Do Beers Age Well?

Surprisingly, Not All Beer Has to be Served Fresh

May 1, 2007

People think of aging as something that is done with wine, and that beer must be served as fresh as possible. That depends on the beer.

Most beers shouldn’t be aged. They’re brewed and designed to be consumed as soon as possible. Beers such as Belgian wheat beers, German weisses, or American pale ales, all are beers to drink and enjoy as soon after the leave the brewery as possible.

But there are many beers that can be cellared with good results. The best results will generally be with beers that have alcohol levels of 8% or higher, since more alcohol means more sugars and flavors to evolve. The high alcohol content also will help the beer keep better, preventing spoiling. Among the high alcohol beers that make good choices are barleywines and old ales.

One exception would be the Belgian lambics. In the United States, the fruit lambics are probably the best known, but the fruit varieties are only a small sample of the style. These beers are usually 5-6% alcohol, but they’re made for aging. Many are aged 2-3 years before being bottled for sale, and will continue to mellow with age.

Malty beers are a good choice, since they’re likely to sweeten over time, but you might want to experiment with very hoppy beers. The hops flavor breaks down over time. Some people refer to the resulting flavor as “tealike,” but whether that’s good or bad is a matter of personal taste. If you find IPAs and other heavily hopped beers to be a bit too bitter, you may enjoy them with some of the edge taken off.

Unfiltered beers – beers with yeast in the bottle – can be a good choice for cellaring. The yeast will continue its fermentation, sometimes for several years. This will continually change existing flavors and add new ones.

Skip the pasteurized beers altogether. First, these beers are not designed for cellaring – they’re intended to be consumed as fresh as possible. And since pasteurization stops the brewing process entirely, the only change you’ll get is a progressively skunkier, musty tasting beer.

Nasser Eftekhari, owner of Beer Mania in Brussels, says, “Beer isn’t better after a few years, but different,” and it’s difficult to know ahead of time if a particular beer will improve with age. But if you’re looking for specific brands or styles to try, there are a few that are better choices for experimentation.

The copyright of the article Do Beers Age Well? in Beers is owned by Angie Rayfield. Permission to republish Do Beers Age Well? in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Jul 17, 2008 3:50 PM

Marty Nachel :

Correction: NO BEERS sweeten over time. More likely, beers tend to lose their sweetness over time, just as beers also lose their bitter edge. Time takes its toll on all facets of beer flavor.

Jul 18, 2008 11:16 AM

Angie Rayfield :

Whether time takes its toll is a matter of personal opinion. I would certainly agree that most beers are best when consumed fresh. For that matter, some are just downright horrible within a very short span of time. But I've had some aged Chimays that were absolutely incredible, and yes, that I thought were noticeably sweeter.

Oct 6, 2008 6:27 AM

Guest :

Would you think Octoberfest(Sam Adams) might age well?

Oct 13, 2008 5:42 AM

Angie Rayfield :

I haven't tasted the results of aging any of the Sam Adams beers, but my thought generally is "Why not?" I've got one that I'm experimenting with myself - the Hallertau Imperial Pilsner. It's got a ways to go before I crack open the first one, though.

On the down side, it's not terribly high ABV, so there's a higher chance of spoiling. On the plus side, Sam Adams isn't an expensive beer, so if you try it and don't care for the end results, you wouldn't be pouring tons of money down the drain.