Gents: I have a questions concerning the topic line. I'm sure you have all read the Brits began making an ale with higher alcohol and hops (IPA) to arrive in the Indian colony drinkable. So ,assuming this is true, an ale/beer can have an extended shelf life by increasing the alcohol level and the hop level. Now what are the practical limits to these shelf life extending concepts? Could one brew any beer/ale with long shelf life in mind using other techniques? On the same topic from another angle: When bottling a brew could one displace the 2 inches of air with co2 for longer shelf life? Is that air necessary for the yeast to convert more sugar to co2? How come wines seem to do so well with time, aging and brews do not? Fran

This is a pretty complex subject, and is usually best to talk about on a case by case basis. But basically speaking, the higher alcohol a beer is, the more gracefully it will age. Barleywines, Old Ales, and Imperial beers can all be cellared similar to wines, and these beers tend to age very well. In fact, it would be a shame to drink many of these beers too young, as it takes a while for the flavors in a bigger beer to meld, and for it to mature.
Smaller beers tend to hit their peak flavor much more quickly, and then taste progressively less tasty as they age. There's no reason you couldn't age a small beer for a long time, it'll just never taste as good as it did at it's peak.
Hops have some antibacterial qualities that help to combat certain infections. Still, throwing a ton of hops into a beer won't make it an infection fighting dynamo. Take Lambic style beer. Lambic has TONS of aged hops thrown into it, which are used to fight off certain bacteria (lactobacillus). Still, other bacteria (pediococcus) and wild yeast are main contributors to the flavor of these beers.
Also, hop flavors fade with time. So beers with dry hops or lots of late boil hops should be consumed rather young.

I know with wine you like for them to be >9%ABV to make sure it will age with no problems.All the beers I try to age are >9% also.I just don't see many small beers being aged.

From a flavor point of view, I feel there are some "smaller" beers that can hold up to aging very well. I will concede, however, no-where near as long as wine, or a high ABV beer.

I had a bottle of a stout (5% ABV) that I brewed in June '09 for my brothers wedding show up a few weeks ago. I tasted it, and it was silky-smooth, and delicious. All the "in-your-face" roastiness was gone and replaced with velvety smooth coffee and chocolate notes. Was it better or worse than fresh? Neither, It was different. I think I need to start saving some of all my brews to try this.

On the other side, I had a big IPA (7.8% ABV) that I dry hopped. As Guitarlord mentioned, that fades with age. 30 days after brew-day, it was awesome. 45 days it was solid. By 3 months it was just bitter with a weird vegetal flavor resembling old, poorly stored hops.

Most of my beers don't last more than 2 months past brew day unless they are bigger than 8%.

I don't even start drinking my beers until they're 9 weeks old. I allow 3 weeks for fermentation, 3 weeks for carbonation and another 3 weeks conditioning. By that time they're all pretty mature, smooth and good tasting.

I did a 10% ABV barley wine Novacaine recipe in early June but it won't be ready to drink until at least next February. Guess I have more patience than most.

Screwy Brewer