The Rarest of the Rare
Don Feinberg and Wendy Littlefield and no strangers to beer that can be cellared. In addition to founding Brewery Ommegang in Cooperstown, NY, for the last thirty years they’ve been importing Belgian beer to the U.S. with their import company, Vanburg & Dewulf. Just a few of the beers in their portfolio include the Scaldis line from Brasserie Dubuisson and Saison Dupont along with other beers from Brasserie Dupont.
They’ve recently acquired 185 bottles of a special beer that was never commercially available, a special batch of 1989 DeNeve Gueuze that was blended from eleven different lambics, an unheard of number today. They came from the Constant Vanden stock stores at Belle-Vue, who bought the DeNeve brewery several years ago. The spectacular beer (according to the few who have tasted it) will be sold next year, but only to a lucky few who will be invited to make the trip to Belgium for a three-day weekend, after which each person will be allowed to buy a limited number of the bottles. The plans are still being worked out, but keep an eye on Vanburg & Dewulf’s Facebook page as details emerge. This is a beer that will be at the pinnacle of any exclusive beer cellar.
Waiting Is Such Sweet Sorrow: The Most Important Decision
The hardest question to answer for any beer that’s been aged is when to open it. Wait too long, and it’s ruined, hardly fit for human consumption. Open it too early, and it could be green, having not yet reached its full potential. Call it the Goldilocks dilemma.
It’s best if you can have several bottles of the same vintage to open at different intervals, noting the changes in the flavors, every six months, or from year to year, for example. With rare beers that’s not always possible, or it’s cost prohibitive, but a little experimentation and following some reasonable guidelines about how long certain styles can age will pay dividends and help you avoid the undrinkable.
But hit that sweet spot and you’ll understand in an instant why you put in all the work of building a beer cellar, exercising the Herculean willpower necessary to patiently wait and not open the beer too soon. You’ll taste a beer like no other; with flavors you may later believe were only imagined, often with layers like an ever-loving gobstopper that constantly change as the beer slowly warms in your glass. A good beer cellar is your personal incubator for some of the best beer experiences you’re likely to ever have. Find or make a space with the ideal conditions, add some of the finest beers ever brewed … and wait.
