So I’m back to thinking about showcase, massive, complex, all out, don’t even think about me for a couple (dozen) years, brew (e.g. Thomas Hardy’s, Courage RIS or Le Coq Imperial Extra Double Stout). They’re not the brews I make or drink that often but when the moment’s right they’re hard to beat. Right now I’m sipping on a homebrewed year old RIS and while I’ve brewed a couple RIS that were fantastic (and would continue to improve with age had I not consumed them) IMO some of them were too nice. I think most of us know and use the basic procedures that lead to a quality brew but has anyone else given thought to ingredients that would leave a RIS (or barleywine, burton ale, old ale, etc.) still gigantically robust after years of aging? If you’ve had a brand new Thomas Hardy’s and one that’s ten years old, you know what I’m talking about. If we get some dialog going on the subject, I’ll add more observations from this last homebrewed RIS. Cheers, j
I read the burton ale article in zymurgy and have been following the ballantine thread as well.