September 20, 2021
Brew Now for Later: What Beer Styles Benefit from Aging
It’s true that some things get better with age. While many beers are best enjoyed fresh (we’re looking at you, IPAs!), others benefit from time left to condition and come into their own. These tend to be the bigger, rich, high-gravity, ABV-packed styles like barleywine, imperial stout, and Scottish wee heavy. Some extra time in the keg or bottle will soften the booze and bring the beer’s flavors and aroma into harmony. This might mean just a few additional weeks or months to mellow out a bit, or as long as a few years to taste and enjoy the full evolution of a beer's flavors.
In this video, our head development brewer Brad Segall and AV nerd Chip Walton taste their way through two of Northern Brewer’s higher-alcohol beer kits, Exotic Tropic Wheatwine and Northy 12 Belgian Quad (both aged five-plus years!), to highlight the benefits of aging homebrew and keg- or bottle-conditioning for long-term storage.
Featured Beer Recipe Kits
Other Beer Recipe Kits Built for Aging
- Imperial Stout
- Dragon’s Silk Imperial Stout
- Captain’s Ration Export Stout
- Shugga High Barleywine
- Barley Wine
- Scottish Wee Heavy
Bottle Conditioning? Don't forget to grab these items:
