Like Fine Wine - 5 Things You Should Know About Beer

Written by Sean Wood | 16 June 2009

What makes a beer age-worthy?

A good rule of thumb is that strong beers make good keepers. Typically, brews for the cellar will run to about 8 per cent alcohol or higher. Generally, they will be darker in colour rather than golden or light amber, although there are exceptions. Beers that can age, like many wines, will drop a fair bit of sediment, creating a cloudy appearance when poured. With richly concentrated darker ones, this does not much matter, but many drinkers find it undesirable in lighter-coloured beers.

Styles for cellaring

Germany and Britain are both well-known, but when it comes to diversity of style, neither of these brewing giants can match tiny Belgium. The universally admired Belgian Trappist ales, brewed by Trappist monks since the Middle Ages, are enormously complex, powerful and age-worthy beverages. The best, like great wines, need several years in the cellar before fully displaying their amazing qualities. The longest-lived need a dozen years or more to fully mature and can live for decades.

Despite its great diversity, German brewing has not laid much emphasis on aging. England, on the other hand, has created memorable long-lived brews. Barley wine is the strongest English style, so named because its alcoholic strength is similar to wine. Powerful versions can hit 12 per cent. The style is not as popular as it once was in the UK, but it has been enthusiastically adopted by American and (some) Canadian brewers.

English Old Ale is comparable to barley wine but aims more for complexity than maximizing alcoholic strength. One of the most highly prized is the very rare Thomas Hardy from Dorset, which Stephen Beaumont says needs at least five years in the cellar and will continue to improve for much longer. Some years ago in England, I tasted another example, the Marston’s Owd Roger on draft. Brewed according to a 350-year-old recipe, one pint was equivalent to eight nips of scotch. It was unctuously rich with sweet malty and dried-fruit flavours and rancio character comparable to some fortified wines. Bottled versions would develop for many years. Specially released “Winter Warmers” and various festive ales fall into a broadly similar category.

Russian Imperial Stout is another English style; it was originally exported to slake the thirst of the Russian Imperial court. It was brewed to a higher strength in order to survive the rigours of the journey by sea and overland. While not as long-lived as barley wine or old ale, it can significantly improve with additional bottle aging. Imperial Pale Ale, another style developed for export, was originally brewed for shipment to British troops in India. It is usually stronger than most pale ales, but its longevity comes from the extra hops that serve as an effective preservative, adding plenty of tangy bitterness to the flavour. Although it does keep well, it will not develop further in the cellar.

New leader

South of the border, it seems, anything goes. The brewing scene in the US has become bewildering in its diversity. Much like Australian winemakers did before taking the wine world by storm, American brewers have thrown away the brewing rulebook. Boldly individualistic brewers have blurred the lines between traditional beers, creating many unique new styles. In this dynamic culture, traditional descriptions are no longer very meaningful. American brewers are pushing the brewing art to its absolute limit, including developing the world’s strongest beers. The Boston Beer Company (of Samuel Adams fame) has achieved alcohol levels nudging 25 per cent by aging an already powerful brew in bourbon-whiskey casks, then finishing it in sherry and Madeira casks from Portugal. The resulting monster — Samuel Adams Utopias — definitely needs additional time in the cellar. Many American breweries boast at least one or two big, age-worthy beers.

Can we benefit?

Age-worthy Canadian beers are not that common but they do exist. In Quebec, Unibroue has developed world-class beers in the Belgian Trappist style. Beers such as La Fin du Monde, Trois Pistoles and Don-de-Dieu will age for at least three years while La Maudite is good for five years or more. McAuslan’s St-Ambroise Vintage Ale is made in the style of an English strong ale or barley wine and is similarly age-worthy. Some craft breweries in Ontario also produce the occasional strong brew that will benefit by aging. In Nova Scotia, both Halifax craft breweries have released serious, age-worthy brews. We’re well on our way.

Proper cellaring