tried the Mikkeller Beer Geek Brunch Weasel? Had one yesterday, it's an imperial oatmeal stout with weasel shit coffee and it's fucking incredible. Highly recommended!

  On 10/9/2014 at 2:08 PM, olo said:

 

  On 10/9/2014 at 1:21 PM, jhonny said:

 

  On 10/9/2014 at 1:16 PM, StephenG said:

 

  On 10/9/2014 at 4:30 AM, Candiru said:

you can definitely cellar any beer at 11%abv. That might lose some of its smoke flavor, but I could be wrong.

 

So it should be alright for a year or so?

 

It'll definitely be ok for a year. Some minor modification of flavour to be expected.

 

 

2nded. Do not cellar high ABV DIPAs though. You lose the hop bitterness/flavor over extended cellaring. Tastes more like a strong ale. But, I've done it & sometimes enjoy the change in flavor profile.

 

Definitely good advice.

Really, for beers that showcase a complex hop character, get them as fresh as humanly possible, preferably straight from the tap and into either a glass or a growler (for drinking within about 24 hours). Ironically for something that was originally intended as a preservative, the hoppiness itself changes character quite a bit on the shelf and in transport.

There are heavily-hopped beers that the above doesn't apply to, and tons of beers that you'd want to mellow out, but the super hop-focused, intentionally "flowery" stuff tastes so much nicer when fresh.

I'm pretty spoiled by having a few good IPA-focused breweries close by, mind you. Currently miss filling the growler with Stone's Enjoy By IPA series something fierce.

Edit: on that subject, see http://enjoyby.stonebrewing.com/

So overall you guys don't recommend bright/lighter hop focused beers to be cellared.

In general the ones that I cellar are either barley wines, beers aged in wood barrels (broad description I know), and stouts...

Really looking forward to Odin's Tipple. If you ever see one for sale grab a bottle guys, it's really really good. Up there with my favorite.

I feel lucky to live 20 minutes from this place. A local treasure.

  On 10/10/2014 at 1:12 AM, StephenG said:

So overall you guys don't recommend bright/lighter hop focused beers to be cellared.

 

In general the ones that I cellar are either barley wines, beers aged in wood barrels (broad description I know), and stouts...

 

Really looking forward to Odin's Tipple. If you ever see one for sale grab a bottle guys, it's really really good. Up there with my favorite.

You can age strong Belgian ales too. Eisbocks, wheat wines, sours like Flemish reds and oud bruins- probably any Jolly Pumpkin beer, doppelbocks, you can age a ton of shit just 8% and above as a general rule few exceptions

  On 10/9/2014 at 10:16 PM, Gocab said:

oh right, have you tried the Mikkeller Beer Geek Brunch Weasel? Had one yesterday, it's an imperial oatmeal stout with weasel shit coffee and it's fucking incredible. Highly recommended!

This is a great beer. One of my all time favourites.

Check out this article for the story about Mikkeller and Evil Twin: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/30/magazine/a-fight-is-brewing.html?_r=0

I bought a bottle of this stout the other day, and it can be stored for 20 years. http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/kinn-svartekunst-fediresp/156869/

Not sure if that's the case for stouts in general.

Edit: On the back of the bottle, it says "will taste better after 2015"

  On 10/10/2014 at 4:14 AM, Candiru said:

 

  On 10/10/2014 at 1:12 AM, StephenG said:

So overall you guys don't recommend bright/lighter hop focused beers to be cellared.

 

In general the ones that I cellar are either barley wines, beers aged in wood barrels (broad description I know), and stouts...

 

Really looking forward to Odin's Tipple. If you ever see one for sale grab a bottle guys, it's really really good. Up there with my favorite.

You can age strong Belgian ales too. Eisbocks, wheat wines, sours like Flemish reds and oud bruins- probably any Jolly Pumpkin beer, doppelbocks, you can age a ton of shit just 8% and above as a general rule few exceptions

 

Thank you for the advice, I'll keep that in mind. And I think you're right in general re 8%. I had cellared a few around 6.5% and they were much more bitter than when I first bought them.

  On 10/10/2014 at 9:04 AM, scumtron said:

 

  On 10/9/2014 at 10:16 PM, Gocab said:

oh right, have you tried the Mikkeller Beer Geek Brunch Weasel? Had one yesterday, it's an imperial oatmeal stout with weasel shit coffee and it's fucking incredible. Highly recommended!

 

This is a great beer. One of my all time favourites.

Check out this article for the story about Mikkeller and Evil Twin: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/30/magazine/a-fight-is-brewing.html?_r=0

 

 

Mikkeller and Evil Twin are two of our favorite breweries (me and the missus).

Great stuff coming out of them.

I should take a pic of all the beers we've tried (probably 4-500 of them now). We have a ledge at home around the basement that is lined with all the diff bottles lol

  On 10/10/2014 at 1:03 AM, baph said:

 

  On 10/9/2014 at 2:08 PM, olo said:

 

  On 10/9/2014 at 1:21 PM, jhonny said:

 

  On 10/9/2014 at 1:16 PM, StephenG said:

 

  On 10/9/2014 at 4:30 AM, Candiru said:

you can definitely cellar any beer at 11%abv. That might lose some of its smoke flavor, but I could be wrong.

 

So it should be alright for a year or so?

 

It'll definitely be ok for a year. Some minor modification of flavour to be expected.

 

 

2nded. Do not cellar high ABV DIPAs though. You lose the hop bitterness/flavor over extended cellaring. Tastes more like a strong ale. But, I've done it & sometimes enjoy the change in flavor profile.

 

 

Definitely good advice.

 

Really, for beers that showcase a complex hop character, get them as fresh as humanly possible, preferably straight from the tap and into either a glass or a growler (for drinking within about 24 hours). Ironically for something that was originally intended as a preservative, the hoppiness itself changes character quite a bit on the shelf and in transport.

 

There are heavily-hopped beers that the above doesn't apply to, and tons of beers that you'd want to mellow out, but the super hop-focused, intentionally "flowery" stuff tastes so much nicer when fresh.

 

I'm pretty spoiled by having a few good IPA-focused breweries close by, mind you. Currently miss filling the growler with Stone's Enjoy By IPA series something fierce.

 

Edit: on that subject, see http://enjoyby.stonebrewing.com/

 

  On 10/10/2014 at 1:12 AM, StephenG said:

So overall you guys don't recommend bright/lighter hop focused beers to be cellared.

 

In general the ones that I cellar are either barley wines, beers aged in wood barrels (broad description I know), and stouts...

 

Really looking forward to Odin's Tipple. If you ever see one for sale grab a bottle guys, it's really really good. Up there with my favorite.

I should clarify, if you're a "hop-head", & that is the ingredient you look to/love most about a beer, do not cellar for extended periods. There are your dipas that are very malt heavy & drink like a strong ale already (could probably sit on those for awhile). In general though, you'll get diminishing returns. As Baph said, there are tons of brews that are heavily hopped that can be cellared. Many imperials of many styles where the hops aren't necessarily to be in the forefront like an IPA. I mainly age imperial stouts & strong ales aged in BB. Takes a little heat off after 6 months to a year. I've only gone over 2 years once I think. And really, not sure if it made the brew any more interesting. I think aging over a year in general should really be left to sours, quads or generally any beers that have a lot of complexity in ingredients. The bruery's anniversary ales would probably be a good example to age for several years. Excellent, complex brew.

a little lite read

http://www.craftbeer.com/craft-beer-muses/cellaring-craft-beer-to-age-or-not-to-age

I can't search the topic, I hope this hasn't already been asked.

I had some Leffe in London, Brussels and it was really good I thought. Got some in the states, 3 times if memory serves and it was awful. Tasted sort of rancid. Anybody know why this happens to imported beers?

Inb4 Leffe bashing

  On 10/10/2014 at 1:59 PM, purplegoat said:

I can't search the topic, I hope this hasn't already been asked.

 

I had some Leffe in London, Brussels and it was really good I thought. Got some in the states, 3 times if memory serves and it was awful. Tasted sort of rancid. Anybody know why this happens to imported beers?

 

Inb4 Leffe bashing

just old & skunked my friend. Probably sitting on the shelf forever. There are stores I go to & know they get rid of old product after a period of time. Reputable places that care about the consumer. There are also stores that have about 10 years worth of dust on bottles & could give a shit about the customer. "We have 1000s of microbrews, largest selection in state, blah blah blah." That's great, but, it's old & quite shit. You have to be careful when buying lower abv brews from places like that.

Look to ratebeer or beer advocate & search stores in your area. Should be reviews about whether you should give them your business or not for the most part.

no leffe bashing here either.

  On 10/10/2014 at 2:13 PM, olo said:

 

  On 10/10/2014 at 1:59 PM, purplegoat said:

I can't search the topic, I hope this hasn't already been asked.

 

I had some Leffe in London, Brussels and it was really good I thought. Got some in the states, 3 times if memory serves and it was awful. Tasted sort of rancid. Anybody know why this happens to imported beers?

 

Inb4 Leffe bashing

 

just old & skunked my friend. Probably sitting on the shelf forever. There are stores I go to & know they get rid of old product after a period of time. Reputable places that care about the consumer. There are also stores that have about 10 years worth of dust on bottles & could give a shit about the customer. "We have 1000s of microbrews, largest selection in state, blah blah blah." That's great, but, it's old & quite shit. You have to be careful when buying lower abv brews from places like that.

Look to ratebeer or beer advocate & search stores in your area. Should be reviews about whether you should give them your business or not for the most part.

 

no leffe bashing here either.

 

Thanks for the quick reply. I'll try it again, a very studious store just opened up next to me and they have it.

  On 10/10/2014 at 2:17 PM, purplegoat said:

 

  On 10/10/2014 at 2:13 PM, olo said:

 

  On 10/10/2014 at 1:59 PM, purplegoat said:

I can't search the topic, I hope this hasn't already been asked.

 

I had some Leffe in London, Brussels and it was really good I thought. Got some in the states, 3 times if memory serves and it was awful. Tasted sort of rancid. Anybody know why this happens to imported beers?

 

Inb4 Leffe bashing

 

just old & skunked my friend. Probably sitting on the shelf forever. There are stores I go to & know they get rid of old product after a period of time. Reputable places that care about the consumer. There are also stores that have about 10 years worth of dust on bottles & could give a shit about the customer. "We have 1000s of microbrews, largest selection in state, blah blah blah." That's great, but, it's old & quite shit. You have to be careful when buying lower abv brews from places like that.

Look to ratebeer or beer advocate & search stores in your area. Should be reviews about whether you should give them your business or not for the most part.

 

no leffe bashing here either.

 

Thanks for the quick reply. I'll try it again, a very studious store just opened up next to me and they have it.

 

I had leffe not too long ago & I don't remember there being any issues with it. I do find from talking with friends who've been overseas, they do say the lower abv import beers we drink in the states do taste better in europe or whathaveyou. I wonder if it's just a lengthy distribution process with import beers that give the "heineken" effect to lower abv import beers. Not sure. Could be a combination of that & just store owners not rotating out old product.