Not aging IPAs

Hop aroma, flavor and bitterness decrease over time.

 

Hops fade relatively quickly, leaving a malty mess of the IPA, the original concept probably wasn't all that strict on maintaining the flavor as much as not spoiling the final product.

 

Try for yourself. Buy a 6 pack of an IPA you like, as fresh as possible. Drink one right away, take notes. Then spread the other 5 over a period of time...1 month, 2 months, 4 months, 6 months, a year....whatever, just spread it out sufficiently to give it time. Take notes each time, compare to the first one, and see what happens. Only way to see for yourself how they change, what you think, etc.

 

To me, the when an IPA or other hoppy beer is left too long, it tends to start to taste like plaster scene, linseed oil or some crude oil product rather than its vibrant original taste. Anyone agree?

 

I'm sure a lot of folks here will take this as blasphemous but I'll state it anyway - I like it when my IPAs age a little bit and take some of the edge off the bitterness. I will still drink most of my IPAs fresh but I don't mind them sitting around for a few months. I'll get to them when I get to them. I just had a 2013 SN Celebration last night that was pretty damn good.

 

Celebration is one of the exceptions to the "don't age IPAs," in my opinion. I was at an event last year that had Celebration going back to 1988 (side note: amazing event), and it was pretty awesome to try it.

 

Gotta age those spices out

 

I received three REALLY OLD IPAs in a trade the other day (as part of a trade for a dozen older Stone beers) and my friends and I tried it last week.

I was really pleasantly surprised to say that I really enjoyed the 2006 Stone 10th Anniversary IPA with eight years on it. It had converted into something that tasted just like a Barleywine or Old Ale that was sorta under-carbonated. Boozy, sweet, syrup-textured, and malti-messed for sure, but enjoyable as a sipper. Several of us rather liked it.

We also tried the 2007 Stone 11th Anniversary Ale (which is now sold as Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale), and I have to admit that it was in a weird in-between stage between IPA and Barleywine. Drinkable, but the consensus was that it would have benefitted from another year of aging.

So, the verdict is that you should drink high ABV IPAs fresh... or with at least 8 years on them

 

Not sure about that one!

 

Celebration is not brewed with spices.
But yes, as remarkably and undeniably good as Celebration is when fresh, aging it takes it to a whole other level.
The idea of drinking IPA "fresh" is a relatively recent (and typically American) fad. Traditionally, IPA was certainly a long-aged style. In truth, the classic style is partly defined by the long aging.
As far as hops fading, it's true that can happen...but by compensating at time of brewing to allow for proper aging (as several "pre-craft era" 20th century IPAs did), seems to be a lost art. Too bad, too. A year long aged IPA can still have the crisp bitterness of a young IPA, with the advantage of a much cleaner overall flavor profile.

 

Please explain the lost art that you see if I'm getting this wrong.
I think American brewers are putting more hops in beers than ever before. I think the change you may be thinking of was that in the past people preferred a malty beer over a hoppy beer. So using the hops as a preservative, and then serving the beer after the hops had fallen off pleased the drinker. Now a great deal of Americans prefer hoppy beer more than malty beer, thus the drink it fresh instructions.

 

Celebrations and spices is a long running joke on this site, anytime it is mentioned it is safe to assume the mentioning party is aware of this.

In terms of the historical nature of the style, I am not sure I can agree with what you say. Yes, the historic IPA was brewed to withstand age, that much we can agree upon. There are a couple things we must remember when speaking about historic IPAs in comparison to the modern styles.

First of all, there are very few IPAs that are brewed to this historic style, even English Style IPAs are drastically different. Comparing the historic IPA to any IPA today is akin to comparing a Model A to any car being produced today, sure they are both cars but that is where the similarities end.

Secondly, hops have not been used for preservation purposes for a long time. Hops are now used to achieve a desired flavor, this is not an American "fad". Most beers, American or not, are intended to be consumed within a time period that allows for enjoyment of the intended flavor. The American hopping style does necessitate early consumption for optimal enjoyment, but this does not mean more traditional or non-American styles do not also benefit from timely consumption. Plenty of other styles are also best enjoyed fresh, Pilsners for example, though where Pilsners are prominent so is a local drinking culture that is not focused on distribution and fresh tends to be the rule not the exception.

 

Good luck finding those old styles on the shelf. I'll stick with the modern IPA, hopped up and meant to drink fresh.

 

Boulevard Double Wide can be good with some age. It's extremely malt forward for an IPA, and takes on rich butterscotch flavors with age. I think it is better fresh, but it is still very good, and very different, with some age on it.

 

Double-Wide IPA does not exhibit any diacetyl flavor/aroma with age.

 

Didn't mean to say that it does. Merely saying it is good, and evolves in interesting ways unlike most IPAs. Toffee might be a better descriptor. Had it almost a year old and still enjoyed it.

 

For sure. Toffee is a much better descriptor to describe the caramel malt presence as the beer ages. Butterscotch is a hallmark word for describing diacetyl and we don't ever release beers that have diacetyl levels anywhere near threshold.

 

There's nothing at all wrong with that. Everyone's taste is different, and there's no deny that tastes evolve over time. It has always been that way. The great thing is that there's lots of variety out there nowadays, making it easier than ever for folks to find plenty of choices that suit their own palate!

As for "luck finding those old styles on the shelf", thanks sincerely, but I don't need it (and besides, the traditional styles are still around if one knows where to look). Fortunately I don't have to look much further than my basement: I've been making my own IPA since at least the late 1970s (long aged, but still hoppy and aromatic as all getout...just the way I like it).
It's not everyone's cup of tea, and I don't intend it to be. But it keeps me and some of my friends and family happy (and hoppy). LOL.

 

I can back this up in regards to the 14 Anny, which I just tried the other day. Balanced, clean bitterness and reserved malt flavor. I don't know how they did it, but it rocked my world!