How long do IPAs stay "Fresh"?

No, not all beer. IPAs? Sure, they should be stored cold to preserve freshness, but beer meant to age benefits from a cellar temp that is warmer than most fridges.

 

I've had ipas a few weeks past the use by date on the bottle, and while they had certainly lost some appeal, they still had enough good taste to be perfectly drinkable. Definitely glad I didn't pour them out.

 

I'd agree that most IPAs degrade very quickly after 3 months, but I've also had some IPA's that I found out after consuming were 1+ years old that were still fantastic. So I guess it's a crap shoot, some hold up better than others. The perfect example that comes to mind is Victory's Hop Wallop. I picked up a 6 pack which I later found out was 1 year and 3 months past it's bottled on date, still delicious. Hop Ranch is another that comes to mind, also a Victory brew, intriguing....

 

Had a similar thing happen to me with Heady Topper. I only bought 12 but somehow decided to take my time drinking them. The hop explosion when you open the can diminished as well as some of the up front flavor...bitterness mellowed out too. Still a great beer at the end of the day though.

 

Id argue 45 - 50 degrees is the best temp to store all beer in.

 

I'd say an IPA Is fresh up to 30 days after bottling. Most are still very good up to 60 days after and after that it's buyer beware as it'll all depend on a bunch of factors.

 

Once it's in the can, bottle or growler, you may as well forget it. Just pay for the beer and then tell the cashier to drain pour it and save you the trouble.

 

Straight from the conical or drain pour.

 

30 days, however 2 weeks is optimal!

 

Well, the facts argue that for beers meant to be consumed fresh, such as IPAs, closer to 36F is better.

 

If you want facts and the science of beer freshness from professional brewers you should read this thread: http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/old-ipas.177842/

It starts getting good around page 2. Pay particular attention to posts from Peter_Wolfe (A-B), Starkbier (Victory), bullettrain (Firestone Walker), Sierranevadabill (Sierra Nevada), and JackHorzempa (a very knowledgeable homebrewer).

 

I think a good rule of thumb is that if you're going to be picky, be picky about something that you can reasonably get fresh.

Now that freshness is on everybody's minds it kinda bums me out that there are people out there somewhere (at least in theory) refusing to drink perfectly good hoppy beers that are from a long ways away because they are older than 45 days or whatever magic time frame they perscribe to.

Sure, it might taste a little different, but if it was a well-made beer to begin with it shouldn't be an issue up to a couple months or so.

To be sure, I don't mean like a year old or whatever. We all need limits...

 

5 minutes.

 

I honestly feel like a lot of it is a mental thing... Sure, I would much rather drink a fresh IPA for the sake of freshness, but to those that claim an IPA starts going downhill after less than a month.... Come on now. I just don't see it.

 

Yup pretty much it, I love a big green mind bending IPA, but ive also had a few Racer 5's with 7 months on them and still enjoyed them. Yes, its true hops smell and flavors do degrade overtime letting the sweet malts and alcohol to shine but it doesn't make them "bad".

 

Caveat: IPAs are not my favorite.

That said, what is the effect on the aftertaste of an old (1 year +) IPA?

Two of the most unpleasant beers I've ever had were IPAs. And, by unpleasant, I don't mean too hoppy, or too citrusy, or too piney, or any of the things that IPAs are known for. I mean the aftertaste was just bad, unpleasantly bad. A really off-putting lingering taste. It is hard for me to describe.

Since I buy mostly local beers, I haven't made it a habit to check the dates before I buy. These two really poor IPAs were not local, so ever since I've become more "educated", I've wondered... were these beers just old?

The hops had not faded into oblivion (they were plenty hoppy). They were just bad. Both were canned, BTW, so neither were light-struck.

 

Had a year old Burton baton that was still very hoppy

 

Well I get 1/6 barrels of Hop Devil from Victory and a barrel seems to stay fresh for well over 4 months but then again that is on tap and kept cold. I also have had Nugget Nectar for over a year and it still taste good .

 

30 - 60 days.

 

I think ipas start to fall off within a month. By two months, I could notice a difference in taste in zombie dust, double trouble, dreadnaught, and founders centennial