What is the new "FRESH"?

Day One Mo-Nelson at Cellar Maker

 

It's been mentioned briefly, but refrigeration makes a huge difference. There's something called the 3-30-300 rule which is based on a study done by Micro Matic. The same amount of flavor loss happens in 3 days at 90 degrees (for instance in a car trunk), in 30 days at 72 (room temp), or in 300 days at 38 degrees. I'm not suggesting you leave your IPAs sitting in the fridge for 300 days, but if you're at the store and debating between a 10 day old IPA on the shelf and the same month-old IPA in the cooler, the one in the cooler will taste more fresh.

 

"Fresh To Death"

 

Really? I think there are people on BA that are waaaaaay more extreme than me. I'm basically saying that I'll drink hoppy beers as long as they're 3 months old or less, but that obviously given the choice, the fresher the better

 

urban dictionary
fresh to death-a term used to describe something that is so good it is inexplainable.

I was using it to explain that I agree with your reasoning.

 

Aha! In that case thank you

 

I bought the new six pack cans of Bengali from six point in early June and on the bottom of the cans it says "BB08MAY15"...i saw the same on a 4 pack box of resin in the store last night. Is six point trying to state that these beers will stay good up until may 2015, or am I misinterpreting? Generally, what do people think of best before dates and how do you use them to interpret how fresh the beer is? I used to but six packs of IPAs carefree until frequenting this sight, now I find myself questioning IPAs in the store an searching bottles for dates(been wanting to try double jack for a while but the last times the bottled on dates were 2/14/14 and 12/3/13). If anyone could help with my questions it would be appreciated!

 

For the record as well, I just drank a the last of that six pack of Bengali today and it was delicious, and I assume it is well over a month old since I bought it early June

 

According to BA "Sixpoint" (the brewery's owner, Shane Welch) in another thread, because they are now exporting their core beers, they are all given a 1 year shelf life. (Previously, most of his beers were given a 180 day shelf life date code.)

You can read more about Sixpoint's date code reasoning here.

 

One of the things that helps me get both fresh and some vareity is to order a case from my nearby retail distributor. By now he knows I want fresh, he specifically asks his suppliers for it fresh and how fresh it is, rejects delivery if it isn't as fresh as he was told, and will sometimes let me know when he can get something fresh that I might like. I've gotten several different beers within days of their bottling date that way. Might work for where you are if you buy stuff by the case.

 

IPA'S are best when the hops are still growing out in the fields, this way you don't lose any of that fresh hop flavor and aroma with that pesky brewing process.

 

Thanks for the heads up! It would be cool if more brewers who use a best buy date would give insight as to what that date means to actual packaging and what to expect. Shane seems like a great guy and out to help people, I will definitely be picking up some resin!

 

I brew, so fresh is literally, as fast as it carbonates in the keg and makes it way in my glass. Which is 1 week, roughly from packaging.

However- fresh on the streets commercially, I think inside of a month is "fresh" for IPA's and the like. Inside 2-3 weeks, I'm more apt to buy it on an impulse because it IS so fresh.

But, if it's a beer I want, and it's inside of 60 days, it's plenty damn fresh, not BA standard fresh, but acceptable.

 

4 days max, going past that is entering in ancient territory.

 

If the brewery won't let me drink straight from the zwickel, I don't bother.

Somewhere between 2 and 3 months is where I start caring. Sometimes I'm willing to roll the dice on an undated beer, but I give much more of my money to breweries who bottle date (in a clear format, not just a production code) than those who don't.

 

I honestly did not pay too close attention to freshness in IPAs until I moved away from my home state. Dogfish head moved quickly off the shelves in Maryland, so it was never really a factor. I discovered the errors of my ways when I bought some 90 min warm, off the shelf here in California that tasted off. Checked the date in it was 4 months old.

 

sucking straight outta the bottling line is the only way to get fresh beer. everyone knows that. anything else is a drain pour and the hops will be faded.

 

Hop compounds are volatile...look at the research by SN.

 

60 Days for me is my goal.

 

Check this out . . . I picked up a growler of Mo' Nelson for another SoCal BA last night, then stupidly left my car unlocked while grabbing a burrito at La Taqueria. When I returned, it was gone. Nothing else taken, just the growler. Wonder if whoever stole it knew what they were getting