Fresh IPAs...Does it really matter?

The fresher the better

 

Experiment is immediately flawed if they're only trying one beer. I don't have the best palate by any means and definitely am not the biggest stickler, but some beers hold up better than others for sure.

 

I agree but Jai Alai is often singled out as a beer that "falls off" after three weeks.

 

This is mentioned in the article. Of course the beers that are intensely dry-hopped should not hold up quite as well, however the freshness craze is overblown. Anyone who disagrees I challenge them to do a blind tasting and film it. Prove me wrong.

Much more important to keep cold and out of sunlight. Cold canned offerings stay good for quite awhile.

I actually prefer IPA's with a couple weeks on them, and I've heard rumors that the brewers at Alchemist recommend drinking Heady Topper with at least 2 weeks or so on it.

 

Yes, the author points that out himself, including some of the variables that will cause one beer to hold up better than another.

 

Its crazy how good Jai Alai is, then how bad it is. Night day in my opinion fresh vs old.

 

I have very little doubt that the same results would happen to the average recruit to the freshness police.

No big deal, but it is annoying when craft drinkers look upon macro drinkers with such contempt because a macro drinker couldn't pick out Bud vs Miller in a blind tasting. Do you really think you're better?

 

Seems like some last and some do not. I drank a 2 month old All Green Everything last night and it tasted as I remembered fresh. HT seems to last a pretty long time as well. IMO canned seems to last and stay fresher longer. Some Alpine bottles I had recently tasted a bit flat (flavor, not carbonation).

I do think freshest is best, but that does not mean I won't enjoy an IPA that is a month or more old, or that it can no longer be a great beer.

 

"I believe the head brewery at The Alchemist prefers Heady at 10 weeks".

Just another thing to note. As a brewer I am acutely aware of the changes that beer goes through. Some beers do need a short amount of time to smooth out. As to freshness, however, I'll still take it as fresh as I can get. Usually just the distribution process takes at least a week, if not two.

 

I just had a Surly Overrated that had three months on it. Much older than I'd usually buy, but I was in Chicago on vacation and it was on my checklist. It was amazing how well it held up. Other beers, not the case. It really depends

 

Yes it does matter.

If you're lucky enough to have enough shops and options to always be buying VERY fresh stuff, and you get accustomed to that, there's no going back.

 

An extract from the article:

“Perhaps the most important factor is refrigeration. If a beer is well-made and professionally packaged, then proper cold storage will keep it tasting fresh for much longer than the same beer sitting on a room-temperature shelf — or worse, in a hot storage space. Good beer shops will generally keep their stock cool, and your fridge at home will do the rest.”

All of the above is sound advice. In PA the principle beer store is referred to as a retail Beer Distributor. These stores are typically warehouse looking structures and the beer is sold in cases typically sitting on the floor (or a wooden shelf). In other words, these stores typically do not store their beers refrigerated. Once I get my case of beer home I put a few cans/bottles in my kitchen refrigerator and the remainder of the case in placed in my basement; on the basement floor.

If you can purchase and keep beer that has been continuously refrigerated that is optimum. This is not an option for me.

Cheers!

 

the minute it starts getting cloudy and tastes like an old mothball ridden farmhouse.... *pours down drain*

 

I don't drink 'em, but from what my IPA enthusiast customers say...yes, yes it does matter.

 

Do a taste test controlling for temperature, and I think you'll be surprised.

 

Last night I bought a sixer of Union Jack by FW dated 5/15/15, it tasted a little old. Do you guys think that I could be right or its just my mind playing tricks on me because its a little older? When would you guys say is to long to be drinking an IPA?

 

In b4 anecdotal evidence and posturing. I just wish the vehement fresh-hounds would post a video of their blind taste test.

 

got some bombers of Elysian Dayglow within a couple weeks of bottling, had one a month later and most the bright crisp notes that blew me away the first time had all faded

 

Who knows, unless you had a side-by-side with a fresh one that same night? My palate is different nightly - maybe others' aren't.

If the cans were kept warm, it could definitely be a bit of staleness.