How important is fresh beer to you?

Well, first of all, I meant for me, based on what I drink most often, and second of all, 99%? Really?

I suspect that you just like to be contentious as you seem to argue anything I've said in any thread in which we both participate.

 

This is an interesting point. Any one I had to travel or trade to acquire. I drink a lot of Zonker as it's not only available here but at the convienence store across the street. I'm gonna date a can and store it and do a side-by-side in 6 months and check.

 

I disagree with this. Not all stouts age well. Out of the over 100,000 beers listed on this site, the vast majority of them are best fresh, including many of the stouts.

 

I tend not to check dates which has gotten me into trouble with some IPAs. However the best IPAs in Oregon are draft only so I don't worry about it. If it's fresh great if not oh well I'll survive.

 

I'm not trying to be intentionally contentious. I would say that everything but a handful of Lambics and maybe some barrel-aged stouts actually improve with age -- and I from what I have read, most of the folks who have cultivated aged beers (even many of those same Gueuzes and BA-RISs) over the years agree.

 

something about the maltiness coming out the longer it's been stored I enjoy

 

Well since I seldom drink at breweries I guess I escape your accusation of snobishness. Some beers improve with some time in the bottle. Some beers stay pretty much the same with time in the bottle. Some beers lose with time in the bottle. In general I prefer fresh.

 

OK dated a can of Zonker and threw it in with the XMAS decor in the crawlspace... will revisit this thread in December with personal taste results

 

Maybe it is Deschutes that has me thinking the way I do, it's one of the few big beers seasonally available here. I'm used to buying them with the instructions to sit on it a year.

 

For sure that happens with some stouts and I regularly age RIS to explore the changes (e.g., I've got 3-4 years of Brooklyn BCS in the basement as we speak). But there are several styles of stouts which do not improve and decline with age.

 

true I mistyped I was mostly referring to barrel aged and imperial stouts

 

just traded to acquire my first black chocolate and eagerly awaiting it

 

How fresh I like by beer is inversely proportional to the amount of time it's been since I've had an old "bad" beer.

P.S.: Damn you Flying Dog for using Best By dates vs. Bottled On dates

 

"The rules then, if you fancy trying some bottle ageing, are:

1) Don’t bother with anything less than 5 per cent abv, unless it’s (a) bottle-conditioned (b) preferably dark, and (c) only for a few months.

2) For a beer between 5 per cent and 7.5 per cent abv, don’t bother keeping it longer than 24 months, it’s likely to start deteriorating after than, if not before.

3) For a bottle-conditioned beer more than 7.5 but less than 10 per cent abv, several months may be needed before it is drinkable at all, and it should last in drinkable condition between five and 10 years. However, beware of the “waves” of drinkability, and if you find one bottle less drinkable than the last one you opened, you may find that if you wait a few months before opening the next, the beer comes back on form again.

4) For a beer more than 10 per cent abv, it may not be drinkable at all for at least a year, and it could be two years old before getting into any stride, but it is very likely to remain extremely satisfying for 10 years or more.

5) All the above depends on storing the bottles (a) upright (b) out of the light (c) at a constant temperature, or at least one that does not vary rapidly, and never higher than room temperature at worst (so yes to a wardrobe; no to alongside the boiler)."

https://zythophile.wordpress.com/2011/03/18/bottle-ageing-beers-the-donts-and-dos/

 

Interesting stuff, thx for the thread fuhkyou

 

my favorite would be chocolate coffee bread dipped in bourbon then

 

I basically never think about freshness when buying beer but I almost never buy IPAs.

 

The 2010 Allagash Black I had on tap was good for being 5 years old. And the keg was kicked 3 days later, along with ten different beers, in a bar that had 55 beers on tap. There is nothing wrong with 40 or 50 open taps if you are in a bar that does business.