The unfiltered craze.

I don't care what it means. This looks like it'll be the only Sculpin variant worth a look, other than maybe grapefruit. I'll be picking this up for sure if I get the chance.

 

I have a fridge full of Aslin from various releases since they started bottling/canning, and after I enjoy one, the last thing I want is another IPA of any sort. Thats bad for BMC lagers but I personally think a plus for staying power of this style.

 

I'm with you on this one. I've never tried or seen any of these over-hyped NE IPAs around these parts, but why would I want to buy something that isn't going to taste the same (according to the overwhelming opinion) after sitting 2-3 weeks in my fridge? I would much rather buy Torpedo, Lil' Helper, 60 Minute, Yellow Rose, or F5 and it'll still taste the same a few weeks after I bought it. I really don't mind sediment in my beer (I'm drinking a Boulevard BBQ at the moment w/ sediment), but I'm not jumping on this unfiltered IPA hype-train.

 

My bad... reading comprehension must have been off after a few beers.

 

I think it really depends on what sort of drinker you are. I typically don't buy beers that come in anything more than a 6-pack (and even that is rare), so rarely will I get through a month with the same beer sitting in my fridge. At that point, I might as well just get the freshest, hoppiest (and tastiest, of course) beer I can, regardless of how well it holds up. Now, if I were to stock up, I agree that longevity would matter; I see people with beer fridges filled to the rafters with Trillium/Treehouse/etc. IPAs, and my first thought is always "man, half that beer would 'go bad' by the time I got around to it."

 

I think the "2-3 weeks" thing is a bit overstated. IMO, a lot of these beers are better after that amount of time. Trillium and Tree House for example. Those beers are still "good" for months, just not exactly the same. That's no different than most IPA's.

 

You've been spoiled by breweries who have enough consistency in their process that their NE-style beers hold up that long.

 

But, isn't that the point of the whole freshness discussion? Most beer can still be enjoyed months after it is brewed, but it won't be the same.

That is the entire point of cellaring some beers, to not be the same (although, presumably, "better".)

But with IPAs that emphasize hop aroma and flavor, being different means those characteristics are not as good, right?

From what I've read, the aroma and flavors from dry hopping fade quite quickly. But, that's just from what I've read... actual truth may vary...

 

I haven't kept careful records and notes or anything, but when I buy beer fresh from a brewery, even NE IPAs, and keep it in my fridge from there-on-out I don't really find large differences after a couple months. And I have plenty of experience with this because I have a tendency to hoard and savor my "special" beers

On the other hand, I've bought two month old beers from the store that tasted on the stale side (Sucks is a notable offender for some reason). Again, this hardly counts as a scientific study, but I've come to think that in practice, the life of the beer at the distributor and on the shelf is a lot more important than its age per se. I think NE IPAs are indeed a bit more fragile than the norm, and may nosedive faster than others when kept in less than ideal conditions. But stored properly I don't find them quite the delicate flowers that they're often described as.

It's probably worth noting that I'm sort of uber-aware of the fickleness of my own palate, so it's possible I have a wider range of tolerance for what I perceive as meaningful changes than many people do. Another way to put things is that, for me, the difference in experience between a fresh beer and a two month old beer isn't notably larger than the difference between having the same aged beer two different times.

 

Beer stored at high temperatures go stale faster. Beer staling is an oxidative process and chemical processes occur faster at higher temperatures. The Arrhenius Equation defines this, Below is a handy curve to illustrate this. Take note that the temperature in the graph is in degrees Celsius.

Cheers!

 

A lot of them (Julius is a good example) need two-three weeks of conditioning just to reach their peak. These beers don't have the longest shelf lives in the world, but if they're falling apart in a matter of weeks then they're just poorly made or packaged.

 

Thanks for posting this in the thread. I've seen you post this graph before and it made me more confident in my feeling that I wasn't imagining how well brewery bought beers seem to keep in my fridge compared to expectations for things you buy at the store with equivalent age on them.

Did you keep tabs on how your Trillium clone held up over time?

 

Do you know how they (the people who ran the experiment plotted) define "pronounced stale character"? Might that be different from hops fading?

 

I'm willing to bet that their definition of oxidization/staling is markedly different from simple hop fade.

 

I did not keep any records but I can report a few things:

• The hop aroma was vibrant for a few weeks. I started drinking the beer about 3 weeks after bottling and the hop aroma was at its peak from about 3-6 weeks post the bottling date.
• The hop flavor was still very good until the beers were all gone (about 10 weeks after bottling)

A few details:

• The beers were stored warm-ish in my basement
• The beer was bottled conditioned

Maybe the hop aroma peak duration timeframe could have been extended a bit if I continuously stored the beers cold (refrigerator temperature)?

Some homebrewers state that if they conduct all transfers with a closed CO2 method and keg the finished beer (and continuously store the keg cold) they have an extended timeframe of the beer being at peak condition. This makes sense to me since oxygen and warm storage is the enemy of beer (particularly hoppy beer).

It has been my personal experience with both commercial and homebrewed beer that beers that heavily rely on dry hopping to 'define' the flavor profile have a relatively short peak of flavor duration in comparison to other beer styles.

Cheers!

 

Hop fade and staling are both results of oxidative processes.

The specifics of changes to the flavor profile may differ but the basic chemical process aspect is similar.

Regardless of beer style beers are best stored cold (unless you intend to cellar the beer).

Cheers!

 

http://www.thebruery.com/careful-cellaring-part-2-the-importance-of-temperature/

There is a chart that the Bruery posted that is similar to one we had at school. I think it is a little more helpful for understanding the actual development of flavor. Flavor development is all about peaks and valleys as certain compounds take over. I also like that the other chart doesn't have a timeline since it is all down to how the beer is treated. Most small packaging breweries claim 3 month shelf lives, but I would argue that to be extremely generous due to the packaging equipment available to us. I don't like to drink my own beers after going through a Meheen bottle filler more than about 6 weeks from packaging. I have high hopes that the canning line we're looking at for Tombstone will allow for a longer shelf life. Our draught does really well, but we also have a few tricks to make sure that we do everything we can to ensure freshness.

 

Nice chart. Thanks for sharing. When you say "packaging" are you also referring to kegs?

 

Weedy, have you ever tasted a beer with "ribes aroma"? The Dalgliesh chart indicates this happens fairly quickly (e.g., more quickly than sweet/cardboard flavor development) and the curve intimates a higher intensity.

Cheers!