Peak Brewing Co. - "King Crimson" imperial red ale, 2013 vintage

Today's beer is Peak Organic's imperial red ale, the King Crimson. I've had this beer a number of times, and reviewed it fresh back in April of 2013. It's very enjoyable - and surprisingly cheap!

Today's beer was purchased almost two years ago, as you can see.

It's been in my cellar since then, as an aging experiment. But, since time marches on and I have a lot of beer to try, I figured it's time to see once and for all how the King Crimson cellars. I have high hopes. Cracked the bottle open to a quiet gurgle. One lone bubble rose out of the neck of the bottle. The oxygen-fixing cap was a dark brown - not a good sign. I poured it out anyways...

...and the beer maintained its usual deep red color. Held up to the light, it throws a (very pretty) cloudy red color. A gorgeous color for beer.

No sediment in the bottom of the glass. The head died down slowly and settled to some token bubbles rimming the beer. There's no lacing on the glass. All of the things are in direct opposition to what I experienced last April when I reviewed it fresh.

"I've got a bad feeling about this..."

But - no sense in holding off. Time to dive in.

The flavor at first is very faint, and a little off. I'm also getting a slight sour note, which is something I don't want to get. I wasn't detecting much of anything in there. A glass or two in, I'm getting the flavors a little more. Some fruit and some pine, with malt. Perhaps this is due to the beer warming up.

And while the flavor did open up a little bit, it didn't have that real fresh strength I was hoping for. Like my aged Pumking, the flavors are muted and duller than usual and that really takes a lot out of the beer. Some beers are made to be enjoyed immediately, for example, the Enjoy by 7/4/14 ale.  And some are meant to be cellared for a long time (like the Dogfish Head 120 minute IPA. ) Usually, if they're made super fresh and without any natural preservatives, it says so right on the bottle. And while I don't think King Crimson is one of such beers, it still doesn't taste quite right. Two years is a long time to stick around in a cellar for any beer, and so this beer was more of an experiment than a true effort at aging.

I've got one in the fridge now, a 2014, and will drink it soon. It's a good beer, but this just goes to show that not all beers age well. Even with a high alcohol content, it still doesn't appreciate in flavor. At least I tried!