It’s happened to all of us: We visit a relative or family friend who doesn’t drink much, and they have a beer or two in the back of the basement fridge left over from a party last Christmas. Being a good host, they offer it to us, and being a gracious guest, we accept it, and spend the next hour choking down a stale or skunky lager that’s about three months past its prime.

The lesson taken from this experience is that beer is a perishable product that’s meant to be consumed as fresh as possible. And for many styles of beer - pilsners, wheat beers, bitters, pale ales, etc. - this is definitely a good rule to follow. But there are a number of beers that will last for months or even years in the bottle, tasting just as good - or even better - when they’re finally opened.

The trick is figuring out which beers will benefit from the ageing process. This can often be a bit of a crapshoot, especially for those don’t have a climate-controlled environment in which to store their stash, but generally, the stronger and more flavourful the beer, the more likely it’ll be able to hold up to some time in the cellar (or whatever dark and relatively cool place is available to put them away for a while). Beers that are bottle conditioned are also a good bet.

And then there are those beers that aren’t just accidentally ageable, but are brewed with the explicit intention of lasting for years. More common in Europe and the UK than in North America, these beers are generally ales, often brewed using specialty ingredients, and usually released in limited amounts on a seasonal or annual basis, lending them an air of exclusivity similar to rare wines and spirits.

One of the better known and most anticipated of these beers is Fuller’s Vintage Ale, a strong ale released each fall since 1997 by Fuller’s Brewing of London, England. Each year, the Fuller’s brewmaster plays around with the recipe a bit, using a different hop and malt variety, but the strength (8.5%) and general style of the beer remains the same from year to year. And having had the chance to sample from a bottle of the 2001 version in 2006, I can vouch for the fact that this is a beer that will hold up for at least five years, if not longer.

150,000 numbered bottles were produced for the 2007 edition of Fuller’s Vintage, and a good number of them are available here in Ontario as part of the LCBO’s Winter Warmers release (LCBO 676213, $6.90/500 ml). Created using using Maris Otter malt and a combination of Fuggles, Target and Super Styrian hops, the beer has a burnished amber colour that is somewhat similar to its close cousin, Fuller’s 1845 strong ale. It has a rich aroma of tea, oranges, almonds, tobacco, and a slight alcohol astringency, and well integrated flavours of caramel malt, orange, raisins, butterscotch, and a warm, lingering finish with moderate hop bitterness and a hint of whisky. The finish is a bit hot, but based on how past vintages have fared, it’s a good bet that some aging will take care of the rough edges. Assuming, of course, that I can find the will power to hold on a couple of bottles for a year or five.