Beer · Explainer
Can you age bottled beer?
Yes, but not every beer. The labelling rules give a hint: beer of 10 percent alcohol by volume or more does not need to bear a best-before date. Heavy, dark beer re-fermented in the bottle changes for years; light and heavily hopped beers, by contrast, go downhill. Store the bottle upright, dark and cool, because at 30 degrees the cardboard taste develops much faster than at 20 degrees.
In brief
The key figures
| Exemption from the best-before date | beer from 10 percent by volume alcohol and cider |
|---|---|
| Cardboard taste | (E)-2-nonenal, threshold value 0.1 microgram per litre |
| Effect of temperature | at 30 degrees the cardboard taste dominates faster than at 20 degrees |
| At 25 degrees | more caramel character develops in the aged beer |
| Oxygen | speeds up ageing, but non-oxidative reactions weigh just as heavily |
| Refermentation in the bottle | yeast is a permitted ingredient according to the Warenwetbesluit |
| Storage position | upright, so that the yeast bed stays on the bottom |
| Storage place | dark and at a stable temperature |
Which beers are suitable for cellaring?
Heavy, dark beers re-fermented in the bottle lend themselves best to being laid down, with quadrupel, barley wine and imperial stout as the best-known examples.
The legislator itself gives a hint. Under the labelling rules of Regulation (EU) 1169/2011, beer of 10 percent alcohol by volume or more does not have to carry a best-before date. Alcohol, residual sugar and a sturdy malt character keep the bottle going while the rough edges disappear. Cask-aged beers and bottle-conditioned Trappist beers fall into the same group.
Which beers are best drunk straight away?
Light, pale and heavily hopped beers decline rather than improve, because the hop aroma flattens within a few months.
A fresh IPA or session ale lives on volatile hop compounds that quickly dissipate. Witbier and weizen lose their fresh yeast character. Pils is brewed to be drunk within the best-before date. With these beers the date on the label is not a formality but an indication of the right moment.
What happens chemically in a bottle that ages?
During aging, aldehydes form, of which (E)-2-nonenal is the best known: this substance gives a cardboard-like taste from 0.1 microgram per liter.
Researchers at the Leuven department of malting and brewing science mapped the reactions in the journal Food Chemistry. Besides aldehydes, furans, pyrazines and sulphur compounds are formed. Oxygen speeds up part of those reactions, but non-oxidative processes turn out to be at least as important. Temperature steers the direction: at 25 degrees more caramel character develops, at 30 degrees the cardboard dominates.
How do you store beer that you want to age?
Stand the bottle upright in a dark place with a stable temperature, preferably cooler than room temperature.
Upright keeps the yeast bed on the bottom, so that you can pour the bottle clear later and the beer does not permanently sit against the cork or the crown cap. Dark prevents light damage to the hop compounds. Stable matters more than exactly cold, because fluctuating temperature speeds up ageing. The research shows that 30 degrees brings out the cardboard taste much faster than 20 degrees.
How long can you lay a bottle down?
There is no legal or chemical end date: how long a bottle lasts depends on the beer and on the storage conditions.
De vrijstelling van de houdbaarheidsdatum vanaf 10 volumeprocent zegt alleen dat de wetgever geen datum eist, niet hoe lang het bier op zijn best is. Wat u wint aan rondheid, verliest u aan frisheid. Leg daarom bij voorkeur twee of drie flessen van hetzelfde bier weg en proef er met tussenpozen één, dan weet u waar uw eigen voorkeur ligt. NIX18 geldt ook voor bier dat jaren blijft staan.
From the shop in Bathmen
Which beers in Bathmen can be laid down?
In the shop in Bathmen there are 114 beers from 46 different brands from 7 countries. The prices range from € 1.85 to € 47.99. The alcohol percentage ranges from 4.2% to 20%.
- 't Zwarte Schoap Het Lam Oaked Quadrupel 10% · 33 cl · Netherlands
- 't Zwarte Schoap Het Lam Oaked Quadrupel 10% · 75 cl · Netherlands
- Berging Brouwerij Sailing'22 Rum Barrel Aged Quadrupel 10.3% · 33 cl · Netherlands
- Berging Brouwerij Sailing'22 Rum Barrel Aged Russian Imperial Stout 10.2% · 33 cl · Netherlands
- Berging Brouwerij Sailing'23 Rum Barrel Aged Imperial Dry Stout 10.5% · 33 cl · Netherlands
- Berne Abdijbier Abt Generaal Quadrupel 10.5% · 33 cl · Netherlands
- Bevog Hagger 4/22 12% · 33 cl · Austria
- Big Belly Aethelstan Big Stout 11% · 33 cl · Netherlands
- Big Belly Jacques Holy Quadruple 11% · 33 cl · Netherlands
- Brasserie des Légendes Hercule Stout 9% · 33 cl · Belgium
Related questions
Do you pour the yeast sediment from the bottle or not?Does draught beer taste different from bottled beer?Why are beer bottles usually made of brown glass?
Short answer
Short answers to related questions
- Should beer be stored lying down or upright?
- Upright. That way the yeast sediment stays on the bottom and the beer is not permanently in contact with the cork or the crown cap.
- Why do some beers have no best-before date?
- Beer from 10 percent alcohol by volume is exempt from the best-before date, as is cider. The labelling rules in Regulation (EU) 1169/2011 govern this.
- Is beer spoiled after the best-before date?
- Not automatically. The best-before date is about quality and not safety; taste and head do decline after it.
- What is re-fermentation in the bottle?
- Brewers add yeast and sugar when bottling, so that the beer undergoes a second fermentation in the bottle. That produces carbon dioxide and leaves a layer of yeast at the bottom.
The reasoning
Sources
- Handleiding bij Etiketteringsverordening 1169/2011, Nederlandse Brouwers (accessed 2026-09-07)
- The chemistry of beer aging, a critical review, Food Chemistry 95, Vanderhaegen et al., KU Leuven (accessed 2026-09-07)
- Verordening (EU) nr. 1169/2011 betreffende de verstrekking van voedselinformatie aan consumenten, EUR-Lex (accessed 2026-09-07)
- Warenwetbesluit Gereserveerde aanduidingen, Overheid.nl (accessed 2026-09-07)
- Hoe wordt bier gemaakt, Nederlandse Brouwers (accessed 2026-09-07)
This page was written and checked by ’t Bockje Bathmen, wine and spirits shop at Brink 2 in Bathmen. Last updated on 4 October 2026.
Verkoop van alcohol onder de 18 jaar is verboden. NIX18.