I am always amazed by the way that beer ages and the flavours that it can develop. I am not talking about the vinegary notes of a beer that is going off but rather the development of complex notes as diverse as honey and sherry, which come from the mellowing of hops. Stronger beers (6% ABV or more) are generally the best bet if you want to experience positive ageing but it does depend on a number of factors:
- How a beer is stored: coldish and preferably away from the light;
- The ingredients: often darker beers age better than paler ones. Bear in mind that hop character diminishes on ageing, so a fruity, hoppy American style beer may not last well;
- Oxygen levels: this is why a bottle-conditioned beer has the upper hand because the yeast eats the oxygen. Lower levels of oxygen can help in reducing oxidation notes such as ‘cardboard’.
Fuller’s Vintage Ale (8.5% ABV) is a beer that is ideally suited for ageing. Fuller’s hold an annual tasting of different vintages and this showcases the way that beer can mature and change. Five different Vintage Ales were tasted against the newly released 2024 version. Although each year’s recipe is not the same, with different hops and some variations in the malts used, this did not diminish the ability to assess how the beers aged and to compare them against each other. All recipes used Fuller’s iconic yeast, which usually gives orange notes to the brews.
Despite the beer being aged for several months, the flavours in the 2024 bottle were clearly the freshest with sweet, bitter notes alongside green apple. The hops were UK Admiral and Emperor plus a new hop from Faram’s breeding programme.
The 2020 Vintage used Jester and Godiva hops, which, although not as new as the experimental hop, were a nod to the new hop varieties being developed and grown in the UK. This beer was still quite bitter in comparison to most of the older versions tasted, where gradually the bitterness has reduced with age. These were 2009, 2006, 2003 and 1999.
The 2006 was probably the easiest drinking; smooth with notes of muscovado sugar, Frank Cooper’s marmalade and spice. However, in the group tasting, the 2003 was the beer most favoured; it is well balanced with complex Christmas cake and dry roasty notes.
The Fuller’s Vintage Ale tasting was however not the only aged beer tasting I attended this autumn. CAMRA’s Games & Collectables section ran an aged beer tasting (held every other year) which included some beers dating back to the 1970s. Over 20 people between them shared over 120 bottles from 55 different breweries, including some from closed breweries: Gales, Gibbs Mew, Ansells and Ballards. This tasting was not for the faint hearted; most beers were over 6% ABV and those from before 1989 had no ABV quoted, so that the only thing to go on was the description of ‘Strong’! It wasn’t until 1989 that alcoholic strength labelling was introduced. This was something that CAMRA campaigned for, although the brewers were against it.
This tasting is so popular that it regularly sells out within weeks. If you are interested in joining us in 2026, drop me a line at christine.cryne@gmail.com.
Christine Cryne