How To Choose The Right Beers For Aging

Everyone knows wines improve with age. They're often allowed to mature in a barrel, but some wine lovers continue the aging process after the purchase to eke out a vintage's finer qualities. Like wine, certain beers taste better after a period of barrel aging, but can you age bottled beer at home? Sometimes. When buying beer, it's important to know which types are worth aging and which are best fresh. LJ Whirley, certified cicerone and associate director of culinary arts at Newfields, gave us her wisdom on choosing the perfect beers to age.

Whirley said a beer's ability to age well depends on the type of beer and its alcohol content. A general rule of thumb is that darker beers fare better with aging, though there are exceptions to this rule. Malt-forward beers (such as a dunkel, the original Oktoberfest beer) tend to age nicely. 

A higher alcohol content means the liquid has more structure to it, making for a more productive aging process. "The higher the alcohol content, the more 'stuff' there is to hold onto as the beer ages and the less likely it is to fall apart," Whirley told The Takeout. "I would say 8 to 9% alcohol content beers tend to age better." But Whirley wasn't impressed with all beers in this way. "IPAs and hoppy beers never ever age well," she said. "Don't do it. The hops begin to break down rather quickly and impart a less than desirable taste into the beer."

As beers age, their substance begins to weaken and the alcohol content will increase (if the beer is bottle-conditioned and still fermenting, which most beers are not). Some brews will also lose a bit of their carbonation. When deciding which beers to let age, it is best to choose brews that will withstand these transformations.

Orval, a popular Trappist beer, is one of Whirley's favorite beers to age, as its already boisterous profile becomes even more interesting over time (which is one of the reasons why beer fans love drinking barrel-aged beer). "The beer is bottle-conditioned and contains the funky Brettanomyces, which as it ages over 2 to 5 years begins to impart an almost sweet tart candy-like flavor to me that I really enjoy," she said. "I bought a 12-pack case in 2019 that I have been drinking only two of each year to document the changes."

Whirley said she also likes to age barrel-aged stouts at home. These beers welcome prolonged aging because of their robust flavors and relatively high alcohol content. She suggested using Goose Island's Bourbon County stout and to let it rest for three to five years maximum.