(Yes, this is the best picture I can find of a Courage Russian Imperial bottle. All the other examples are copyright protected. Damn internet piracy laws.)
Few beers get better with age. Most bottles actually come with expiration dates now to ensure that they aren't skunky when consumed.
One of the rare beers that is prized for its ability to age is the Courage Russian Imperial Stout.
Courage dates back to 1780, when it was exported from England to Eastern Europe and Russia. Brewers made the beer with a high alcohol percentage and a good portion of hops so that it could survive the travel.
Booze conglomerate Scottish & Newcastle now owns the Courage brand name and the brewery, currently known as Scottish Courage Ltd. and located in Edinburgh, U.K. The Russian Imperial itself is difficult if not impossible to find in the United States. In fact, thanks to S&N's hyper-corporate Web site, any information on Courage is essentially inaccessible.
The few factoids I could find about the beer are as follows:
-S&N stopped production of the Courage Russian Imperial some time in the 90s.
-Courage had live yeast in it, so it continued to ferment and develop with age.
Beer geeks consider finding a bottle of Courage in America the equivalent of finding the Holy Grail. Check out the beer reviews on Beeradvocate.com for evidence (just create a simple profile for the site if you need access to see the reviews).
Judging by the reviews, 1993 seems to be the latest batch of the brew you can find. Most of the reviews discuss bottles from the 80s or even mid-70s.
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