IPA Freshness Hype

Older Pliny, like an elder?

 

It makes all the difference for some beers. Sculpin and Torpedo taste pretty bad after a while.

Others seem to be more resilient. I've had a Mongo that was 5 mo. old and it matches the flavor of a fresher one pretty well.

 

Okay, lotta stuff here. First, hops go in at multiple times, from first wort hopping to dry hopping with cold crash and at many places in process between. Why is this important? Because different properties from the hops are added at different times. At the end of the mash/beginning of the boil it is bitterness, mainly because the other flavor and aroma properties will be boiled off. At the end of the boil and into the fermentor flavor and aroma are added.

Why is this important to the conversation? Because it is the aroma characteristics that are first to go away, the flavor characteristics that are next to go away, and the bittering characteristics that remain unchanged the longest in a beer's hop profile. That is why a beer like Flower Power, which gets its hop character from almost all late addition will fall off a cliff in a month, and Ruination, which gets its hop character mainly from early addition will stay true to form for a long while.

You seem to be suggesting that hop fade is not a real thing, that one would need to do a side by side with different aged beers to prove that in fact it doesn't exist. Pardon me for this, but that is a load of shit. Hop fade for beers that are late hop addition beers is as easy to recognize as are the differences between any other beer characteristics. I brew, so I can tell you aroma fade starts the minute the beer leaves the fermentor.

This isn't to say that hoppy beers are at their best the minute they leave fermentor. There is a sweet spot that is widely regarded as three weeks. I personally agree with this. My own beers are at their best at this time, and other time sensitive beers such as Kern Citra, Pliny, Heady, Flower Power, Lunch, etc. are all the same IMHO.

And I would bet money I could tell you, blindfolded, which is the 3 month old Flower Power, which is the 3 week old Flower Power within a minute of opening them both.

 

Not too long ago I found a Dreadnaught that had been sitting in a cardboard box for over 6 months. I went out and bought a fresh one (presumably - FFF beers don't sit on the shelf where I live) and did a blind taste test. The older one smelled and tasted better. So much so that I thought my daughter screwed up the bottles but she didn't.

I've also had malt bombs. In my experience Torpedo holds up pretty well. Bottom line is I've learned not to sit on IPAs.

 

I remember when I made my first hop fade perception thread. It went about as well as this thread is going.

In my opinion I'll drink an IPA within about six months. Past that I end up selecting something else as there are hundreds of other IPA options nearby, why settle? That said, if someone won't drink any IPA older than 2 weeks, that's their business.

 

Style IMO contributes greatly. The heavier grapefruit bombs IMO fall off more quickly and turn malty faster than a piney resinous brew. I wouldn't trade for two month old Pliny as an example, and the best I've had was about 15 days old, and it was incredible.

My 1st Flower Power was incredibly good, I bought a case and enjoyed the hell out of it, the next year my dad bought a case maybe in April or so, and we were in Pa in July, so it was about 3 months old, and it was not the same brew, not even close. I don't think you can can confuse still drinkable to peak flavor, yes you could drink it, if it was your first time trying it you would never know the possibilities of this IPA when fresh. IPA's are better fresh no question about that regardless of style, but where the fall off begins is anybody guess, and palates are different. I had some Gordons a while ago, canned in Oct of 2012 and it was great, would it be better fresh? I have no clue 2-3 month Oskar Blues is the norm here. The Deviant Dales sitting on the shelf was canned in July of 2012, and I wouldn't buy it at any price. The Flower Power story applies to Jai Alia as well, had it fresh thanks to beerinaglass and it was terrific, had it 3 months old and it was a malty mess, actually I gave it all away. Everybody different and there is no scientific evidence it's still individual perceptions.

 

that would be true if this were an episode of teletubbies. in truth, there are things one can do and ideas one can have that are stupid. it's sad, but what are you going to do?

 

The troops drank Porter not IPA , there was twice as much Porter sent to India as there was Pale Ale.Not much fighting or overrunning for them except in Afghanistan (people never learn!) , there were only a few thousand of them after all.
Much domestic beer was aged in cask before being put out for sale.Often for months.

 

Bingo! End of thread right here, nothing more to see.

 

Just wanted to say I like hops for the bitterness opposing the sweetness. I do not prefer my beer to taste like grapefruit. Fresh Jai Alai from across town is fantastic, but if it fades some....OK.

 

As mentioned above somewhere, I always get stale tastes from older ipas. Certain hops do this faster (I'm looking at you southern tier 2x!)
Maybe it's the type of hop or addition or something, I'm not sure, but hops will definitely start to give off and musty/ stale flavor and aroma to a beer.

Where's jesskedden with the knowledge?

 

For the OP. You can do internet searches and find your answers. Aroma compounds are volitile and break down with heat, oxidation and even vibration. Flavor compounds are a little more stable. The half life of bittering compounds is around 5 years, so those degrade slowest.

I have mant years of Bigfoot in the basement. That is a great subject for seeing how hops change with time.

Edit- if you are a serious student, buy this and read.
http://www.amazon.com/For-The-Love-Hops-Bitterness/dp/1938469011

 

At the end of the day, to each his own. I don't listen to the "hype" about drinking IPAs fresh, I listen to the smell and the taste of the beers I drink/prefer. Every year, I save 1 bottle of Celebration Ale to open with my first fresh Celebration the following year. I have been doing it for many years. The difference in the two beers is like night and day, as to be expected. Is the year old still a good beer and drinkable? Of course, but it tastes nothing like the beer does when fresh. I can easily determine which is fresher (as can my wife), and we both prefer the fresh bottle every single time.

Another example for me is more recent, with DC Brau OTWOA. I had a single can left from the batch released on March 15 just a few nights ago, and then the next night had a can from the latest batch on May 1. The March 15 can is still fabulous, just the aroma is a little more muted and the taste is a bit more balanced than the fresher can. Both are still great, but my PERSONAL PREFERENCE is the fresh can, due to the more pronounced aroma and bolder hop flavor I get from it.

And I am never one to question others peoples palates, but if you are saying/implying that you cannot determine the difference a 3 year old bottle of Artic Panzer Wolf and a fresh bottle, I either call b.s. or think that maybe you are just not a crazy hophead like others of us. Either way, if aging IPAs is your thing, have at it and enjoy, but for me personally sounds like something I have zero interest in doing.

 

freshness matters with more IPAs than I care to list
you is wrong.

 

If you have had an IPA under 7 days old (just an example) and compared it to the same brand that was only "just" a month old let alone several months and couldn't tell a difference then your taste buds are failing you.

There are enough fresh (and good) IPA's around that I can almost always get something less than a month old (typically less). So why wouldn't I..

 

True sick and twisted hop heads can tell the difference, but as stated above you need a base of reference and a time line to do it right. If you've never had a week old IPA how would you know how much is lost in a month? Then two?

 

Lol, convinced you are a troll at this point

 

As a lot of people have already pointed out it definitely matters more with some beers than others. I never paid attention before until I had a Sculpin that just wasn't the same. Some beers a little time is good for. The Jack's Abby ABCs was a little too intense a couple of days after bottling. A week later it was great.

 

the freshest I can ever get 'em is when they arrive at my local bttl shop, don't see how I can do anything more about that...no matter when it might be.

 

I'm cellaring a few different hop bombs just to see what they do. But yes it is ridiculous to think that pliney is bad after a day or two. I've had fresh as well as a 3 month old one and there was no noticeable difference. It just beer snobbery.