I see Brewdog are brewing a beer for cellaring which they say will be ready to drink in 2030! Interesting concept.Will any of the wine buffs here be buying a few bottles? I'm tempted but not got a huge amount of space so not sure.
Lots of the Belgian trappist type ales age quite positively.
There's a bar in Bruges that sells Orval at several different age points (up to about 5 or 6 years if I remember correctly) and the difference is quite dramatic. I assume crown cap is totally impermeable so it's really an ageing on lees effect than slow ox, I suppose.
On the Brewdog question though...to be honest, no. As a brewery I think they've lost their way through commercialisation and they rely far too much on snazzy marketing rather than good products now. The UK has some really fascinating craft breweries these days that make far better stuff.... Beak, Vibrant Forest, Burning Sky and Pressure Drop to name just a few!
I've always like crown caps but I don't think they last very long on the whole, at least not reliably, as can be seen from old bottles of Fuller's Vintage Ale, which now supposedly go for vast prices-though in this case I have suspected that asking vast prices is not the same as getting them.
I've a bottle of Boon Gueuze here with a drink by date of Feb 2038 though it'll be the acid keeping that afloat.
Don't think I've drunk a Brewdog since my single trip to one of their bars. I had one of their flights/"paddles" of 3 beers, all 3 undrinkable. They were doing an "introduction to beer" course in the same bar; the guy couldn't get the presentation to work, seemed to know less about beer than me and it was miked up so loud I couldn't hear the guy next to me. Absolute shambles.
If they're more than a triumph of style over substance I welcome hearing about it. As Julian says, there are better "craft" breweries, if you like that sort of thing.
I see the latest trend is "pastry stouts". It's like the gin thing - it's beer for people who don't like beer.
Having read a bit further Krishan it may be the name as much as some of the more outlandish recipes which frustrates. I'm a big fan of sweeter beers - oatmeal and milk stouts being particular favourites, and sweeter brown ales; it's just that "Tailgate Peanut Butter Milk Stout" or "Dessert in a Can" feel more like alcopops to me. Gin tastes of juniper; that's kind of the point of gin.
Put it another way, I don't see why Claret can't be mixed with pomegranate or buttercream...
I was expecting to hate it but somehow this was one of the best beers I have ever drunk (description from a US vendor):
Finback Blueberry Drip Imperial Stout
An 11.5% abv Imperial Stout ferment with blueberry, vanilla, peanut butter, and naturally processed Columbia Eduin Hernandez coffee. Big, rich and decadent, the coffee and chocolate bring the up front flavors but the blueberry and peanut butter are noticeable but not overpowering. Somehow all of the flavors work together beautifully
