Old Sculpin from 2012

It'll be drinkable, meaning you won't die drinking it. Will it taste good? Probably not. Should you return it? No, because you got it as a gift.

 

I say you should attempt to return it, but I'm not promising that you'll get a refund.

 

not worth returning. in fact id find more value in the experiment of drinking it. doubt its great if you are gonna compare it to fresh sculpin. try to drink it in a "blind" mindset and just see what you think. u might be surprised!

 

this, I accidentally bought a two year old Belgian double ipa and it was interesting and I enjoyed it.

 

trade it under the label of "super rare aged Sculpin barleywine" some fool will send you about 100 dollars worth of beer for it.

 

Just accept the gift of a nearly 2 year old IPA and move on...

I've "forgotten" about IPAs in my cellar more than once (a 2 year+ old Hair of the Dog Blue Dot and a 1+ year old Pliny the Elder come to mind...) and decided to drink them anyhow. Definitely more malty than the original intent, but not awful IMO. If anything, consider it an experience in seeing how hops change over time. Pour it out if you don't like it...

And be thankful for a friend who gifts you good beer... even if it's way beyond its shelf life!

 

How much does a Sculpin run (sorry - NYC prices have jaded me, so I have no idea of what's normal)? Prob around $6? Unless you're within one min walk from the store it was purchased at, and you know for a fact they will swap it out no questions asked in under 30 seconds, I would say the time cost would be too high for me to bother trying to return it. Drink it.

 

Bombers of it here in Tahoe or down in Reno are usually $8 and 6 packs are $14. Personally I'd drink it since there was no money lost on my part and it would be interesting to see what a two-year old DIPA taste like. I've had year-old IPAs that I've enjoyed quite a bit before even though they weren't nearly the same beer they once were. Then, I'd go out and buy a fresh bottle.

 

Drink it for science.

 

I might try it just out of curiosity. If you aren't gonna drink it, I don't think there is anything wrong with returning it and getting something else.

 

So it has the old black labels? Instant collectible!

 

If the store will accept returns, then by all means, try that route. I'm all for keeping gifts and such, but in the grand scheme of things, your friend probably wanted you to enjoy one of the best IPAs out there, otherwise he wouldn't have gone to the trouble of looking up a Sculpin. And likely also, he does not know much about craft beer, or couldn't decipher the Ballast Point dates (I know I can't).

If you choose to drink it, then please get yourself a fresh bottle of Sculpin. Enjoy it, and then attempt to drink the gifted beer, if only for novelty's sake. Who knows, may be you will be pleasantly surprised. Drinking a 2 year old IPA first-up might tarnish your image of that beer irreparably, and you may never give it another shot. Or trust your friend's choices in beer.

 

This is absolutely what I'd do, so I could compare the two properly.

I really hope you decide to go this route because I'd love to know. It may be an instant drain pour, but having a two year old beer and not trying it would haunt me.

For Science!

 

Use it to boil brats.

 

Sculpin in code falls off quickly, I can only imagine how bad 2012 Sculpin tastes.

 

I've had like 6 month old sculpin and it was horrible. Fresh sculpin on the other hand... Yummy! That's why I'm so happy its in cans now.

I'm NOT going to experiment aging a sculpin can... sorry.