bottle conditioned ale

[ieatbees]

Can anyone tell me if it ok to drink bottle conditioned ale (ie un-pasteurised ale, with hops added to the bottle) after years of owning it?

I have 10 different bottles and they all say that the flavour will improve over time. They were bought in 2001, is this pushing it a bit? Or will they now taste great?

[Fitzer]

It all depends on the beer (by the way bottle conditioned refers to yeast in the bottle rather than hops so they will contain sediment), the stronger the beer the better it will mature so you're looking for a rough minimum of 6%abv. The only real way to tell is to taste them, if they're vinegary then they've had it, they are unlikely to do you any harm if you just give them a taste. If you are experienced with bottle conditioned beers they need at least 24 hours stood upright somewhere cool (not cold) before opening. On opening they need to be poured smoothly but not too quickly into an angled glass to control the head and you want to be sure to not pour the last bit of liquid to ensure the yeast sediment stays in the bottle rather than in your glass.

If you want to post what beers they are I could probably give you an idea of how they may have survived.

Enjoy