Hopbursted Beers Lifespan

Assuming you're keeping O2 out I don't think its really significantly different. Take for example stone's enjoy by which is a lot of late hopping. I've had bottles 2-3 months past the enjoy by date, and while they aren't the same as they are fresh they're still a pleasently hoppy beer.

I think things like presence of crystal malt play in bigger than your hop timing, as that will tend to take the forefront as any oxidation occurs further masking the diminishing hop presence. For example a few month old sculpin pretty much tastes like a oxidized crystally mess.

 

I don't think they have as good a shelf life and I don't think it is entirely 02 exposure. SNPA & Torpedo are fine ~6 months out. Your new release IPA is a shell of itself in 2 months

 

My kegged hopbursted APA's stay "fresh" for quite some time. The longest I've really had one on tap was 3 months...and if there was hop fade, I didn't notice.

 

Good question, I've had this same conversation with a few BA'er's here.

I find that the super fresh in your face hop aroma and flavor only peaks for the first week on tap. Then the beers goes through some kind of change for the next 2 weeks or so, where the freshness seems to fall off of a cliff and it's just not appealing. But then like magic during week 3 or 4 it comes back around and tastes great again, however, nothing like the first week. In this later phase it seems to have very good hop flavor, not as bright as the first week, but somehow has more depth and complexity.

If I had to hawk a hopbursted beer to the public, I would create some sort of event or buzz about the release date to ensure the entire batch was consumed in a week or so. hmmm.. that sounds familiar..

 

Well comparing the shelf life of a sierra beer to a non sierra beer of different types isnt the best comparison, because along with the beers construction being different I almost guarantee you the sierra beer has lower dissolved o2

 

+1 to: "If I had to hawk a hopbursted beer to the public, I would create some sort of event or buzz about the release date to ensure the entire batch was consumed in a week or so."

Cheers!

 

I suppose this is true, but I find it true of all beers that I keg. There is a conditioning phase after putting a beer on tap...and some of the flavors that were apparent at kegging pale a bit, and then come back. I suppose I didn't really consider this "fade" but "conditioning."

 

I don't have any good information about long term freshness of hop bursted IPAs (vs other IPAs), but when you post a pro question in here, you're supposed to say you need advice on a '5 gallon batch,' in quotes. Winkie face is optional..

 

don't really have time to reference, but there was a discussion on here recently about different hops and the stability of their associated tastes, aromas (ergo their oils). So while downstream handling of the beer will play a significant role in the lifespan of your IPA, but your choice of hops may play a small role as well.

Has there really been any discussions in the pro-brew world about tweaks to the Meehan bottling line in order to decrease the DO pickup? I talked with Kimmich @ the Alchemist about tweaks he made to his Cask can filler, sounds like those guys messed around a bunch with their filler and brought it down to like 20ppb DO iirc.

 

I guess to amend my initial response, I will say that after 2 weeks my hopbursted beers are stable up to 3 months...or if there is a reduction in hop aroma/flavor it occurs at such a slow rate that I do not particularly notice.

 

Bill Manley (@sierranevadabill) recently posted about hop oils in a discussion of the new Sierra Nevada beer called Hop Hunter IPA:

“All hops have oil in them as part of their nature. Hop oil is largely responsible for the aromatic property of hops. Also, to be fair, using hop oil isn't new to brewing. What we're doing is a tad different. We're pulling oil from wet hops to capture the wet hop aroma, and it does lend a BIG aroma boost to the beer. As far as longevity, the hop oils are pure, so I expect they will be subject to the same oxidation degradation of other hop products, but with that said, there is enough traditional hop to preserve flavor stability and the concentration of hop oil is so large that we expect it to stick around for a while!”

As has been discussed in this thread oxidation of hop oils is a concern both for homebrewers and commercial brewers.

I am of the opinion that beers that rely heavily on hops oils (hop aroma/flavor) for their hop flavor profile are most ‘vulnerable’ to hop fade/aging.

Examples of hoppy beers that seem to hold up well with age that have been mentioned are SNPA and Torpedo. I personally would add Celebration to that list. There is no denying that the steps that Sierra Nevada takes to mitigate oxygen (e.g., low DO during packaging, special crown liners, bottle conditioning, etc.) play a role on why these beers resist staling effects but I also think it is just as important that these beers do not heavily rely on hop aroma for their overall flavor profile. The aroma/flavor profile of a fresh Stone Enjoy By beer is markedly different from a fresh SNPA.

Given the discussion of the relatively high levels of DO from the Meehan bottling line just reinforces in my mind that the hopbursted IPA that honkey is considering is best marketed as a beer to be consumed in a short timeframe from packaging. Assuming that these beers are primarily intended for a local market this should be doable.

Cheers!