I recently opened a NOV 09 bottle of Founders Breakfast Stout. At a year old, I was hoping to see improvement. Truth be told, it was "bland" compared to the fresh Breakfast Stout. The flavors were mild, and the body was much lighter. Honestly, it just seemed like the beer went down hill. I stored the beer upright in my closet and it was not exposed to any extreme temp or humidity. Founders Breakfast Stout is a pretty big beer at 8% abv, so I thought it would have aged well. So here is my question... What beers/type of beer actually ages and becomes better beer?
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Sorry, I forgot to add that I had a bottle of KBS that I am pretty sure was from April 10. A friend and I split it. It was out of this world:-) I never had it fresh, so I cannot compare.
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Doesn't Budweiser say it's all about the freshness?

Maybe it's just me, but I just don't think barley and hops have properties that work with the aging properties.
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From what I've read the Belgium's age well and for a long time. Also heavy stouts with high ABV's tend to age well. I got some Founders Backwoods Bastard from last year that I want to compare to the new batch. I also tasted GI Bourbon County Stouts from 08, 09, 10. The 08 GIBCS was great!

As far as aged beer some of the best I've had was a 5 year vertical of Three Floyds Dark Lord. It's a mixed bag because everyone had a favorite year. I personally thought that 4 years (2007) is great for Dark Lord and at 5 years (2006) it hadn't peeked but wasn't as good the 2007. Everyone's tastes are different.

As far as beer aging I'm still new. Getting 2-3 year verticals on some beers.
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KBS is great fresh but I've been digging it now. I still got over 3 packs left and excited to compare it to next years.
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does alcohol really "Age" in a glass bottle? I have heard it does not.
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Liquor does not age once it's been bottled (scotch, whiskey, etc.). Wine will continue to age in bottles and so will some beers.
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Have you heard of wine? :-)
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Dark Lord is on my list to try. I really want to make it to DLD next year and get a few bottles.

It seems like the list of beers that age well is very small. The usual suspects, Dark Lord, Westvleteren, and Chimay:-) I know there are more, but they are not your everyday type of beer. I think if I can get my hands on one, I will age a 1.5L bottle of Chimay Blue for the heck of it. See what happens.
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:-) on all counts. Barley wines tend to age well as well. Supposedly SN Bigfoot is still getting better after more than 10 years. I intend on finding out.:-)
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Imperial Stouts and Porters age exceptionally well. I have a vertical collection of Brooklyn BCS for 5 years back now.
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I don't think the list of beers is small just spread out regionally. An example would be the limited RIS from breweries. Also a lot more breweries are making beers that do age. GI has the Bourbon County line as well as all of their Belgium line. Right now I got a couple bottles of Chimay Red 08, 09 and 10. Looking forward to trying them down the road.
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Forgot about Barley Wines. Good call Vic! :-)
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A lot to most beers don't age well. One of my favorite beers are IPA's. This is one beer that tastes the best fresh and aging kills it. After 6 months an IPA is on the way out. :-)
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I totally agree. Fresh is best with IPA's.
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insert my foot in my mouth. I am dumb.
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Been drinking all my IPAs I have lately. I got a few Founders Devil Dancers left and a few bombers of Three Floyds Arctic Panzer Wolf. Damn good stuff! :-)
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This, Stouts are PERFECT for aging.

Yeah you wouldn't age an IPA.
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I have been drinking a lot of IPA's and pale ales lately. Mostly stuff from Bell's, Founders, and DFH. I can really tell a difference in taste from a fresh bottle and one that I have had for a week or two.
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I would hardly consider two weeks to be "aging", Nate. :-)
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