Boulevard recently started distributing to Maryland so I picked up a 4 pack of Double Wide yesterday. I poured one tonight, took a sip and thought it was a good beer but not super hoppy. I checked the date and it says "best by 3/19/13". What? We've had this discussion a million times and the consensus is that a year old IPA can still be a decent beer, but not a good representation of the style. First - Any idea how fresh my bottles are - as in, how far out does Boulevard date their bottles? And, why would a brewer put a best by date on an IPA that is at least 8-9 months out? I don't get it.
I wish I had an answer for you. Anytime I pick up Single Wide I just look for the best by date that is furthest out. I'm guessing that they assume Double Wide will hold up longer due to the higher ABV, but as you said that doesn't really work for an IPA/DIPA. -edit. I've had Double Wide a handful of times and it's never been a hop bomb, but it is tasty.
Double Wide's best by date used to be a year out. I havent bought any in awhile, but I assume it hasnt changed. The Single Wide is 6 months I believe.
