Thinking about it though, wouldnt it have matured substantially and probably be very strong by now?
Yeast in beer kills itself at a certain concentration of alcohol and it levels off to the same point no matter how old it is.
Why on earth would someone pay that much for a bottle of beer. I know it has a story and a note but its not like its the first beer to reach the antarctic on its own or something.
Once the sugar has gone the yeast starves and starts to break down, In a real (bottle conditioned) beer it can mean its drinkable for just a few months. They have to add a small quantity of extra sugar for the conditioning - before the yeast has all died and after removing the sediment.
For wines its different, although on the same principle, you can add sugar and up the alcohol content a bit. Even this is going to cause problems, Alcohol is poisonous to the yeast and even high tolerance yeasts cannot operate above about 18% by volume.
Once it has run out of sugar or become inhospitable to yeast there can be no more fermentation. The stories of people leaving bottles for ages and it turning into extremely strong brew are simply old tales.
Ive made plenty so I should know!
