Beer 101 - Can/Bottle Conditioning: Living Beer

The term "living beer" can be either high praise or a slap in the face for a brewer. If the things that are "living" in the beer are microorganisms that ought not to be there, then it is bad news for a beer and its brewer.

Live beer, however, generally refers to the presence of noble yeasts left over from the brewing process. Beers that have been bottled unpasteurized and unfiltered, with a significant amount of live yeast, are called "bottle-conditioned" beers. The purpose of bottling beers in such a manner is to give them the potential to age and develop more complexity. Yeast inhibits oxidation and contributes complex flavors as it breaks down slowly in the bottle. Many Belgian ales are traditionally bottle conditioned through a secondary fermentation in the bottle, in a process similar to that which produces champagne.

An unpasteurized beer bottled with its yeast will not age in the manner of a conventionally processed beer. With age, bottle-conditioned beers develop a rounded, smoother mouthfeel, and over the course of years, often take on winey, vinous flavors.

Bottle conditioning is an economical means for small-scale craft brewers to bottle ales without the need for costly pasteurization or filtration equipment. How long one cellars bottle-conditioned beers is a matter of personal taste and will also depend on the specific character of the beer in question.

The following is a list of some of the top-rated, cellarable, bottle-conditioned beers we have reviewed. All or any of these would be highly recommended for a beer cellar (e.g., a cool cupboard in the basement). Suggested cellaring periods are in brackets, though they are only approximate cellaring times based on personal experiences and in some cases, brewery recommendations. Three gueuzes have been included for the simple reason that these beers have the best cellaring potential in the beer world. Frank Boon of Brouwerij Boon claims a 30-year cellar life for his gueuze beers.

• Brasserie d’Achouffe (Belgium) N’Ice Chouffe (up to 5 years)
• Chimay (Belgium) Grand Reserve Blue (up to 5 years)
• Sinebrychoff (Finland) Porter 1996 Bottling (up to 5 years)
• King & Barnes (England) Millennium Ale (up to 10 years)
• J.W. Lees (England) Harvest Ale 1998 (up to 10 Years)
• Unibroue (Canada) Quelquechose (up to 10 years)
• Young’s (England) Old Nick Barley Wine (up to 10 years)
• Lindemans (Belgium) Gueuze Cuvée René (up to 15 years)
• Frank Boon (Belgium) Gueuze Mariage Parfait (up to 20 years)
• Cantillon (Belgium) Gueuze (up to 20 years)
• Eldridge Pope (England) Thomas Hardy’s Ale (up to 20 years)