Are some IPAs better with age?

I LOVED DT from the first time I had it fresh off the line, so I can't say I agree. This brew is right up there with Hopslam for me. One of my top DIPA's. LOVE it fresh! Now that you mention it, I might just have to have one on tap at Founders on Wed. Hmmm, yeah, I think so!

 

For my tastes, Nugget Nectar is best when about 2-6 weeks old. Similar reasons.

 

I find this to be very true with my homebrew, especially with dry-hopped stuff, but I've always thought it was a product of bottle conditioning. There's a sweet spot in the age of the bottle that combines the nice hoppy tastes and the clean background beer flavor. For mine, it's usually between one and two months after bottling (not the general two to three weeks needed for carbonation). I always assumed that it was a combination of the yeast having had some time to clean stuff up and the hop aroma and flavor compounds sticking around. Too much longer after a few months or so and the hop aroma and flavor starts to go kerplooey.

 

I've never had Double Trouble with age on it. I've tried a few fresh bottles and I once tried it fresh on tap. I have to say that I don't dig this beer at all. It's overly harsh and bitter and super dry. That might be some folks' kettle of fish but it's not mine. Usually, I love super-fresh, overly-hopped IPAs and DIPAs, but DT takes this to an extreme. No balance at all. Maybe a little age on it balances it out like you suggest.

 

Depends on what flavors you do and don't like. Some folks like wheat beers without the authentic flavors from the Bavarian yeasts used.... I don't understand it, but that's their prerogative.

 

I like Pliny with three or four weeks on it. It is a little less "edgy" after that time.

 

I thought this year's Hopslam was noticeably hotter, it was a great palate wrecker when I had it fresh but I got 3 sixers so I held onto some and it peaked almost 2 months after bottling. Everything came together much better and the alcohol was less distracting.

 

if you liked double trouble that way, try devil dancer after a month or two. dd immediately fresh was intense and in your face with the hops, and if youre looking for that, its superb. but in terms of looking for more balance or drinkability, dd after a few months was phenomenal as well.

 

I prefer IPA's with 2.4 - 2.65 weeks on them. It really helps when brewers print not only the bottled on date, but time stamp them as well.
There's really only an 18 hour window where I'll touch a Pliny.

 

Right, because at the stroke of the 19th hour, the beer magically changes!

 

He was just being sarcastic.

At least I think.

 

I've hated Double Trouble every time I've had. Recently got some that's over a month old, among the worst IPAs I've had. The only beer I find more shocking when people like it is 120 Min. Different tastes...

 

If you are going to age IPA's then stick to drinking barley wines!

 

I love the Firestone IPA and the DIPA as well. Anyone ever age these?

 

I'm not talking years, but with several weeks or so.
I'm sitting here drinking a Sculpin that has to be at least a month old, from a 6 pack I bought when Ballast Point first came to Chicago. Really didn't like it when it was fresh, but now I'm enjoying it so much more. Felt the same with Zombie Dust (blasphemous I know) and even Pliny!

So tell me BA, am I the only one?

 

Fresher the better, no question. I believe some that are bottle conditioned can hold up with a few months, but not better than when fresh. Then again, it may be possible that some breweries aren't fermenting quite long enough.

 

prefer age in general? no... the characteristic flavor of IPAs comes from hop oils that are volatile and deteriorate in a short amount of time. if i'm going to get a beer that isn't all in your face hops, i'll get a better constructed, more balanced style.

with a few weeks? not in general, but it varies by brewery / beer / batch. believe me, if you homebrew, you'll see that an IPA is not necessarily better the day after it's finished fermenting and just gotten carbonated. there's a difference between "green" and "fresh", and that difference won't be universal across beers.

...that said, if a skilled brewery released the beer, i expect it to be ready to drink, so i don't want any "age" on my IPAs usually, even weeks. it's not like the beer will be ruined or anything, it's just that i expect the best from great brewers.

 

The obsession with freshness can be counterproductive. Some IPAs can use a little less hop kick and a bit more malt (although, I admit, I like my beers on the malty side). The trick is to find balance--after that, it's up to individual taste.

My first 12-pack of Torpedo had very uneven quality, with some being hoppier to the point of being just bitter while others had a malt finish. Don't know what's going on, but it's hard to believe it would be quality control issues at what is effectively mass-produced beer. Perhaps the pack sat on the outside of a palette in the sun, so the beers on the outside got aged quicker than those further inside the pack... no idea. Oddly, I found the beer I tasted that was 18 days older smoother and more balanced than the ones in the 12-pack.

 

I'm sure your not the only one but your definitely in the minority. But if that's what you like, then it's not wrong for you.