The age of content
Should it be a case of youth over experience, or is older better? Zak Avery considers the age of beer
Quote 1: “Fresh beer tastes better”
Quote 2: “This will improve and last for at least 25 years”
These are two quotes from opposite ends of the beer-production spectrum. The first quote comes from Anheuser-Busch, who produce (in terms of volume consumed) the most popular beer in the world, Budweiser. The second is from Eldridge Pope’s Thomas Hardy’s Ale (now brewed under licence by O’Hanlons), previously styled as ‘Britain’s rarest ale.’
Obviously, the above statements can’t both be true, so which one is?
The answer is, as always, it depends. Some beers are indisputably better when they are fresh, while others can benefit from a little ageing.
I’m going to rather disingenuously ignore the brewing process as a contributor to the ageing process, because I want to look at the changes that happen in the bottle after the beer is sealed. What I’m curious about is what makes a beer suitable for extended cellaring, and as a way of exploring this, I’ve poked around in my beer hole (if you’ll pardon the expression) and found three aged beers, which will be compared with fresh examples of the same; Hoegaarden Wit, Westmalle Triple, and, glory be, three vintages of Thomas Hardy’s Ale.
To kick off with, let’s have a look at the Hoegaarden Wit, in its 25cl bottling, marked at 4.9% ABV.
The aged bottle passed its expiry date in November 2004. It’s being compared to a bottle that expires in June 2006, which would make it relatively fresh at the time of sampling.
Pouring them side by.....
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By Zak Avery
Section : Beer Analysis
Page number : 16
