Last night I pulled up a can of Oskar Blues Ten Fidy that I had been holding since last year and a bottle of Victory Storm King Stout that I had been holding for a year. I decided to try the Storm King. This beer is normally a very hoppy, “in your face” Russian Imperial Stout. I figured I’d age it and watch the hops mellow out a bit and bring some of the malt flavors forward. That’s exactly what happened. The beer is now much smoother, though not silky smooth. It has more of a roasted malt flavor with some chocolate notes and a slight hint of coffee. It’s also a lot easier to drink without the huge bitterness from the hops in addition to the huge flavors from the malts.
I’ve got three more bottles of this in my cellar. I think I might save them for the next three years and see what happens. There are plenty of RIS’s out there that don’t need aging that I can get by without this one. I do think I’ll buy more soon, though, and let it sit in my cellar for a while. The Ten Fidy will be another night this weekend.