The science behind beer degradation

Given the verbiage of “literally falling apart” I can see why you reacted the way you did but I will reply with a contrasting position: there are indeed beer styles which are very sensitive to age and the ‘NEIPA’ beer style is one of them. And needless to say proper storage (e.g., store cold) plays into it as well.

For example let’s consider Hill Farmstead Brewery and how long they recommend their beers are ‘good’ for. I suspect that they may vary their best by dates a bit based upon specific brands but it is my understanding that the best by dates they put on their cans are less than 2 months. If you go to their website they state:

“What is the shelf life of your cans?

Each beer style varies, but we recommend always storing them cold and enjoying within 2-3 weeks.”

https://hillfarmstead.com/faqs/

I personally disagree that using a short best by date means that Hill Farmstead Brewery has a “brewery and/or packaging problem”. They know how to properly brew and package their beers. They also know that certain beers (e.g., Hoppy beers) are best consumed very fresh and they ‘fall off’ relatively quickly and consequently encourage their customers to consume them quickly.

Cheers!

 

You provided some details concerning the aspect of DO on the cold side of the brewing operations.

Do you take specific measures to reduce DO as part of the hot side of brewing? If so, what specific steps do you take? How do you monitor the DO levels on the hot side? What are your target goals here (e.g., the equivalent of being below a TPO of 50 ppb in the packaged beer)?

Cheers!

 

since it hasn't yet been said here:

nearly 100% of beer is best as fresh as possible.

so, if possible, drink at the source, close to the source, and/or as hyper local as you can. even if that means traveling to get your favorites. then you almost don't have to worry about science while you're drinking

prost y'all

 

Perhaps.

But I've had plenty of New England IPAs fall apart (and lose significant flavor) after even just a month. I'll be honest, that's likely an issue with the brewery, but I try to drink mine in less than a month (for full flavor, not for fear of them falling apart).

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/18/dining/drinks/beer-ipa-sam-adams-sierra-nevada.html

This is a decent article, and they discuss it here (italicized part added by me).

"For these companies, the move is both a logical next step and a big risk. Much of the appeal of the hazy I.P.A.s stems from their origins as small-batch, indie brews that are sold at the source. And unlike any earlier styles, these beers require freshness in the extreme. After a few weeks, they literally fall apart — the haze disappears as their proteins fall out of suspension, destroying the hop flavors and, in most cases, rendering the beer fit for the drain."

Sierra Nevada even goes to the length of shipping kegs upside down to restore haze, and Hazy Little Thing isn't even a full on New England IPA in my opinion.

"Sierra Nevada uses oats in its recipe for Hazy Little Thing. But it also employs other tricks for quality control, including one common among wheat beer producers: When sending kegs to restaurants and bars, the company instructs distributors to ship them upside down. That way, the bartender is forced to flip them upon delivery, stirring up the proteins and restoring the haze."

I'll be totally honest, the "two months and they fall apart" statement by me was too generalized. I'm sure there's IPAs that hold up well enough after two months. For example, Sam Adams says in the article that their New England IPA has a best by date of three months.

That being said, I personally think this style is at it's best within a month. And I want it as fresh as possible so I can drink it when I think it's at it's best. ESPECIALLY considering the hefty price tag many of these beers carry. And I'm sure there's plenty of New England IPAs on many shelves that are well over two months old.

And this is all of course assuming the beer is stored cold for the entire time. And I can tell you that MOST DEFINITELY is not the case, at least here at stores in Boston.

 

Same situation at my local beer retailers in the 'burbs of Philly, There are some refrigerators for providing cold beer but the vast majority of the beer stock is sitting at ambient temperature which can be quite warm/hot during the summertime at the Retail Beer Distributors which lack air conditioning.

Cheers!

 

There's a guy by the name of Santiago Gomez who writes brief scientific articles about beer for the Michigan Beer Guide (michiganbeerguide.com). His style of writing is very down-to-earth so that even I can understand this technical stuff.

I googled his name and came up with a number of links to stuff that he wrote, so if you want to dig a bit you might find an article on beer degradation or related topic. (I'm pretty sure that he wrote about this topic.) He usually cites scientific sources for his writing, so if you can find a specific article on beer degradation you might also get other sources to go along with his data.

https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1...hUKEwi0kMq9rM_nAhXDbc0KHUOtAVcQ4dUDCAs&uact=5

I think you can also access and browse the archives of the Michigan Beer Guide at the website that I listed above, but if you try that, be aware the website will be going away in June or July.

 

Lol. Tell that to Cantillion. Or other lambic brewers. Or westvletren or rochefort which are far better with a couple of years plus on them. Hoppier beers maybe but that is a massively sweeping statement.

 

I just clicked on the link jesskidden provided and clicked Download PDF at the top of the page and was able to download the paper for free.

 

Well lambic is maybe 1% of beer, strong ales and barleywines maybe another % or 2? The slice of stouts that genuinely improve with age we can call another 1% but that's generous.
Lots of beer that doesn't collapse in 2 months but the vast majority of beer is definitely at it's best as fresh as possible and does not improve over time

 

But you know that I didn't say that. There's a difference between a brewer "recommending you enjoy the beer within 2-3 weeks," a 2-3 week best-by date, and a beer "falling apart" in two months. How often do you see distributed beer with a best-by date of 2-3 weeks after packaging? That scenario would practically be a work of fiction. If someone asked Shaun Hill, "I have one of your canned IPAs that's a month old. Should I drink it or toss it?" I would hope that Shaun would respond logically. I know people who just get rid of their IPAs once they get over a month old. I'm a beer-obsessed picky guy and I just don't relate to their thinking.

There's quite a large gap between a beer not being at its absolute best and a beer being something that you couldn't manage to drink. Why do people have to constantly characterize beer in such extreme ways... either it needs to be "at its best" or it's a "drainpour?" (It pains me to type that word.) Brewers sometimes put an exact recommended drinking temperature on the label too. Are these same drinkers taking temperature measurements to get their beer at the precise temperature? And then once the beer warms up a degree, do they put it back in the fridge until proper temp is reached again or do they dump the beer for getting beyond the recommended ideal?

 

Completely agree here, I’ve bought Heady in May and it was perfect in July, plus I heard they don’t offer it up for sale until it’s canned 8 weeks. So do the math, I’ve never ever had a Heady that wasn’t perfect. I’ve had others that if it’s much over 45 days old you can kinda see the slip, it really shouldn’t fade perceptibly that quickly. Some do some don’t, but I hate that hop fade malty mess of a big ipa, you can smell it when it’s changed.

 

Well I’d guess 99% of the beers bought here in the US falls into the fresher the better category. Lagers, Pale Ales, Ipas etc, any beer that is nicely hopped is far better fresh no matter how well the brewer does with regard to TPO.

 

In a vacuum, yes I completely agree. And my original statement was more hyperbole than fact (in some cases).

And while I absolutely will not drain pour a beer after two months, I'm disappointed if I see a $20 4 pack of a New England IPA that's already two months old. For that price and that style you want it as fresh as possible.

 

video of Malzmuehle (and other Koelsch breweries) and their brewing schedules...during Karnival and beyond. Hard to imagine with this type of production that folks are getting old beer. again, I might put a 6-month best-by date on our beers, but the way production is, almost 100% of it is consumed within a few weeks of packaging. best-by dates are not a tell-all (or even a tell-much) indicator

https://www.facebook.com/116345190010/posts/10157886359295011/

 

I could follow most of it. The head brewer spoke fast and had the Kölsch dialect. The Frau doing the narration was easy. The packaging guy was in between.

 

true about karnival numbers. they do address/mention regular annual numbers, too. and yeah, I was a bit surprised to hear the malzmuehle guy say they used a 3-week lagering time during karnival season. that said, most commercial koelsch brewers ferment under constant pressure, which expedites the process pretty significantly

 

thought it was interesting as well that he said each "top-fermenting" yeast strain in Koeln was different

 

1. Open
2. Sniff
3. Taste

If 2 or 3 is off: drain pour.

 

Yeah, but that hasn't stopped acclaimed US craft brewers from using extract.