Beer is surprisingly delicate and never stops changing and evolving from the beginning of the brewing process right through to your first sip. Even so, for all but a very few beers, time is the enemy. Like a new car driving off the dealer’s lot, most beer will never be better than when it has that new beer smell… and taste!

So Why Bother?

The reason some beers should be set aside and aged is that like a fine wine or whisky, the experience of drinking an aged beer is enhanced because of the changes that occur during the aging process. For these few beers, the aging actually improves their flavors and adds complexity and other intangible qualities that can be achieved only over time. Many of these beers soften with time, rough edges are smoothed out and the beer becomes mellower with aging.

Some styles of beer fairly cry out to be aged. Many experts believe, for example, that a barley wine isn’t ready to drink until it’s at least one year old. The same could be said for other stronger styles, too, such as imperial stouts or Belgian strong dark ales, both of which improve greatly with time.

And despite its delicate nature, some beers can withstand the rigors of time and improve for as long as decades and even centuries. A few years ago, Coors Brewing, after taking over the former Bass Brewery in Burton-on-Trent, England, discovered some very old beer in the vaults of the Worthington’s White Shield brewery. The forgotten stash contained beer that was 130 years old, some of it from 1896. Most of the bottles still had their corks intact and, perhaps more surprisingly, when tasted, were found to “taste so fresh, and with [very] attractive ripe plum and honeyed flavours.” One of the people lucky enough to try the 1896 beer, Dr George Philliskirk, Chief Executive of the Beer Academy, noted. “This demonstrates the potential for vintage beers to be taken seriously—maybe even being worthy of a special section in wine lists at Britain’s top restaurants.”

But beer, it’s often assumed, needs no such respect. Keep it cold and serve it as soon as possible. Most beer lovers believe that the fresher beer is consumed, the better it tastes.

The truth is that freshness is something of a moving target. To be truly fresh, beer must be ready to drink, meaning that it has been given proper conditioning time in the brewing process—which could be anywhere from a week or so for some light ales to three months or more for strong lagers. Once the brewery releases the beer, all kinds of problems in maintaining good flavor can occur—in storing, shipping, selling and serving the beer. Beer could be stored too warm stacked up at the supermarket at room temperature; it could be shaken violently during shipping; it might be exposed to extremes of light, heat or cold; and finally, it could be served through dirty tap lines or in dirty glasses. It’s cause for celebration when any beer emerges from this gauntlet tasting fresh!

Yet freshness ought not to be the consumer’s only concern about the quality of beer. Many of the world’s best beers are not meant to be drunk as soon as they are released from the brewery. Like wine, they are designed to be aged, and they develop far more complexity if allowed to do so.

I’ll never forget the first time I visited the inn at the Abbey de Scourmont in Belgium, where the Trappist ales from the nearby Chimay brewery are served. On the beer menu was the current release of Chimay Grande Reserve (capsule bleu), the strongest and most flavorful Chimay beer. The beer was very good, but a 3-year-old version of the same brew was also available. Tasting the two side by side, I was astonished how much more depth of flavor the older beer has acquired during its time in the inn’s cellar.