The Bier Stein Bottle Store and Pub carries over 950 different bottled beers and 10 constantly changing taps, in addition to delicious well made pub fair.This remarkable little gem in Eugene, Oregon was opened in July of 2005 by Chip and Christina Ha…

So here ya go:
You need to have 3 or more consecutive years of the brew.
Serve everyone attending a sampling of each and compare each vintage to one another as well as a stand alone beer.

Understand that these will often be high alcohol beers, so 1 -2 ounce tastes are acceptable. However less than an ounce in not as it takes a good mouthfull to really hit all of the flavor centers of the tongue. Use this rule-of-thumb to determine how many guests you’ll invite to the tasting. It’s also great fun to invite folks that have some desireable verticals in thier collections to add to the event.

I mention that high alcohol and/or high hops will help preserve the beer. However Will Meyers from Cambridge Brewing Company tells us about herbs that will preserve beers for years as well. Check out his interview in the GABF Industry Intervew Series of this pod…er I mean Brewcast.

Has any body been able to keep their homebrew around long (and consistent) enough to do a verticle testing? One of my goals before I die is to have a beer cellar that contains many ceramic bottles. Glass is not the ideal container for the great beers that get better with age!