On the other hand the higher the alcohol the longer it'll last. Several years ago I had the last bottle of an 18% batch that was still good at 18 years old.
It does. Last year I got a bag of Crisp #19 floor malted maris otter. The first beer I brewed with it was a bitter that came out great and it had an 8 point higher original gravity than the previous version of the recipe using non floor malted m o.