A few weeks ago a beer friend gave me a box of beer that had been sitting in his basement for a few years. The beer went unconsumed because, unfortunately, he had developed Celiac Disease. He was moving and realized he had this collection of beer and thought of me. Some of them were nicely cellared, like a Cantillon and a barley wine or two. Others were beer that maybe could do a year or so, but were long past their prime.

In the mix was a bottle of Alley Kat Kilt Lifter, a one-time seasonal they released in 2011 – four years ago. It was designed as a Scotch Ale and at the time was received with middling reviews. The beer had some moderate alcohol strength, running at about 7.5%, meaning it could likely appreciate a bit of aging to develop some of the more subtle flavours.

Four years, though? I doubt it. However, I am a man who likes to explore the edges of beer flavour. I have played with over-aged beer before (including here). I decided it would make for a good experiment and I opened it.

Before I tell you the results, allow me to state clearly that Alley Kat had no idea I was doing this, and likely they would frown at trying this particular beer at this age. So, anything that comes below is not a measure of Alley Kat’s brewing ability. It is simply a taste experiment and nothing more.

The beer looks like it did a few years ago, pouring  a mahogany brown with some ruby highlights. However, it has a bit of haze and not much head to speak of, which suggests its age a bit. The aroma gives off raisin, molasses, some dark fruit, plum, and brown sugar. It is surprisingly complex and reminds me more of a rich barley wine than a scotch ale.

The first sip offers some molasses, brown sugar and a rich syrupy note on the front. The middle thins out weirdly, giving way to some raisin and plum flavours. The finish has a alcohol edge and a funny winy note. The thin body and noted dark fruit characters dominate the beer. I can see hints of what the beer was at one time, but it now is rather unbalanced and too oxidized. No other off-flavours appear other than the stale dating, which is a good sign.

There is no question the beer is gone – succumbing to the inevitable oxidizing effects of age. But I am fascinated at how much of it still holds up. The fruitiness is not unpleasant and if not for the cardboard notes it might still appreciate it. Time has made the beer more complex, but also ate away at its core.  Such is the pity.

I would have liked to try this beer two years ago, when it was only moderately aged,  to see if time sat better with it. A subtle oxidation combined with a touch of alcohol warming might have been interesting.

From this experiment I take the lesson that one should be careful with their beer cellar. Not every higher alcohol beer is suited for aging, or at least lengthy aging. Kilt Lifter was likely best designed for 12 to 18 months of aging before consumption. Four to five years was simply too much.

However, I appreciated the opportunity to try it.