With the popularity of lager macro-brews in this country (and yes, the rest of the US of A is still drinking Miller Light) many think beer, like milk, goes bad if you don't drink it up right away. While this is true of lagers, ales, like wine potentially benefit from being stored in a temperature-controlled environment for quite a while.
Case in point (pardon the pun)--for my birthday this year, my cousin, sharing my enthusiasm for beer, bought me a few treats. By far the most exciting was a 1-year aged Troegs Mad Elf. Now, I am a fan of of the Elf straight out of the barrel, but I was not sure what to expect of a slightly more matured version. Time treated the Elf with dignity and respect. He went into the cellar with a high cinnamon nose, a punch of nutmeg and red cherries; he came out a smooth caramel. What the Elf lost in intensity, he gained in complexity and texture.
Another pleasant surprise was the Weyerbacher Blasphemy (their Quad aged in whiskey barrels, sadly discontinued). While it was really boozy and hot when we first tasted it, six months did amazing things. The heavy alcohol receded into the background, replaced by a smooth butterscotch not dissimilar to Scaldis Noel. TK and I were fighting over the last bottle. Let's see what happens to the other six pack in another six months!