Question: Can I age beer like wine?
Answer: First, let's clear up one thing. Not all wines are meant to be aged. Many whites and a few reds are better the sooner after bottling that you drink them. Speaking in very general terms, the lighter and fruitier a wine is, the likelier it is that it should be drunk fresh. The wines, especially the reds, with big oaky and earthy flavors tend to be the ones that improve with age.
I say that not because I'm intent on handing out advice on wine. Quite the opposite is true. I bring it up because the same sort of rules apply to beer. Generally speaking, the light, simpler beers are best when consumed fresh. It is the giant styles like Imperial stout and barley wine that tend to be age-able. The more complex a beer is, the more likely it is to benefit from time spent a cool, dark place.
Luckily for beer lovers, this is uncommon or unheard of enough of a practice that when a brewer makes a beer that can be aged he will point it out on the label. With beers of that quality, the brewer will often include serving temperature suggestions and sometimes even a suggestion of the style of glass that it should be served it.
A lot of beer can last quite a while in a well sealed bottle. Keep it dark and cool and it will keep for quite some time although only a few beers will actually improve.
The exception is pasteurized beer. When pasteurization was first introduced to the brewing industry back in the 19th century it was revolutionary. Refrigeration was rare back then and beer tended to spoil rather quickly. These days, however, the sanitation practices of most breweries plus the fact that beer is kept cool almost continually from the time it leaves the brewery to when it gets to the customer makes it far less likely to spoil.
Pasteurization stops the beer's natural aging process. From the moment of pasteurization the beer begins to stale. This is why big brewers who rely on the practice as a quality control measure, put the bottling date on their beer labels. This way the customer knows how stale the beer will be.
So, the simple answer is that most beer doesn't need to be aged unless the brewers tells you so on the label. However, most beer can last a long time in the bottle if it is well taken care of unless it has a bottling date.
By the way, while we are on the topic of aging, let's talk about spirits. Certain types, like whisky, are identified by age, a 12 year old Scotch, for example. That age is the time the scotch spent aging in the barrel. The age, as it affect the flavor or character of the whiskey, does not increase in the bottle. In other words, if you buy a bottle of 12 year old Scotch and keep it for 10 years it has not become a 22 year old Scotch, it is still only 12. This is because the aging that improves and mellows the Scotch can only happen in the barrel while the alcohol is in contact with the charred wood. The alcohol content is so high in these beverages that an aging like that which happens in beer or wine bottles isn't possible.
I say that not because I'm intent on handing out advice on wine. Quite the opposite is true. I bring it up because the same sort of rules apply to beer. Generally speaking, the light, simpler beers are best when consumed fresh. It is the giant styles like Imperial stout and barley wine that tend to be age-able. The more complex a beer is, the more likely it is to benefit from time spent a cool, dark place.
Luckily for beer lovers, this is uncommon or unheard of enough of a practice that when a brewer makes a beer that can be aged he will point it out on the label. With beers of that quality, the brewer will often include serving temperature suggestions and sometimes even a suggestion of the style of glass that it should be served it.
A lot of beer can last quite a while in a well sealed bottle. Keep it dark and cool and it will keep for quite some time although only a few beers will actually improve.
The exception is pasteurized beer. When pasteurization was first introduced to the brewing industry back in the 19th century it was revolutionary. Refrigeration was rare back then and beer tended to spoil rather quickly. These days, however, the sanitation practices of most breweries plus the fact that beer is kept cool almost continually from the time it leaves the brewery to when it gets to the customer makes it far less likely to spoil.
Pasteurization stops the beer's natural aging process. From the moment of pasteurization the beer begins to stale. This is why big brewers who rely on the practice as a quality control measure, put the bottling date on their beer labels. This way the customer knows how stale the beer will be.
So, the simple answer is that most beer doesn't need to be aged unless the brewers tells you so on the label. However, most beer can last a long time in the bottle if it is well taken care of unless it has a bottling date.
By the way, while we are on the topic of aging, let's talk about spirits. Certain types, like whisky, are identified by age, a 12 year old Scotch, for example. That age is the time the scotch spent aging in the barrel. The age, as it affect the flavor or character of the whiskey, does not increase in the bottle. In other words, if you buy a bottle of 12 year old Scotch and keep it for 10 years it has not become a 22 year old Scotch, it is still only 12. This is because the aging that improves and mellows the Scotch can only happen in the barrel while the alcohol is in contact with the charred wood. The alcohol content is so high in these beverages that an aging like that which happens in beer or wine bottles isn't possible.
