December 30, 2017 · Team HG
DThis is not a manual on which beer is best to serve on New Year's Eve. To find out which beer pairs best with oliebollen, you can consult a colleague. Arvid Bergström It is best to consult: after all, he has literally written the book about it.
However, I want to talk about the aging process in beer. After all, beer, just like wine, is a product that improves in flavor in the bottle. This works best with somewhat heavier, dark beers. A lager that has been sitting for a few years is usually not really tasty anymore: it develops a somewhat thin, cardboardy taste; the hop bitterness disappears, and the freshness and fruitiness vanish. Not dangerous to drink and fine for emergencies, but not really tasty anymore.
With dark and heavier beers, however, something special happens: a process called Madeiranization or portification. The residual amount of oxygen, which cannot be excluded in any production process, forms a number of complex chemical compounds with the esters, fatty acids, and residues present in the beer. Maillard reaction from during the brewing process. With heavier beers, this means the taste becomes smoother, more velvety, with more clarity and depth. The aroma becomes more intense and tends, indeed, somewhat more towards port or Madeira (hence the name).
In terms of the beer experience, it is extremely interesting to taste various vintages of a beer side by side. This allows you to follow the flavor evolution of the beer over the years. You can do this by setting up your own beer cellar. A dark environment with a constant (not too high) temperature is ideal. Should you not have access to a suitable space, you can taste beer at various locations throughout the country from sommeliers who have created special storage facilities, such as the Bourgondische Bierkelder and our beer cellar in the Stevenskerk by Bierproeven.nu.
Mind you: it is not the case (just like with wine) that older is necessarily better. Some beers can last for 10 years, but at a certain point the body becomes a bit too stretched and thin, and the subtleties of the hops and esters are lost. The challenge, therefore, is to determine the optimal aging time for each beer. A not particularly unpleasant task, I dare say, and one of my personal goals for 2018.
So, 2018 is the year of Old Beer! But hopefully also for a whole host of new beers that might well become the finest vintages ever. I wish everyone many moments of enjoyment in 2018! Hoppy New Beer!
[bs-quote quote=”Ivo is internationaal biersommelier, entertainer en horeca-expert. Heeft een onmetelijke passie voor bier, horeca en gastvrijheid. Ivo zal maandelijks een column schrijven voor Horeca Groningen.” style=”style-5″ align=”center” author_name=”Ivo Thijssen” author_job=”Biersommelier” author_avatar=”https://staging.horecagroningen.nl/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Ivo-Thijssen-profiel.jpg” author_link=”https://bierproeven.nu/”][/bs-quote]
