One of the basic principles of beer cellaring is that beers with a high Alcohol by Volume % (or ABV%) tend to age better then beers with a low ABV%. This principal becomes especially relevant when considering the current trend towards bigger and more powerful craft beers here in America. The question rarely asked about this phenomena is why? Why do these stronger beers cellar well? And if we can figure out the question of why, is there any way we can apply this information to have better cellaring results?

Searching through the literature, I’ve come across five different reasons why high ABV% beers may cellar better then their lesser brethren:

1. Microbial Growth Inhibition- High ethanol levels inhibit the growth of micro-organisms that cause beer spoilage.
2. Alcohol “Masking” Effect - High levels of ethanol and other flavorful molecules that are typically produced in big beers do a better job of hiding stale flavors then less powerful beers.
3. Reactions Involving Ethanol - Beneficial reactions involving ethanol occur more often in beers high in ABV%.
4. Compounds Produced With Ethanol - Brewing methods that are used to create these “big beers” also create other compounds that are responsible for flavor enhancement during aging.
5. Ethanol Inhibits Some Reactions - The rate of certain staling reactions slows down in the presence of ethanol. The more ethanol is present, the slower the rate of staling.

Over the next few days I’ll examine the different points and present the evidence we see for each.

Jason

jason@brewbasement.com