St Bernardus 12 - Lifespan?

I stopped buying beer when I started buying wine a few years ago. Tonight I had a St Bernardus 12. The date on the back was July 2011, which I believe is their “best buy” date. Not sure when that means it was bottled.

It was terrific. Deep, very malty, very complex.

Clearly the date doesn’t mean much. Curious how long folks have cellared them. I might go buy another one to forget for the next ten years!

Michael

Interesting. Not at home right now to check dates but have one I’ve ‘forgotten’ about for at least 2 years. Always sitting there but then I opt for something else. Maybe I’ll grab that next time. Thanks for sharing.

I have Westy 12’s and similar strong, malty beers aging for well over 10 years. It’s sort of hit or miss. Most will have some oxidation if they have a cap instead of a cork but I still find it worth doing. Every once in awhile you get something simply amazing. I think when you are used to paying for cellar worthy wine the lost cost of a beer kept too long doesn’t seem so bad. So my advice is if you have the space it’s worth doing particularly if you can do a vertical of the same beer.

James is correct. I have a couple of St. Bernies with 5 and 6 years on them that I’m looking forward to drinking this coming week.

I’ve heard people chuckle about the “best by” dates on a lot of ageworthy Belgians, saying they’d like to start drinking them a year or two after that. I think they just want to make sure the beer hasn’t been languishing on a store shelf in questionable conditions for too long. This beer can age for quite a while.