Beer Cellaring Experiment First Update - Lay Your Bottles Down or Keep ‘Em Up?
By jason on Jun 1, 2008 in Belgian Styles, Cellar Experiments, Featured
Two beers, one aged for six months standing up, one aged laying down. But which is which?
For those of you who weren’t around back in October, you probably missed the kickoff of my first beer cellaring experiment. With the help of a couple of cases of Brewery Ommegang’s Three Philosophers Belgian-styled Quad, I’m exploring one of the hottest questions in the beer cellaring world - is it better to age your brews standing up or laying down?
For my first update, I’m simply comparing the beer in a bottle that’s been cellared standing up for the last six months vs. one that’s been laying down for the same time period. Later tastings will get more and more complicated, as I’ll not only be comparing bottles that have been standing or laying down for the entire time, but will also be tastings brews that have spent the years doing a little bit of both. My thinking is that maybe just cellaring brews standing or laying down isn’t the optimal approach - it’s possible that combining the two methods will give the best results. Time will tell, I guess.
Anyway, back to this first tasting. Right away you can see the beers look a bit different. When you look at the above picture, the beer on the left with the superior head was the one I poured first. Even though it’s been sitting for far longer then the brew on the right, there’s little doubt the better head stability of that beer on the left. I even poured the beer on the right MUCH more aggressively in an effort to bring the head up, but it just wasn’t happening.
Surprisingly enough, the beer on the left was the one that had been stored laying on it’s side for the past six months. I was somewhat at a loss when I saw this, because I really wasn’t expecting anything superior from that bottle. I think I’ve been primed so much from the majority of sources (execpt one certain article on RateBeer.com that I can’t find anymore) all saying it’s better to store beers standing up that this initial result shocked me quite a bit.
I was even more shook up when I started in with the smell and tasting of this beer. Both had the same basic flavor profiles, but the bottle that had been laying on it’s side definitely “brighter” flavor. The fruity esters where absolutely more noticeable in this bottle, in particular the cherry notes. Consequently, the bottle standing up had more roasted and dark fruit flavors, which I would expect to happen in a beer whose esters had pulled back a bit.
Those were some pretty amazing first results, and I can’t wait for the one year tasting in October. It’ll be interesting to see if these results were simply a fluke or if the same progression continues!
Jason
Great test. It sounds like the one laying down may have aged slower than the one standing up - hence the ‘brighter’ fruit flavour you would expect in a younger bottle.
BA | Jun 1, 2008 | Reply
I was about to say, “What can you possibly tell from just two bottles?” But I went back and read your plan, and saw that you have 5 bottles in each of the two basic treatments.
My intuition is the same as BA’s - on its side, you’d expect the cork to get a better seal (as with wine). I’m just surprised that this would make a difference in just 6 months, with tight Champagne-style corks.
Nate | Jun 1, 2008 | Reply
From what I understand, corked beers should age better on their sides, while capped (without corks) beers should age better standing up. It makes sense — the cork needs to stay wet. If a cork dries out, it shrinks and allows O2 in. A cap is fairly impervious either way (depending on the seal), but could be prone to rust at lower pH’s prevalent in beer and wine if it’s kept on its side. So… I highly approve of this experiment, and my hypothesis is that corked = better on side, capped = better standing up. Since Ommegang corks all their beers, I would imagine that (assuming you only test Ommegang beer) that you will find that on the side is best. But you also need to test some capped beer to complete the experiment.
markmier | Jun 1, 2008 | Reply
I always worried what impact the cork would have on beer flavor if left on its side, but maybe that’s not an issue.
Another factor is whether the beer is bottle conditioned or not - if you want to keep the yeast out of your drink, you need to keep the beer upright at least for a while to allow the sediment to form on the bottom.
I, too, am curious about if there’s a difference between corked and capped bottles (I’m watching this experiment closely - I’m a homebrewer who plans to start an annual tradition of brewing a barleywine on New Year’s Day every year and cellaring it for as long as I can stand it).
Aaron | Jun 2, 2008 | Reply
Not surprising. You get a better seal with a wet cork, and though there’s pressure keeping the oxygen out, a drier cork will allow carbon dioxide (and aroma and so forth) to slowly leak out, albeit at an immediately undetectable rate. It’s best to age beer on its side, like wine, though with caps it makes little difference since the seal is waxed (and a hyperactive capped bottle on its side can make a much greater mess than a corked one if the seal is ever compromised).
To Aaron (do I know you?) good luck with the homebrewed barleywines. I managed to save one bottle from one of my batches for about a year. For me, they’re just too damned tempting.
Sounds like a good idea though, and I’m willing to give that a shot this winter.
techcommdood | Jun 2, 2008 | Reply
I don’t think you know me, but it’s a big world out there.
My plan is to brew up two cases, one I’m allowed to drink from whenever I want, the other gets hidden away. After the next annual batch comes up, I have a new “drinking” case, and can also begin opening select bottles from the “saving” case of previous years.
I figure if I do it annually, I should always have some barleywine to drink and don’t have to be quite as patient as I would otherwise.
Aaron | Jun 2, 2008 | Reply