Exam Focus
- Treat freshness as the default quality goal.
- Some stronger or specialty beers can age well.
- Do not generalize cellar aging to all beer.
Freshness default
Hop aroma, malt balance, and clean fermentation character often decline with time, so most beer belongs in fresh service.
Aging exceptions
Some beers are designed to change with proper cellaring, but those are exceptions guided by producer intent and storage conditions.
Key Terms
- Cellaring
- Intentional storage under controlled conditions to let selected beers mature.